Dones #7 Salzman called me ‘compulsive liar,’ ’emotionally dishonest,’ ‘rule bound,’ ‘slimy.’

During Susan Dones’ deposition she is questioned by NXIVM attorney Robert Crockett:

Crockett Q: What was the most emotionally abusive thing to ever happen to you at NXIVM?

A:  ….I think my overall treatment by Nancy Salzman.

Q: …Well, your declaration is just filled with claims that you’ve been abused by NXIVM…

A: … I think just the overall lie that they’re one thing and they’re not.  I think the mere fact that they present themselves as a human potential program that has answers to mankind’s problems and that Keith is the most ethical man that you could ever come across and that he would never do anything to harm you….. And when I asked for contracts, like why don’t we have any contracts in regards to what it means to be a field trainer, what does it mean to be a proctor, how are these things protected, I was constantly questioned about my loyalties to Keith instead of addressing the real issue. Like, why didn’t we have contracts to protect our investments?….

Q: What other theories do you have against NXIVM?

Dones A: Possibly emotional abuse.

Q: Who abused you?

A: Mostly Nancy Salzman

Q: ….By calling you a suppressive?

A: Amongst other things….

Nancy Salzman, NXIVM's president, poses for a photo during Vangaurd week at Silver Bay Center on Lake George Tuesday August 27, 2003. (Will Waldron / Times Union)

Nancy Salzman, NXIVM’s president, poses for a photo during Vangaurd week at Silver Bay Center on Lake George Tuesday August 27, 2003. (Will Waldron / Times Union)

Q: Who said you were slimy?

A: Lauren Salzman told me that her mother said that I appear really slimy right now.

Q: ….What other bad things were said about you?

A: It’s not so much all the stuff that was said about me. I think that emotional abuse has a continuum and a spectrum, and there were a lot of things done that I believe are emotional abuse.