Dougan, a former Marine and police officer, fled his home in Florida in 2016 to evade criminal charges related to a massive doxxing campaign he was accused of launching against public officials and was given asylum by the Russian government. Most recently, Dougan has posed as a journalist in Ukraine’s Donbas region, testifying at Russian public hearings and making frequent appearances on Russian state TV.
It is unreasonable to dismiss his ethically based release of information because of more recent events. He ended up with Russia because other countries were not willing to grant asylum, and even though he is a stooge now because of that outcome it does not mean he was always a shithead.