For Whistleblowers, Journalism and Democracy
by Norman Solomon, opinion contributor: TheHill.com
Donald Trump and Daniel Hale have each been indicted on charges of violating the Espionage Act, but the similarity ends there. While the former president prepares for arraignment in a Miami federal courtroom this afternoon, Hale — a U.S. Air Force veteran and drone whistleblower — continues to serve a 45-month prison sentence.
Video by Big Brother Watch
3 intelligence agency whistleblowers, who are friends of Big Brother Watch, give their insights on Edward Snowden’s revelations, mass surveillance and the future of privacy.
The Stream: Aljazeera.com
It’s been over four years since Julian Assange was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorian embassy and placed in a high security prison in the UK, where he is battling extradition to the United States. The Wikileaks co-founder is wanted on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse for publishing documents that exposed US war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the US military prison at Guantánamo.
By Matthew Guariglia, Cindy Cohn, and Andrew Crocker: Electronic Frontier Foundation
On May 20, 2013, a young government contractor with an EFF sticker on his laptop disembarked a plane in Hong Kong carrying with him evidence confirming, among other things, that the United States government had been conducting mass surveillance on a global scale. What came next were weeks of disclosures—and official declassifications—as Edward Snowden worked with some of the world’s top news organizations to reveal critical facts about the National Security Agency vacuuming up people’s online communications, internet activity, and phone records, both inside and outside the U.S..
By Chip Gibbons: Defending Rights & Dissent
So long as protests are treated as national security and intelligence matters, national security and intelligence tools will be used to endanger political expression.
By Lisa Ling, Sarah Cords: The Progressive
Whistleblowers like Reality Winner and Daniel Hale acted on principle; the same can’t be said for alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira.
DETROIT — Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) led Congressmembers Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Cori Bush (MO-01), Greg Casar (TX-35), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the Department of Justice to uphold the First Amendment’s protections for the freedom of the press by dropping the Trump-era charges against Australian publisher Julian Assange and withdrawing the American extradition request currently pending with the British government.
By RootsAction
Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg helped to end the Vietnam War when he bravely provided the Pentagon Papers to media outlets in 1971. Ever since then, he has been a tireless and inspiring advocate for peace and prevention of nuclear war.
By Todd Miller : Institute for Public Accuracy
Miller writes at The Border Chronicle and just wrote the piece “Autonomous Surveillance Towers Are Creeping Up the California Coast.”
Launched by the Institute for Public Accuracy in June 2014, ExposeFacts.org represents a new approach for encouraging whistleblowers to disclose information that citizens need in order to make truly informed decisions in a democracy. From the outset, our message is clear: “Whistleblowers Welcome at ExposeFacts.org.”
ExposeFacts aims to shed light on concealed activities that are relevant to human rights, corporate malfeasance, the environment, civil liberties and war. At a time when key provisions of the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments are under assault, we are standing up for a free press, privacy, transparency and due process as we seek to reveal official information—whether governmental or corporate—that the public has a right to know. More information
A Tale of Two Espionage Act Defendants: Trump and a Drone Whistleblower
Institute for Public Accuracy
Former President Trump is facing 31 counts under the Espionage Act, the same federal statute that was the basis for the prosecution of U.S. Air Force veteran Daniel Hale, who is now serving a 45-month prison sentence as a drone whistleblower.