Senators Call for Critically Needed Transparency About CIA Bulk Collection; Documents Declassified at Wyden and Heinrich’s Request

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called for new transparency about bulk surveillance conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, following the release of documents that revealed a secret bulk collection program and problems with how the agency searches and handles Americans’ information.

By Jesselyn Radack, William Neuheisel — CommonDreams.org

The New York Times’ investigation into the Pentagon’s civilian casualty files is some of the most important journalism in the War on Terror. It methodically and thoroughly picks apart the layers of lies around drone warfare and proves that the few examples of civilian casualties that have been investigated previously were not one-off mistakes. Unfortunately, this reporting comes too late for the civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria who bore the brunt of the brutal air campaigns.

By Sam Carliner – CommonDreams.org

The New York Times recently came through with a display of reporting that should be commended. On December 18, the paper announced its release of hundreds of the Pentagon’s confidential reports of civilian casualties caused by U.S. airstrikes in the Middle East. This followsits high profile investigations into the U.S. drone murder of the Ahmadi family during the Afghanistan withdrawal, and an American strike cell in Syria that killed dozens of civilians with airstrikes.

By Patrick G. Eddington — Cato.org

In passing the PATRIOT Act, Congress enacted a “solution” to preventing another 9/​11‐​like debacle without having any evidence that a lack of surveillance powers was what allowed Osama bin Laden’s suicide hijackers to succeed in killing nearly 3,000 Americans.

Attorney General Merrick Garland:

We, the undersigned press freedom, civil liberties, and international human
rights advocacy organizations, write again to share our profound concern about
the ongoing criminal and extradition proceedings relating to Julian Assange, the
founder of Wikileaks, under the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and
Abuse Act.

By: Jesselyn Radack & Kathleen McClellan

As attorneys representing dozens of national security whistleblowers who have been criminally investigated and prosecuted under the draconian Espionage Act for disclosing information in the public interest, we have long cautioned that the war on whistleblowers was a back-door way of going after journalists. That warning was borne out when the US brought criminal charges against Julian Assange for ordinary journalistic activity: investigating government wrongdoing, cultivating sources, and encouraging encryption. However, we now have proof that the situation was far more sinister than just criminalizing protected First Amendment activity. The CIA discussed how to kidnap or assassinate controversial Wikileaks founder Julian Assange — all the more audacious because Assange had been granted humanitarian asylum precisely because he had had valid fears of persecution based on his political opinion.

By Jesselyn Radack and Kathleen McClellan

In the chaotic last days of the war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told the press that the U.S. had executed a deadly drone strike that destroyed a vehicle containing “multiple suicide bombers.” Thanks to investigative journalists who dug deeper into the government’s vague and clinical “reports of civilian casualties,” we now know the strike killed at least 10 civilians, eight of them children. Journalists were not always so quick to question the U.S. drone program. Thanks to whistleblowers like Daniel Hale, who disclosed that civilian casualties were grossly underreported, the government’s word on “civilian casualties” is no longer the last word the public hears.

By Norman Solomon

One of the many preposterous claims coming from supporters of the vicious new Texas law against abortion is that bounty hunters — standing to gain a $10,000 reward from the state — will somehow be “whistleblowers.” The largest anti-abortion group in Texas is trying to attach the virtuous “whistleblower” label to predators who’ll file lawsuits against abortion providers and anyone who “aids or abets” a woman getting an abortion.

By Jeffrey Sterling : 22 August 21

Last month marked another notch on the weapon that is the Espionage Act, as it continues to be misused by the Department of Justice. Drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was sentenced to spend 45 months in federal prison. Once again, so-called justice in this country will subject a person of truth to the desolate confines of prison, not because of the rule of law and justice, but out of a continuing desire to retaliate against those who dare stand up for truth and accountability in our government.

Committee to Protect Journalists

Washington, D.C., August 12, 2021 — In response to Britain’s High Court decision yesterday to allow the United States government to expand its appeal to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: