Kirkus Review: A CIA whistleblower tells his tale.

By KirkusReviews.com

Jeffrey Sterling Unwanted Spy bookSterling, a lawyer who spent eight years in the CIA, relates his life story and the details of what he maintains was a phony conviction for espionage. “During the trial,” he writes, “the government did not present a shred of hard evidence to validate the charges against me.

‘Huge Victory for Press Freedom’: Brazil Supreme Court Bars Bolsonaro From Investigating Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept

By Jake Johnson, staff writer – Common Dreams

Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept, applauded the court for protecting journalism against “repressive, retaliatory acts threatened by the Bolsonaro government”

RSF launches International Appeal for support for The Intercept Brasil’s staff

By Reporters Without Borders

In a message published today (31 July) and co-signed by leading international and Brazilian free speech organizations, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) appeals for support for the staff of The Intercept Brasil, a Rio de Janeiro-based investigative news website that has been the target of a fierce campaign of harassment and intimidation since 9 June.

Messenger: The unwanted spy returns home to Missouri and searches for a sense of belonging

By Tony Messenger : St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jeffrey Sterling was a man without a country.

It was May 2016 and the former CIA spy was watching television in the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, Colorado. He was in the black TV room.

In prison, Sterling says, everything was segregated. There was a black TV room, a white TV room, a Hispanic TV room.

Whistleblowers, Journalists, and Free Press Advocates Condemn Espionage Act Charges Against Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale

By Rights & Dissent

One hundred and seventy three individuals and 50 organizations have joined Defending Rights Dissent, Roots Action, and the Whistleblower Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at Expose Facts in condemning the Espionage Act charges against drone whistleblower Daniel Hale. Included among the signatories are other whistleblowers who have been victims of Espionage Act abuse, including Daniel Ellsberg, Thomas Drake, John Kiriakiou, and Jeffrey Sterling.

Outrageous raids on journalists in Australia and elsewhere threaten press freedom

By Camille Fassett — Freedom of the Press Foundation

Australian authorities raided the home and electronic devices of journalist Annika Smethurst on Tuesday [June 4], and the headquarters of ABC News in Sydney on Wednesday [June 5]. These incidents are the latest in a string of instances — in no way limited to Australia — of government targeting of journalists for their reporting.

Daniel Ellsberg on the Release of the “Top Secret” Pentagon Papers

By SHARMINI PERIES — The Real News Network

On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg describes the tension waiting for the publishing of the story: “The Times was on lock down with armed guards… they were fearing an injunction”

Press freedom advocates and news outlets strongly condemn new charges against Julian Assange

By Camille Fassett – Freedom of the Press Foundation (5/24/19)

Yesterday, Trump’s Justice Department used an indictment against WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange for publishing secret government documents under the Espionage Act of 1917.

The Espionage Act, originally intended for use against spies, has been wielded against as sources of journalists and whistleblowers in recent decades, but never a publisher or a journalist. These new charges against him are unprecedented and threaten to criminalize national security reporting in the United States.

He Helped Reveal How U.S. Drone Strikes Were Killing Innocents. The Feds Just Charged Him With Espionage.

By Scott Shackford – Reason

A former Air Force intelligence officer has been arrested and charged with espionage for leaking information to the press detailing how the U.S. government uses armed drones for secret assassination missions in foreign countries.

Daniel Everette Hale, 31, of Nashville, was arrested this morning. According to the Justice Department, Hale, during his time in the Air Force as an intelligence analyst, and then later as a private sector employee of a defense contractor, passed along top secret documents to a reporter, some of which were published.

U.S. Air Force drone tech turned human rights activist speaks at University of Oregon

By Nolan Good – Daily Emerald

Former U.S. Air Force drone technician and human rights activist Cian Westmoreland, who made the news in 2015 when he spoke out against the use of military drones in combat, spoke at the University of Oregon this Thursday. The talk was part of a five-city “Whistleblower Tour” through Oregon.

Westmoreland helped to construct a relay system that sent aerial footage to drone operators when he was stationed on a U.S. Air Force base in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He has since called it a “sword of Damocles over the Afghan panopticon,” that hurt innocent people. After leaving the Air Force, Westmoreland became a human rights activist and has spoken publicly about the dark side of modern warfare.