WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face extradition hearing in U.K.

Committee to Protect Journalists

Washington, D.C., February 21, 2020 — The United Kingdom should not extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges in the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Over 40 press freedom and civil liberties groups, including ExposeFacts, denounce Brazil’s charges against Glenn Greenwald

By Parker Higgins – Freedom of the Press Foundation

In an open letter today, more than 40 press freedom and civil liberties groups strongly condemned the “cybercrime” charges against Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald and demanded that Brazilian authorities renounce them immediately.

Still Spying on Dissent

By Chip Gibbons — Defending Rights & Dissent

Throughout its history, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has used its expansive powers to investigate, monitor, and surveil First Amendment-protected activity. As early as 1924, public concern about the FBI’s violation of First Amendment rights and other civil liberties spurred official attempts to check the FBI’s power. This report covers FBI surveillance of political activity over roughly the past decade.

Restore the Fourth, 18 Allies Ask Congress To Investigate FBI Monitoring

From Restore The Fourth

Dear Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Feinstein, and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

The Inspector-General’s report into the mishandled Carter Page case shows vividly that FBI agents engage in serious abuses with respect to domestic surveillance, and misuse powers intended for foreign intelligence to conduct surveillance of American citizens,[1] despite prior efforts by Congress to rein in FBI domestic surveillance dating back to the 1970s. This report, and the delay in consideration of the expiring PATRIOT Act Section 215 to March 2020, create an opportunity for hearings into abusive FBI practices with respect to domestic surveillance.

How a Government Censored an NSA Whistleblower

by Thomas Drake — Common Dreams

It was the head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre who finally admitted before an Australian Parliament committee that she had unilaterally directed and pressured the CyberCon conference to drop myself and an academic research professor (an Australian citizen) from the University of Melbourne as speakers.

Demand Progress Statement on DOJ IG Report’s Revelations of “extensive compliance failures”

On December 9, 2019, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice released its review of “Crossfire Hurricane,” an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign for president coordinated with the Russian government’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 elections.

To Protect the Fourth Amendment, We Need to Push Back Against the Patriot Act

Rolling back key aspects of the military-industrial-surveillance complex cannot be accomplished without putting up a huge fight.

By Norman Solomon – Common Dreams

Why the Hell Did Democrats Just Extend the Patriot Act?

By Sam Adler-Bell : The New Republic

House leadership included the measure in a government funding bill—and even members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus went along with it.

CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling discusses new memoir, “Unwanted Spy”

By Good Morning Washington – WJLA.com

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Former CIA analyst and author of “Unwanted Spy” Jeffrey Sterling shares his long-fought battle for justice and equality.

Report Exposes FBI’s Systemic Surveillance of Activists

By Chip Gibbons – RightsAndDissent.org

A new report from Defending Rights & Dissent finds that nearly every major social movement of the past decade — including Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock protesters, environmental activists, and supporters of Palestinian rights — has been targeted by the FBI.​