 called a disgraceful sham conviction. Correspondent Emma Burrows reports the journal and U.S. officials think the espionage conviction is politically motivated. The trial was held behind closed doors, and the journal and senior U.S. officials dismissed it as a sham. Russian authorities claim Gershkovich was gathering secret information for American intelligence, but the Kremlin's been accused of detaining several U.S. citizens to use as bargaining chips in prisoner swaps.