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Whistleblowers

How The FBI Silences Whistleblowers

October 20, 2018 John Kiriakou, Consortiumnews.com ,
The problem is that we are the exception to the rule. Most whistleblowers either suffer in anonymity or are personally, professionally, socially and financially ruined for speaking truth to power. Darin Jones is one of those people. He’s one of the people silenced in Barack Obama’s war on whistleblowers. And he continues to suffer under Donald Trump. Jones was an FBI supervisory contract specialist who in 2012 reported evidence of serious procurement improprieties to his superior. Jones maintained that Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) had been awarded a $40 million contract improperly because a former FBI official with responsibility for granting the contract then was hired as a consultant at CSC.

Draconian Ecuadorean Rules On Assange’s Prison-Like Embassy Stay: Document

October 17, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net , , , ,
The politics around the Ecuadorean government’s housing Julian Assange in its London embassy are changing, making the political refugee responsible for getting his own food thereby increasing his risk of arrest by U.K. authorities. In a statement released by the London embassy, Ecuador’s officials say that Assange's guests will have to make a request to visit the refugee at least three working days in advance. All regular and occasional visitors will need to present a slew of information, including their personal identification numbers, their social media affiliations, motives for visiting and they’ll have to declare all their electronics they may carry into the embassy before being able to enter.

Terry Albury Is A Conscientious Whistleblower

October 13, 2018 By Sue Udry, Rightsanddissent.org , ,
Terry Albury was the only Black agent at the FBI field office in Minneapolis. He saw inherent racism in the FBI’s targeting of local communities of color and sought to blow the whistle on that racism and the agency’s unethical use of paid informants. For that, he was fired, arrested, and charged under the Espionage Act. He pled guilty earlier this year and now faces 4 or more years in prison. He’ll be sentenced next week. Because his action was in the public interest, because it caused no harm to national security, and because it’s time to end the unconscionable use of the Espionage Act to persecute whistleblowers initiated under President Obama, we believe Albury’s sentence should be a non-custodial sentence of community service.

WikiLeaks Celebrates 12th Anniversary

October 6, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net , ,
'Whistleblower' organization still going strong while founder sits in limbo in the Ecuadorean embassy in the U.K.  Julian Assange sits in an embassy in London, England waiting — hoping — for something. For what exactly, remains unclear. Indeed, the last six years of his life have been shrouded in uncertainty.  Granted political asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in the U.K. in an attempt to prevent extradition to the U.S., and subsequent trial for publishing secret U.S. military documents, Assange is devoid of medical care, access to family and friends, and cyber-communication to the outside world.

Being Julian Assange

October 1, 2018 Suzie Dawson, Consortiumnews.com , ,
In 2016 an accused serial sexual predator ran for the US presidency against the notoriously corrupt wife of a previously impeached President – who is also an accused serial sexual predator. That these facts alone were insufficient to invalidate the entire race is testament to the audacity with which corrupt power operates in the West, and how conditioned the public is to consuming the warped byproducts of its naked machinations. Arguably the most contentious election in recent history, the accused serial sexual predator won. During the race, WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Julian Assange aptly described the two candidates as “cholera vs gonorrhoea.” Edward Snowden ran a Twitter poll asking his followers whether they would rather vote for a “calculating villain”, an “unthinking monster” or “literally anyone else”. 67% chose the latter.

US Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Defies Ban To Speak On Australia

September 7, 2018 Linda Tenenbaum, Wsws.org , , ,
Last Sunday, an audience of more than 1,500 gave courageous whistleblower Chelsea Manning a standing ovation at the conclusion of her hour-long appearance at Australia’s Sydney Opera House, part of its three-day ANTIDOTE festival. The enthusiastic response revealed the yawning gulf between the new right-wing Morrison government’s move to ban Manning from entering the country and the appreciation of ordinary people for her commitment to exposing the realities of war and the unending crimes and conspiracies of the US government. Just days before her scheduled talks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, followed by Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, the Morrison government attacked Manning’s right to speak in public about her experiences by issuing a “Notice of Intention to Consider Refusal” to deny her an entry visa.

Why I Stand With Julian Assange

July 22, 2018 By Peter Van Buren, The American Conservative , , ,
Assange has ended up standing at a crossroads in the history of our freedoms: specifically, at what point does the right of the people to know outweigh the right of the government to keep information from view? The question isn’t new, but it has become acute in the digital age when physical documents no longer need to be copied one-by-one, can be acquired by hackers on the other side of the world, and are far removed from the traditions, obstacles, safeguards, and often-dangerous self-restraint of traditional journalism. If Assange becomes the first successful prosecution of a third party under the Espionage Act, whether as a journalist or not, the government will turn that precedent into a weapon to attack the media’s role in any national security case. On the other hand, if Assange leaves London for asylum in Ecuador, that will empower new journalists to provide evidence when a government serves its people poorly and has no interest in being held accountable.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights Ruling Supports Assange Freedom

July 15, 2018 By Adam Garrie, Eurasia Future , ,
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that it is the duty of nations to allow for the passage of successful asylum seekers from embassies to the mainland territory of the state that has granted an individual asylum. For Julian Assange, this would mean Britain has a legal obligation to allow Julian Assange to exit the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in peace. If the UK continues to ignore the court’s decision by insisting that local police will arrest Assange for a breach of bail conditions if he leaves the embassy, this means that the British government will have wantonly failed to uphold Assange’s rights as a legitimate receiver of asylum by Ecuador.

Prominent Whistleblowers And Journalists Defend Julian Assange At Online Vigil

July 14, 2018 Oscar Grenfell, Wsws.org , ,
Over the weekend, dozens of public figures, including prominent whistleblowers and journalists, took part in a 36-hour international online vigil in defence of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange. The event was the third “Unity4J” vigil organised by independent journalist and New Zealand Internet Party leader, Suzie Dawson, since Assange’s communications were cut-off by Ecuadorian authorities at their London embassy last March. The vigil reflected the widespread public support for Assange, and opposition to the attempts to force him into British and US custody, where he faces possible espionage charges for exposing the war crimes and diplomatic intrigues of the major powers. The speakers included individuals who have been persecuted by governments for taking a courageous stand against war and authoritarianism.

‘Snowden Is The Master Of His Own Destiny’ Russia Rebuts US Attempts To Have Whistleblower Extradited

July 2, 2018 Staff, Telesurtv.net , , ,
United States President Donald Trump is expected to pressure Russia to hand over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in exchange for sanctions relief at the upcoming Trump-Putin summit; however, Russia has emphasized that they “are not in a position” to expel Snowden and will “respect his rights" if any such attempt is made. “I have never discussed Edward Snowden with (Donald Trump's) administration,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said to Channel 4 reporters. “When he (Putin) was asked the question, he said this is for Edward Snowden to decide. We respect his rights, as an individual. That is why we were not in a position to expel him against his will because he found himself in Russia even without a U.S. passport, which was discontinued as he was flying from Hong Kong.”

Why I Stand With Julian Assange

June 20, 2018 Lee Stranahan, Sputniknews.com , ,
“Perhaps as an old man I will take great comfort in pottering around in a lab and gently talking to students in the summer evening and will accept suffering with insouciance. But not now; men in their prime, if they have convictions, are tasked to act on them.” - Julian Assange. At events around the world today, people from different countries with different political perspectives attended rallies and spoke up to say that Julian Assange must be freed. Assange must be freed because he is being punished for the sin of revealing the truth about those who hold the reins of power. The WikiLeaks exposure of the Democratic National Committee's inner machinations should have had implications that extended far beyond the 2016 election. By publishing the DNC and John Podesta emails, Assange laid bare the dark corruption at the heart of America's political system and the role that traditional journalism has played in keeping the truth about our politics hidden.

Supporters Prepare To Speak Out On Sixth Anniversary Of Assange’s Entrance Into Embassy

June 18, 2018 By Elizabeth Vos, Disobedientmedia.com , ,
On June 19th, Julian Assange will mark the sixth year since he entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, seeking refuge from the efforts of the US and UK governments to persecute him in retaliation for his journalistic work as Editor-In-Chief of WikiLeaks. Julian Assange’s voice has proven so effective that the most powerful forces on earth have coalesced to silence him: on June 19th, the public must respond by becoming Julian Assange’s voice, by raising that unified voice to resonate until the glass halls of power are shattered by its force. That the Ecuadorian government has silenced Assange for over 70 days makes the sixth anniversary of his asylum more significant than ever. Assange entered the embassy as a sanctuary, not a site of imprisonment. In order to realize the significance of all this, the public must understand the real circumstances that undergird Assange’s need for asylum from the ire of Western governments...

Online ‘Unity4J’ Vigil Reveals The Strength Of Support For Assange Among Journalists, Activists, Whistleblowers

June 13, 2018 By Elizabeth Vos, Disobedientmedia.com , , ,
The Unity4J online vigil, which took place over the weekend, saw the participation of renowned activists, journalists, whistleblowers and even filmmakers who came together – despite vastly different personal and political backgrounds – to support efforts to reconnect and free WikiLeaks Editor-In-Chief, Julian Assange. Assange has been trapped in conditions that amount to solitary confinement for over two months, a time period which more than quadruples the maximum described by the United Nations’ Mandela rules. This author was humbled to participate in the event, moderating for approximately 15 hours over the course of the vigil.

The Eerie Silence Surrounding The Julian Assange Case

June 11, 2018 Dennis J Bernstein, Consortium News , ,
There is a silence among many who call themselves left. The silence is Julian Assange. As every false accusation has fallen away, every bogus smear shown to be the work of political enemies, Julian stands vindicated as one who has exposed a system that threatens humanity. The Collateral Damage video, the war logs of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Cablegate revelations, the Venezuela revelations, the Podesta email revelations … these are just a few of the storms of raw truth that have blown through the capitals of rapacious power. The fakery of Russia-gate, the collusion of a corrupt media and the shame of a legal system that pursues truth-tellers have not been able to hold back the raw truth of WikiLeaks revelations. They have not won, not yet, and they have not destroyed the man. Only the silence of good people will allow them to win. Julian Assange has never been more isolated. He needs your support and your voice. Now more than ever is the time to demand justice and free speech for Julian. Thank you.”

Long Before Scott Pruitt, EPA Colluded With Industry

May 31, 2018 Johnathan Latham, Salon.com , ,
When Scott Pruitt took the helm of the Environmental Protection Agency in 2017, public health activists, environmentalists and ordinary citizens expressed outrage. How could a politician with close ties to the Koch-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) be counted on to champion the Agency’s mandate? Why turn the EPA over to a lawyer who was involved in multiple lawsuits against it, and, who, as attorney general of Oklahoma, disbanded that state’s Environmental Protection Unit? Less than two years later, Pruitt's record as EPA head has only reinforced his detractors’ worst fears. While Scott Pruitt’s tenure provokes almost daily controversy, what remains less known is that the EPA has long been a compromised institution.
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