Drone Whistleblower Subjected To Harsh Confinement Finally Released From Prison

Kevin Gosztola: The Dissenter

Drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was released from prison in February after spending 33 months in some of the harshest confinement conditions ever imposed on a person for disclosing classified information to the press.

Hale remains in federal custody but is living in home confinement until July.

Though President Donald Trump’s Justice Department indicted Hale, his case became the first major Espionage Act conviction secured by prosecutors under President Joe Biden.

Germany’s Scholz speaks out against Assange extradition

Deutsche Welle: DW.com

German Chancellor Scholz voices opposition to the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US, stressing the importance of fair treatment. He calls on UK courts to ensure Assange’s rights are protected.

Florida journalist indicted on allegations of conspiracy, computer fraud, wiretapping

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker Florida-based independent journalist Tim Burke was charged by the Justice Department with 14 felony counts alleging conspiracy, wiretapping and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, in an indictment unsealed on Feb. 21, 2024. FBI agents raided Burke’s home and office in May 2023 in connection to a criminal probe […]

Basic Press Freedoms Are at Stake in the Julian Assange Case

By Chip Gibbons: Jacobin.com

In Julian Assange’s ongoing extradition battle in the UK, the United States is asserting its right to track down any journalist anywhere in the world, seize them, haul them to the US, and throw them into a US prison.

A Visit To Julian Assange In Prison

By Jeffrey Sterling: ProgressiveHub.net

Much like prison visiting rules, use of the Espionage Act is arbitrary and punitive. Justice or security have nothing to do with it.

Talk World Radio: Jeffrey Sterling on Whistleblowers, Assange, and Iran

DavidSwanson.org

This week on Talk World Radio, we’re discussing whistleblowers and Julian Assange and Iran and Palestine with RootsAction Whistleblower Advocate Jeffrey Sterling.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Warrantless Collection of Personal Data

Congressional Progressive Caucus Center

Spying has been a practice of the U.S. government since its inception. Gathering intelligence is justified because it helps uncover malicious actions that could endanger the safety of Americans and people around the world. However, in many instances intelligence is gathered unlawfully on individuals who have no harmful intentions and in violation of Americans’ Fourth Amendment right to privacy. This explainer breaks down the various illegal spying practices the U.S. conducts and the reforms needed to ensure constitutional integrity.

Second Annual Ellsberg Lecture to Focus on ‘The Madness of Militarism’

UMass.edu

Journalist, author and antiwar organizer Norman Solomon presented the second annual Ellsberg Lecture, titled “The Madness of Militarism: Nothing can be Changed Until it is Faced,” on Nov. 15 in the Integrative Learning Center, room N151 and via Zoom.

FBI Director Admits Agency Rarely Has Probable Cause When It Performs Backdoor Searches Of NSA Collections

By Tim Cushing: TechDirt.com

After years of continuous, unrepentant abuse of surveillance powers, the FBI is facing the real possibility of seeing Section 702 curtailed, if not scuttled entirely.

Secretive White House Surveillance Program Gives Cops Access to Trillions of US Phone Records

Wired.com

A WIRED analysis of leaked police documents verifies that a secretive government program is allowing federal, state, and local law enforcement to access phone records of Americans who are not suspected of a crime.