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US officials have no problem leaking classified information about surveillance—as long as it fits their narrative
In the past few days there have been a flurry of stories about the Russian plane that crashed in the Sinai peninsula, which investigators reportedly think may have been caused by a bomb. Notably, anonymous US officials have been leaking to journalists that they believe ISIS is involved, and it’s …
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Announcing major new crowd-funding effort to help pay for Chelsea Manning’s legal appeal
Today we’re proud to announce a major new crowd-funding campaign in support of whistleblower Chelsea Manning to help pay for her important legal appeal. Chelsea is currently in the process challenging of her unjust Espionage Act conviction and draconian 35-year jail sentence at the Army Court of Appeals. First Look …
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US officials leak information about the ISIS raid that’s more sensitive than anything Snowden ever leaked
Over the weekend, the US government announced that special forces soldiers entered Syria to conduct a raid that killed an alleged leader of ISIS, Abu Sayyaf. In the process, anonymous US officials leaked classified information to the New York Times that’s much more sensitive than anything Edward Snowden ever revealed, …
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David Petraeus receives no jail time for leaking, while whistleblowers face decades in jail
Former CIA director David Petraeus received his sentence today for the sweetheart plea deal he struck with the Justice Department after he was discovered to have leaked highly classified information to his biographer and lover Paula Broadwell. As was widely anticipated, the celebrated general received no jail time and instead …
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The James Risen case and Eric Holder's tarnished press freedom legacy
Attorney General Holder raised some eyebrows yesterday when answering a question about his Justice Department’s notorious crackdown on leaks, and by extension the press, most notably saying this about its notorious pursuit of New York Times reporter James Risen, while claiming the DOJ did nothing wrong:
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Jury convicts CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling on all nine counts including espionage
The following post first appeared at emptywheel.net. After having deliberated for slightly over 2 days, the jury today found Jeffrey Sterling guilty of all nine counts today. I’m not surprised the jury found Sterling guilty of some of the charges: of leaking Risen information on Merlin and the operation he …
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The Jeffrey Sterling CIA leak trial closing arguments: Who Is the hero, who Is the storyteller?
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. “Jeffrey Sterling was the hero of Risen’s story,” prosecutor Eric Olshan finished his closing argument in the Jeffrey Sterling trial. “Don’t let him be the hero of this one.” …
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Government tries to implicate CIA whistleblower in leak case with calls to CIA’s house reporter
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. The FBI Special Agent who investigated the Merlin leak, Ashley Hunt, testified on Wednesday. Much of the evidence she entered into the record pertained to the (remarkably limited) phone …
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Digital security lessons from the Barrett Brown case
During a hearing last month in the case of Barrett Brown — a jailed journalist known for his advocacy of the hacktivist collective Anonymous — the Justice Department (DOJ) entered into the court record 500 pages of evidence containing e-mails and chat logs that it claimed would demonstrate “relevant conduct” …
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In which the government's case against CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling descends into desperation
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. Coming back into the courtroom after a break in the Jeffrey Sterling trial this afternoon, I heard an odd conversation. Apparently the government had unsuccessfully tried to get the …