Justice Dept. and Julian Assange reach plea deal in case that threatens press freedom
AP Photo/Cliff Owen
The Espionage Act is an unconstitutional law used to prosecute whistleblowers and news publishers.
The Espionage Act is a broad secrecy law that outlaws the sharing of defense information with anyone, for any reason.
In recent years, the law has been wielded to stifle dissent and journalism. Whistleblowers have been imprisoned under the law. It’s also been used against journalists and news outlets that publish government secrets.
We must reform the Espionage Act to distinguish between spying and the exposing of wrongdoing.
Featured Items
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Chelsea Manning speaks from behind bars in new podcast
Amnesty International released a podcast with Chelsea Manning today. Listen here.
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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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Freedom of the Press Foundation's comment to the UN on the protection of sources and whistleblowers
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, recently called for outside comments on the protection of sources and whistleblowers around the world and will be presenting a report on the subject to the UN General Assembly in October 2015. Freedom of the Press Foundation submitted …
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Snowden DoublePlusUngood: Continuing shades of Orwell in the NSA saga
It was great to read this Edward Snowden New York Times op-ed—great because the piece is as thoughtful and informative as you’d expect, and even better because it’s an example of Snowden’s continuing ability to raise awareness of the dangers of an unchecked surveillance state. In fact, Snowden has …
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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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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 convict Jeffrey Sterling for retroactively classified documents about rotary phones
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. After a week of ominous language about the dangers of leaking classified documents, the 14 jurors in the Jeffrey Sterling trial Tuesday got their first look at purportedly classified …
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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 …
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Leak trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling: Merlin meets Curveball
We're republishing Marcy Wheeler's coverage of the trial of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling. The following post first appeared at ExposeFacts. “Very often you get a curveball thrown at you.” When Bob S, a longtime CIA operations manager working on Weapons of Mass Destruction described the ambiguity common on CIA …
