whistleblower

This week friend of the show Kevin Gosztola of Shadowproof.com joined me to discuss the latest developments with Julian Assange. Kevin explained the charges that have been brought against Assange and the spin they have received in the media. He talked about the use of term “hacking” and why that is, in fact, an incorrect definition of what Assange has actually been charged with. Kevin also talked about Chelsea Manning who is still in jail after losing a recent appeal.

I don’t know if I’d have the nerve to be a whistleblower. I’d like to think I would. We all like to think we would, just like we all like to think we could catch the game-winning touchdown, triumph on “America’s Got Talent,” and fold a fitted sheet quickly and without cursing.

Last year I wrote about a whistleblower from New England who took direct action to save a child’s life and who paid for it with his freedom.  Marty Gottesfeld is now serving 10 years in prison for trying to save Justina Pelletier from abuse at the hands of her doctors at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Marty Gottesfeld is a reminder of the Justice Department’s determination to silence truthtellers, writes John Kiriakou. By John Kiriakou Special to Consortium News Last year I wrote about a whistleblower from New England who took direct action to save a child’s…Read more →

In an interview with Consortium News Editor-in-Chief Joe Lauria, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg says the Espionage Act, under which he was indicted, cannot apply to Julian Assange because he is a journalist. 
Speaking during an online vigil for Assange organized by Unity4J.com, Ellsberg told Lauria that the motive for U.S. leaders to protect their secrets and go after Assange has nothing to do with their mantra of “national security.”

Former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at a federal courthouse in Augusta, Georgia. It was part of a plea agreement approved by the court, where Winner admitted she disclosed classified information in violation of the Espionage Act.

When a loosely knit group, the Whistleblower Support Network, put up a billboard in Augusta, Georgia, for NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, it did not take long for a federal judge hearing the case to scold defense attorneys.
However, Winner’s defense had absolutely nothing to do with the billboard, which went up on June 6, before Winner accepted a plea agreement from the United States government. It was put up by activists, who did not coordinate at all with her attorneys.

Support of Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian Embassy (Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge, London). Marshall24 /Flickr

In the first hour Paul Wright of the Human Rights Defense Center and Prison Legal News joins me to discuss prisoner rights. We talk about the current state of America’s 2.5 million incarcerated individuals and the tremendous hardships they face. Paul talks about the legacy of Prison Legal News and how it represents one of the only truly independent media outlets talking about the prison system.

Former NSA contractor Reality Winner pled guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act when she disclosed an NSA report that claimed Russian hackers targeted United States voter registration systems in the 2016 election.
The guilty plea was part of a change of plea hearing in federal court in Augusta, Georgia, and the result of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Under the plea agreement, the government agreed to offer her 63 months in prison. That is five years and three months. The maximum sentence for a violation of the Espionage Act is 10 years.