OMNI
WIKILEAKS/ASSANGE NEWSLETTER #16,
August 15, 2021
US PERSECUTION OF PUBLISHER ASSANGE
Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology
(#9 July 21, 2011; #10, Jan. 30, 2012, #11, May 25, 2018; #12, April 14, 2019; #13, Feb. 20, 2020; #14, Oct. 6, 2020; #15, Jan. 11, 2021).
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CONTENTS: WIKILEAKS/ASSANGE NEWSLETTER #16
Introduction by Janine Jackson Interviewing Chip Gibbons
Comparison: Daniel Hale to Be Sentenced July 27, 2021 under Espionage Act
And Nazi Courts
And British Justice
Corporate Media Underreports Lying by Gov. Witness
Marion Tichenor’s Letter Supporting Assange and Whistleblowers
Corporate Media Lying by Omission
6 BOOKS ON OR BY ASSANGE FROM OR BOOKS
Assange Still in Jail
Julian Is Suffering: His Family in US: Amy Goodman Interviews Assange’s
Father and Brother
Common Dreams Interviews Father and Brother
John Pilger, “The Stalinist Trial of Julian Assange”
TEXTS
OCTOBER 15, 2020 [Introduction and overview]
‘Persecuting Assange Is a Real Blow to Reporting and Human Rights Advocacy’
CounterSpin interview with Chip Gibbons on Assange extradition
Janine Jackson interviewed Defending Rights & Dissent’s Chip Gibbons about Julian Assange’s extradition hearing for the October 9, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.
CounterSpin Chip Gibbons Interview
Shadowproof (9/29/20)
Janine Jackson: If it were not for a tiny handful of journalists—ShadowProof’s Kevin Gosztola preeminent among them—Americans might be utterly unaware that a London magistrate, for the last month, has been considering nothing less than whether journalists have a right to publish information the US government doesn’t want them to. Not whether outlets can leak classified information, but whether they can publish that information on, as in the case of Wikileaks, US war crimes and torture and assorted malfeasance to do with, for instance, the war on Afghanistan, which just entered its 19th year, with zero US corporate media interest.
Assange’s case, the unprecedented use of the Espionage Act to go after a journalist, has dire implications for all reporters. But this country’s elite press corps have evidently decided they can simply whistle past it, perhaps hoping that if and when the state comes after them, they’ll make a more sympathetic victim.
Joining us now to discuss the case is Chip Gibbons. He’s policy director at Defending Rights & Dissent. He joins us now by phone from Washington, DC. Welcome back to countersign, Chip Gibbons.
Chip Gibbons: Always a pleasure to be on CounterSpin.
JJ: I wondered, first, given the absence of US news media attention, if you could tell us just what’s happening? I mean, it’s a hearing for Julian Assange’s extradition, but in the very informative webinar that Defending Rights & Dissent did last night with Kevin Gosztola of ShadowProof, who’s pretty much single-handedly reporting on this, he called it a “trial.” So it feels like things are shifting around, just in terms of what this means, and so, if it’s not too crazy a question: What’s going on?
CG: Sure. So the US has indicted Julian Assange with 17 counts under the Espionage Act, as well as a count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Assange is not a US person; he’s an Australian national. He was inside the Ecuadorian embassy for a number of years, as Ecuador had granted him asylum, and the UK had refused to basically recognize that and let him leave the country, so he was de facto imprisoned inside the embassy. And after the indictment the US issued, the new government of Ecuador—which is much less sympathetic to Assange than the previous Correa government—let the US come in the embassy and seize him.
And the US is seeking Assange’s extradition to the US from the UK. I guess it’s, probably, technically a hearing, but Kevin’s point was that it’s more like what we would think of as a trial, in that there’s different witnesses, there’s expert testimony, there’s different legal arguments at stake.
The defense, the witness portion of it, has closed; it ended last week. And there’s going to be closing arguments submitted in writing, and then the judge will render a decision, and that decision will be appealable by either side. So regardless of the outcome, we can expect appeals. So it does very closely mirror what we would think of more like a trial than a hearing in the US court context.
It’s important to really understand what’s at stake with Assange’s extradition. He is the first person ever indicted by the US government under the Espionage Act for publishing truthful information.
The US government has considered indicting journalists before: They considered indicting Seymour Hersh, a very famous investigative reporter. They considered indicting James Bamford, because he had the audacity to try to write a book on the National Security Agency. But they’ve never done that.
And Obama’s administration looked at the idea of indicting Assange and said, “No, this would violate the First Amendment, and it would open the door to all kinds of other bad things.” But the Trump administration clearly doesn’t have those qualms.
And it’s worth pointing out that Assange’s indictment follows an unprecedented period, initiated by the Obama administration, of indicting whistleblowers or journalists’ sources under the Espionage Act. So we’ve seen Chelsea Manning indicted, we’ve seen Edward Snowden indicted under the Espionage Act, but to indict the journalists, though, is a real new step, and not for the best.
JJ: And that’s what I wanted to just to underscore, or ask you to: We do have rules around journalists being provided materials that might be hacked, or that might be illegally obtained, or that might be leaked. Journalists have a right—I mean, through this murkiness—journalists have a right to publish information, even if that information is illegally obtained. Is that not true?
Chip Gibbons: “Julian Assange is accused of publishing information about war crimes, about human rights abuses and about abuses of power, that have been tremendously important, not just for the public’s right to know, but also have made a real difference in advocacy around those issues.”
CG: That’s what the Supreme Court has said in the past; that is the precedent, and I believe that is what prevented the Obama administration from moving against Assange. It is very interesting to see how this plays out in a US court in the current environment. If whoever—Trump or Biden, whoever is president, when this finally comes to the US—actually pursues this, and they actually are allowing the persecution of journalists, that’s going to be a really dark, dark assault on free expression rights.
And it’s worth remembering—and Julian Assange is clearly very reviled in the corporate media and the political establishment right now—but the information he leaked came from Chelsea Manning, it dealt with US war crimes; and he worked with the New York Times, the Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Al Jazeera, to publish this information. So if he can go to jail for publishing this, why can’t the New York Times? And is that a door anyone wants to open? There is a big press freedom angle here.
I also want to talk about the facts, though: What did Julian Assange publish, and why did it matter? One of the witnesses that took the stand in his defense was Clive Stafford Smith, who’s one of the founders of Reprieve UK; he’s represented men detained at Guantánamo Bay and victims of US drone strikes, and he discussed how the information published by WikiLeaks, given by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, has aided their work, including getting a court ruling in Pakistan, saying that US drone strikes were illegal and constituted a war crime. And other people who have done advocacy or journalism around Guantánamo testified about how Wikileaks published the Guantánamo Bay files, which showed how the US government was holding people it didn’t suspect of any crimes.
Julian Assange is accused of publishing information about war crimes, about human rights abuses and about abuses of power, that have been tremendously important, not just for the public’s right to know, but also have made a real difference in advocacy around those issues. People were able to go and get justice for victims of rendition, or able to go and get court rulings in other countries about US drone strikes, because of this information being in the public domain. So attacking Assange, persecuting Assange, disappearing him into a supermax prison, this is a real blow to reporting and human rights advocacy.
And Assange isn’t even a US national, he’s an Australian citizen; he didn’t publish this information in this country. So, basically, the US is saying that if you exist anywhere in the world, and you’re a journalist, and you do what I would call journalism—exposing the crimes of the powerful; I know, a lot of journalists in this country don’t do that—but they can come and charge you with espionage, put you in solitary confinement, put you in a supermax prison?
We miss how high the stakes are in this country on this issue, but it’s not lost on the rest of the world. Look at who are Julian Assange’s supporters: He has on his defense team Baltasar Garzón, who’s the very famous Spanish ex-judge who indicted Pinochet; his main attorney, Jennifer Robinson, is a famed human rights attorney who, in addition to representing Assange, has used information released by WikiLeaks in her other human rights cases.
His international supporters include:
Jeremy Corbyn, the member of the British Parliament;
Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece;
Lula, the former president of Brazil, who himself was a political prisoner;
Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador, who granted him asylum and has now had to leave the country as a victim of lawfare, continues to support him—you oftentimes see in the media, he “wore out his welcome with Ecuador”; that’s not true, the Ecuadorian government officials who granted him asylum still support him;
Jean-luc Mélenchon, the French left-wing insurgent candidate.
So if you look around the world, high-profile left-wing politicians, including current and former heads of state and internationally renowned human rights activists, support Assange, and that’s because they understand this is about exposing war crimes, this is about exposing human rights abuses. And I wish more people in the US would realize that’s what’s going on here.
another link:
https://fair.org/home/persecuting-assange-is-a-real-blow-to-reporting-and-human-rights-advocacy/
ANALOGY
DANIEL HALE TO BE SENTENCED JULY 27, 2021
Urgent: Stand With Whistleblower Daniel Hale
7-19-21 | 1:42 PM (2 hours ago) |
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Analogy: Nazi Courts and US ESPIONAGE ACT
Comparisons with Hans Litten and Daniel Hale, Defenders of Truth
Assange reminds me of Hans Litten, truthteller and civil liberties hero under the Nazis. In 1931 Nazi power was increasing rapidly. As they gained 37% of the electorate in national elections, Hitler was in reach of the Chancellorship. During 1932-33, his Storm Troopers were less and less constrained by the courts, as the German judicial system and the police became riddled by Nazis.
One lawyer especially stood against them: Hans Litten. At first he won cases against the brutal troopers. But he was eventually overwhelmed and died in a Nazi prison.
I see parallels with Julian Assange, and am reassured somewhat by the showing of a documentary on PBS about the rise of Hitler, where I learned about Litten. Perhaps someone will write a book or play about them, or make the connections in demonstrations.
Dick
A day in the death of British justice
Editor. Mronline.org (8-15-21).
The reputation of British justice now rests on the shoulders of the High Court in the life or death case of Julian Assange.
A Remarkable Silence: Media blackout after key witness against Assange admits lying. Editor. Mronline.org (7-9-21).
As we have pointed out since Media Lens began in 2001, a fundamental feature of corporate media is propaganda by omission. Over the past week, a stunning example has highlighted this core property once again.
July 8, 2021 | Newswire
Letter to Gov.'t officials in Assange's defense by local resident
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Hello Family and Friends,
I have attached a letter that I will send to the U.S. governmental officials in support of Julian Assange's release. There is a lot of information on the web assangedefense.org/take-action/.
I pray for our freedom and that of other nations.
Marion
July 4, 2021
1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In order to preserve law and order, to keep a civilized world from being barbaric by upholding in place and an accountable system of truth and justice for all, we need to acknowledge the difference between a traitor/spy and that of a whistleblower and not impede a whistleblower’s abilities to act in reporting criminal cover ups and wrong actions. This delineation is crucial to ensure the present and future safety and wellbeing of the people or person being endangered, effected and lied to by a criminal conspiracy, as well as for the protection of the whistleblowers themselves.
Covering up and keeping criminal acts secret from the public, by not exposing and reporting evidence and news of this nature to the public, implicates the person(s) involved with the known information to be an accomplice in the crime. A whistleblower is representing and presenting correct information. They should be in their legal right to take action to address the matter at hand. A whistleblower incurs financial and personal risks and hardships, as well as risk to their professional standing.
Julian Assange and all whistleblowers being improperly charged under the antiquated Espionage Act of 1917 should be exonerated of all charges filed against them relating to their receipt and publication of classified military documents and diplomatic cables. Julian Assange is not a U.S. citizen and should not be subject to U.S. laws. The U.S. Espionage Act of 1917 is a U.S. statute and it is not any part of any international law codes.
Julian Assange and whistleblowers should also be compensated for all cost which have occurred and/or are presently ongoing due to confinements while in asylum and imprisonment.
Thank you for your time in consideration of this matter.
[VFP-all] Media Blackout After Key Witness Against Julian Assange Admits Lying
7-3-21 | 10:31 AM (21 minutes ago) |
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The corporate media constantly lies, including by omission, as with this important development in the U.S. extradition case against Julian Assange.
https://popularresistance.org/media-blackout-after-key-witness-against-assange-admits-lying/
BOOKS ON ASSANGE
Six Books by or about Assange. Thanks to OR Books
BOOKS FOR SALE BY PM PRESS 7-2021
Julian Assange is the founder and publisher of WikiLeaks and the author of When Google Met WikiLeaks (OR Books, 2014) and Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet (OR Books, 2012).
Julian has won many awards for his journalism including the Amnesty International UK Media Award, Economist Award, Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, Sydney Peace Foundation Prize, Walkley Award and many more.
Articles by Julian Assange have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek and the Guardian. Nominated for the Nobel peace prize on numerous occasions his work as a journalist and publisher, and as a campaigner for freedom of expression, has been recognized at the highest level.
JULIAN ASSANGE IN HIS OWN WORDS. Compiled and edited by Karen Sharpe.
Publisher’s Description: Julian Assange In His Own Words provides a highly accessible survey of Assange’s philosophy and politics, conveying his views on how governments, corporations, the military, and the press function. As well as addressing the significance of the vast trove of leaked documents published by WikiLeaks, Assange draws on a polymathic intelligence to range freely over quantum physics, Greek mythology, macroeconomics, modern literature, and empires old and new.
ttps://www.orbooks.com › catalog › julian-assange-in-... Julian Assange In His Own Words provides a highly accessible survey of Assange's philosophy and politics, conveying his views on how governments, ...
IN DEFENSE OF JULIAN ASSANGE. Edited by Tariq Ali and Margaret Kunstler.
Publisher’s description
The charges Assange faces are a major threat to press freedom. A wide range of distinguished contributors, many of them in original pieces, here set out the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, the importance of their work, and the dangers for us all in the persecution they face. In Defense of Julian Assange is a vivid, vital intervention into one of the most important political issues of our day.
In Defense of Julian Assange - Edited by Tariq Ali & Margaret ...
https://www.orbooks.com › catalog › in-defense-of-juli... It is critical now to build support for Assange and prevent his delivery into the hands of the Trump administration. That is the urgent purpose of this book ...
WHEN GOOGLE MET WIKILEAKS
Julian Assange and the chairman of Google Eric Schmidt debate the political problems faced by society, and the technological solutions engendered by the global network—and outline radically opposing perspectives.
CYPHERPUNKS: Freedom and the Future of the Internet by Julian Assange
Julian Assange brings together a small group of cutting-edge thinkers and activists from the front line of the battle for cyber-space to discuss whether electronic communications will emancipate or enslave us.
WE ARE MILLIONS from The Courage Foundation
This book is part of the Courage Foundation’s #WeAreMillions, an arts project demonstrating the global support for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange as he fights extradition to the United States. #WeAreMillions features striking black and white images of supporters holding signs that express simply and clearly why they are standing up for Julian Assange. The supporters are young and old, well-known and anonymous, and from all around the world.
WOMEN, WHISTLEBLOWING, WIKILEAKS: A Conversation by Renata Avila, Sarah Harrison, and Angela Richter. Why are whistleblowing and digital dissidence presented by the media as so heavily male dominated? Three activists and digital rights advocates discuss.
Editor. Mronline.org (6-25-21). Julian Assange remains in a maximum security jail, despite never being sentenced for anything but a long ago served spell for bail-jumping, and despite the U.S. Government’s request for extradition having been refused.
June 24, 2021 | Newswire
[VFP-all] "Julian Is Suffering": Family of WikiLeaks Founder Assange in U.S. to Demand His Release from Prison - Democracy Now - June 11th, 2021
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The U.S. State Department is pushing to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from Britain, where Biden is now meeting with leaders during the G7 summit. A U.K. judge blocked Assange’s extradition in January, citing serious mental health concerns. Assange faces up to 175 years in prison if brought to the U.S., where he was indicted for violations of the Espionage Act related to the publication of classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. We speak with Assange’s father and half-brother, who are on a tour of the United States to advocate for his release. “The G7 meeting is based upon values, and yet they have, just a few kilometers down the road, a foremost journalist in jail,” says John Shipton. Assange is a victim of “an abusive process” meant to punish him for his journalism, adds Gabriel Shipton. “The situation there is really dire, and Julian is suffering inside that prison.”
GUESTS - Gabriel Shipton, Filmmaker and Julian Assange’s half-brother. John Shipton, Father of Julian Assange.
Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The Quarantine Report. I’m Amy Goodman. By the way, you can sign up for our daily news digest email by texting the word “democracynow” — one word, no space — to 66866 and get our headlines and news alerts. That’s “democracynow” — one word — to 66866.
The U.S. State Department has pushed to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from Britain, where he has been locked up for over two years after being dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was taking refuge. President Joe Biden is now meeting with world leaders in the U.K. during the G7 summit. A U.K. judge blocked Assange’s extradition in January, citing serious mental health concerns. Assange was indicted for violations of the U.S. Espionage Actrelated to the publication of classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes. He faces up to 175 years in prison, if brought to the U.S.
On Thursday, the British Parliament held a debate on the safety of journalists, where
Labour lawmaker Richard Burgon addressed Assange’s case. www.democracynow.org/2021/6/11/julian_assange_extradition?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=c7ff82e4ce-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-c7ff82e4ce-190621981
Julian Assange's Father and Brother Announce US Tour to Demand Journalist's Freedom. Common Dreams. May 28, 2021
"Gabriel and I are excited to talk to the American public on why protecting journalism and freeing Julian is so important to a free press," says John Shipton, the WikiLeaks founder's father.
May 28, 2021
The father and brother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are planning a nationwide tour of the United States next month to advocate for the release of the detained journalist and for the Biden administration to drop its extradition effort—and to highlight the broader implications that his prosecution has for global press freedom.
"The U.S. government wants to make an example out of him to deter journalists and whistleblowers."
—Gabriel Shipton, Julian Assange's brother
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/05/28/julian-assanges-father-and-brother-announce-us-tour-demand-journalists-freedom Donate now
[VFP-all] John Pilger: The Stalinist trial of Julian Assange – press freedom in the dock
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Great article by an impeccable Journalist. John Pilger is someone we can trust without reservation. Thanks Gerry.
In 2008, a top secret US State Department report described in detail how the United States would combat this new moral threat. A secretly-directed personal smear campaign against Julian Assange would lead to “exposure [and] criminal prosecution”.
From: Gerry Condon <projectsafehaven@hotmail.com>
Subject: {VFP Standing Rock} John Pilger: The Stalinist trial of Julian Assange – press freedom in the dock
Date: 8 June 2021 at 16:22:54 GMT-4
To: "gerrycondon@veteransforpeace.org"<gerrycondon@veteransforpeace.org>
Please read what John Pilger, one of the best investigative journalists in the world, has to say about Julian Assange.
By Pacific Media Watch, September 8, 2020.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange ... the aim was to silence and criminalise WikiLeaks and its founder. Image: johnpilger.com
ANALYSIS: By John Pilger in London
When I first met Julian Assange more than 10 years ago, I asked him why he had started WikiLeaks. He replied: “Transparency and accountability are moral issues that must be the essence of public life and journalism.”
I had never heard a publisher or an editor invoke morality in this way. Assange believes that journalists are the agents of people, not power: that we, the people, have a right to know about the darkest secrets of those who claim to act in our name.
If the powerful lie to us, we have the right to know. If they say one thing in private and the opposite in public, we have the right to know. If they conspire against us, as Bush and Blair did over Iraq, then pretend to be democrats, we have the right to know.
· READ MORE: For years, journalists cheered Assange’s abuse. Now they have his path to a US gulag
· Assange’s UK detention violates international law – Australia must intervene
It is this morality of purpose that so threatens the collusion of powers that wants to plunge much of the world into war and wants to bury Julian alive in Trumps fascist America.
In 2008, a top secret US State Department report described in detail how the United States would combat this new moral threat. A secretly-directed personal smear campaign against Julian Assange would lead to “exposure [and] criminal prosecution”.
The aim was to silence and criminalise WikiLeaks and its founder. Page after page revealed a coming war on a single human being and on the very principle of freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and democracy.
The imperial shock troops would be those who called themselves journalists: the big hitters of the so-called mainstream, especially the “liberals” who mark and patrol the perimeters of dissent.
Fabricated character assassination
And that is what happened. I have been a reporter for more than 50 years and I have never known a smear campaign like it: the fabricated character assassination of a man who refused to join the club: who believed journalism was a service to the public, never to those above.
Assange shamed his persecutors. He produced scoop after scoop. He exposed the fraudulence of wars promoted by the media and the homicidal nature of America’s wars, the corruption of dictators, the evils of Guantanamo.
He forced us in the West to look in the mirror. He exposed the official truth-tellers in the media as collaborators: those I would call Vichy journalists. None of these imposters believed Assange when he warned that his life was in danger: that the “sex scandal” in Sweden was a set up and an American hellhole was the ultimate destination. And he was right, and repeatedly right.
The extradition hearing in London this week is the final act of an Anglo-American campaign to bury Julian Assange. It is not due process. It is due revenge. The American indictment is clearly rigged, a demonstrable sham. So far, the hearings have been reminiscent of their Stalinist equivalents during the Cold War.
Today, the land that gave us Magna Carta, Great Britain, is distinguished by the abandonment of its own sovereignty in allowing a malign foreign power to manipulate justice and by the vicious psychological torture of Julian – a form of torture, as Nils Melzer, the UN expert has pointed out, that was refined by the Nazis because it was most effective in breaking its victims.
Every time I have visited Assange in Belmarsh prison, I have seen the effects of this torture. When I last saw him, he had lost more than 10 kilos in weight; his arms had no muscle. Incredibly, his wicked sense of humour was intact.
As for Assange’s homeland, Australia has displayed only a cringeing cowardice as its government has secretly conspired against its own citizen who ought to be celebrated as a national hero. Not for nothing did George W. Bush anoint the Australian prime minister his “deputy sheriff”.
The Judases in the media
It is said that whatever happens to Julian Assange in the next three weeks will diminish if not destroy freedom of the press in the West. But which press? The Guardian? The BBC, The New York Times, the Jeff Bezos Washington Post?
No, the journalists in these organisations can breathe freely. The Judases on The Guardian who flirted with Julian, exploited his landmark work, made their pile then betrayed him, have nothing to fear.
They are safe because they are needed.
Freedom of the press now rests with the honourable few: the exceptions, the dissidents on the internet who belong to no club, who are neither rich nor laden with Pulitzers, but produce fine, disobedient, moral journalism – those like Julian Assange.
Meanwhile, it is our responsibility to stand by a true journalist whose sheer courage ought to be inspiration to all of us who still believe that freedom is possible. I salute him.
John Pilger is an Australian journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. Pilger is a strong critic of American, Australian, and British foreign policy, which he considers to be driven by an imperialist and colonialist agenda. Quote: “It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and myths that surround it.”
Contents of #15, Wikileaks and Assange
https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/01/wikileaksassange-newsletter-15-january.html
al Jazeera: Present situation of Assange
Taibbi: Wikileaks, Assange, and Espionage Act
Hedges: Ratner (Assanges’s lawyer) on Assange
Brown: Free Press at Stake Plus
Tulsi Gabbard’s H.R.8452, Protect Brave Whistleblowers Act
Janine Jackson: Press Freedom
END ASSANGE/WIKILEAKS NEWSLETTER #16