Way back at the beginning, Thiel and Mr. A decided on limiting themselves to ethical and legal means of remedy against Gawker, because as Thiel had said, secrets often have expiration dates. Mr. A had begun exploring bankruptcy lawyers in anticipation of a favorable verdict as early as 2015, but he had made fewer preparations for a favorable verdict where the curtain was pulled back and the puppet masters revealed. Where was the contingency plan? Why hadn’t a draft of the op-ed been written long in advance? Why hadn’t an entire public relations plan been developed for the endgame?
