The Espionage Act of 1917 may face its first serious charge and by extension serious challenge in years, as lawyers for Julian Assange say that the US is preparing to indict the whistleblower under the act.
The act was originally used to arrest antiwar activists during World War 1, and later to censor criticism of the war during World War 2. The court rulings at the time determined that the act could be used to restrict any political expression that the government considered a “clear and present danger.”
Its post-war application has been all but impossible, however, as attempts to restrict previous coverage of the Pentagon Papers and to charge Daniel Ellsberg under the same act failed in court. Subsequent acts have never been successfully brought to a guilty verdict.
Its Constitutionality now in serious doubt, the Obama Administration is falling back on the nearly century old law primarily for lack of anything better to charge Assange with, as his activities are clearly not illegally under any other laws. But whether the Espionage Act can even be said to apply to a foreign national whose “crime” was committed outside of the US is even less clear, perhaps, than the Pentagon Papers case, which the government lost in 1971.
The Act is a singularly bold attempt by the modern US to severely curb freedom of speech, and its revitalization by the Obama Adminstration points to the desperation with which they are attempting to stifle embarrassing criticism. America’s suddenly censorship-happy position is being met with serious concern abroad but so far the politically connected seem almost in unison behind the silencing of such unseemly dissent.
The US government continues to expose it's malevolence, good. The harder the US government plays the part of persecutor the more friends they will lose in Europe and around the world, good. Hopefully this will produce a groundswell of support for Julian and pressure not to turn him over to the US government.
Osama bin Laden has already proven that the US government is a bully stupefied by its arrogance. It will overreact when embarrassed and its power is threatened.
"Violence appears where power is in jeopardy." –Hannah Arendt
OK, Obama supporters. I know there are millions of you out there. Here's the challenge: attempt to defend his administration's position regarding Mr. Assange. This should be entertaining!
Obama is a slicker version of George Bush and liberals have shown themselves to be warmongers
no different from the conservatives.I wonder how long can the US sustain this pace of stupidity and warfare before it becomes bankrupt.
I am certain there are millions fewer Obama supporters than there were two years ago and you likely won't find any here.
my vision for the future,,,comprimise between garbage and trash,un"
Hmmm…you wouldn't find any Obama supporters at a site like this, unless, they're trolling of course.
Are they really going to try to use the Espionage Act? It has historically been used to send people to prison for passing out anti-war pamphlets. I guess anything's possible when governments feel like they're being threatened. BTW, terrorists don't threaten the US federal government. They like terrorists, job security. Information and the truth are what truly threatens the empire.
Look at what they did with the RICO act. It was supposedly passed to go after the Mafia. When there was no more Mafia left, they turned it on white collar people they didn't like. These things take a life of their own and can be bent and twisted to fit any agenda.
It shows "they" (the statists, the 'elite') are reaching deep and far, and showing us that their militarism, and theft of our nations destiny is not a game. This thug government was always deceitful, and a wolf in sheep's clothing. Civil action, and participation is the only answer. Bush's white house and Obama have backed the 'Justice' department with lackey yes-men/woman who are a danger to our Republic.
It shows "they" (the statists, the 'elite') are reaching deep and far, and showing us that their militarism, and theft of our nations destiny is not a game. This thug government was always deceitful, and a wolf in sheeps clothing. Civil action, and participation is the only answer. Bush's white house and Obama have backed the 'Justice' deptarment with lackey yes-men/woman who are a danger to our Republic.
Oh, but Jason – this is the New America! They are indeed bold (as in brazen) with their lawlessness. "We are the indispensable nation", " We don't look back, we just look forward," remember? Of course they'll use the Espionage Act, and of course they'll get their conviction too. And if (for some inexplicable reason) they don't get a conviction, they'll just lock Assange up anyway and throw away the key. And Wikileaks will continue. And the US will continue persecuting anyone they can lay their hands on who can be associated with Wikileaks. And thus the repression expands… And the war begins to take shape…
Never forget "We're an empire now. We make reality, you just study it." I know you know that didn't stop with Bush.
who IS this guy we supported for president…?? He is becoming more and more a distant vestigial shadow of his pre-election stature and moral vitality………..Was he always just a stooge for the MIC in the guise of his black stooge predecessors Colin [Mai Lia cover-up, mobile weapons labs lies fefore the UN] Powell and Condi [Mushroom Cloud] Rice……….. [the?] two people of color accessories to the crime of illegal unprovoked war that killed a MILLION ………. Another Neocon fronmtman…??
You just now are figuring this out? Slow…. 🙂
Speak for yourself. No "we" here when it comes to supporting O-bomb. He showed what a phony he was when he implied he would nuke Iran ("on the table") in order to stop its non-existent nuclear weapons program in a primary debate with Clinton. His FISA flip flop was just icing on the cake, he'd already shown the steel fist under his velvet glove.
I am glad you are paying attention. Obama always was a phony. He had the privilege of running against an old coot who was slightly worse than he was, but Obama is to the right of George W. Bush.
In Australia, we watched with awe as the 2008 election results were announced. I remember my old man saying that he saw in Obama some genuine hope for the future. For a guy who dodged conscription in the 60s and still becomes apoplectic when he hears the word 'Nixon', I thought that he must have been onto something. But I suppose the 'tyranny of distance' seriously muted anything like an accurate picture of Obama as he really is, as opposed to how he wanted to be portrayed in 'Dreams of my Father'.
Just goes to show that there really is nothing like an actual political contest, either here in my country or in yours. The agenda was set well before we came along, and on it rolls, destroying everything in its path.
The fascist fracks are really scraping the barrel on this one.
And then suddenly, Israelis!
Just how many israeli spies got off recently? About four I believe.
The Ecuadorian President's offer of (political) asylum to Mr. Assange may be the best strategy. Added to this; there is a very real prospect of (political) asylum being attainable in Brazil. Both of these possibilities present very good options. Both countries' asylum policies reflect a keen awareness of the true intent of such protection, and that is a paramount point. Their (Ecuador and Brazil) awareness of this true intent is something that is missing in some other countries. For example; Switzerland is well-known for its political cowardice in dealing with asylum applications from citizens of countries that Switzerland fears politically. Meanwhile, the u.s. has recently begun granting asylum to abused wives. While abused wives are certainly deserving of some form of protection, bastardising political asylum to include such victims is the wrong approach. So wrong, in fact , is the u.s. policy, that political asylum in the u.s. have become mockery among nations. Real asylum seekers who are being pursued and persecuted by an entire government – with all of its agencies and, in some cases, its military – are refused (because of various prejudices), while a woman who got slapped around by her husband or live-in is granted asylum.
If Mr. Assange were to accept Ecuador's offer, or attain such protection in Brazil, there will be no further worries about extradition to the u.s. The key element to political asylum, as recognised by both Ecuador and Brazil, is that no matter how the serious the crime you are alleged to have committed is, as long as it can be shown that the crime is of a 'political nature', you remain protected and all requests for your extradition will be denied. This is the very essence of political asylum. It is in place to protect people who are in Mr. Assange's situation – people who have done something that has brought an entire government down on them. This, of course, assumes either an admission to the crimes alleged or irrefutable proof. Likewise, if it can be ascertained by the country that granted asylum that an extradition request is "politically motivated", it is routinely denied. Remember, political asylum is the protection that stands between the affected person and a national government which is pursuing him. It is not there to protect people from gangs who can be avoided by simply relocating to another part of the country. Nor is it in place to protect a woman from her husband, as is the current thought in the u.s.
Another problem the u.s. would have in extraditing Mr. Assange is that the countries involved so far, potentially Sweden and the u.k., oppose the death penalty. This holds true for Brazil and and Ecuador as well. This obstacle is usually overcome by the u.s. offering "assurances" that it will not put the subject person to death. However, as of late, the u.s. is being seen as untrustworthy (thanks for the most part to Wikileaks) and any "assurances" from its state department (that's the department that issues "assurances" in extradition cases) will probably be immediately recognised as worthless. Imagine, an "assurance" from america's highest level spy (Hillary) being fielded in an attempt to assuage a countries fears that america might kill someone. Politicians within the american administration have already showed their cards with respect to their desire to have Mr. Assange killed.
Political asylum in either of the aforementioned countries would thwart america's intent to inflict revenge on Mr. Assange – a man who had the audacity to engage in journalism.
Political asylum would be a solution, something he cannot do from a jail cell. They've got him and he ain't going no where. The US will not stop till he's dead
hey obama finally solved the unemployment problem.
"(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information—"
so i assume every website that hosted it and any one who downloaded it is just as guilty.
well see you all in the cell block
I've got my copy of the WL insurance file- do you? I can't wait to see what unredacted gems are packed away in there.
Probably not much in there other than Bradley Manning's entire trove. And I wouldn't hold my breath for getting the key.
Anybody remember the movie “Dogs Of War” starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger?
What a classic. My favorite part is at the end when Christopher Walken puts a hole in the Puppet.
You can't prosecute a foreign national acting outside U.S. borders. The whole thing is a bluff and ought to be publicly ridiculed. Consider: by this logic, country X could pass any arbitrary law and apply it to citizens of country Y. For example, Russia could pass a law making it illegal to speak English, and then prosecute American citizens!
There has not been one day in this country's history when it truly embraced the concept of liberty and justice for all.
Americans think they are free just because their leashes are longer than those on the citizens of some other countries.
Obama = Bush
And yet they don't use the Act against AIPAC!
You guys in America better get ready for the Big Brother experience. It's coming soon to a venue near you. America now thinks it runs the world and it will come the heavy on its own people too.
A Big Brother experience is where your life is completely controlled by the State. You are constantly under surveillance and even your thoughts are monitored. The State tells you what to do and you do it or pay a heavy price. Read 1984 again to get the full picture.
6% of the world's people cannot be allowed to control the world especially when their leadership is deranged and moving towards fascism.
If Julian goes down, we are all lost!
http://www.dangerouscreation.com
The gloves are off now I am afraid, either there is a global uprising both on the streets and cyberspace or we go down the Hitler toilet:
http://www.truth-out.org/justice-department-prepa…
Excellent point Donna.
Ah, never underestimate the power of a government to change its laws at will. The US will do what the US wants to do when it wants to do it, where it wants to do it and to whom it wants to do it.
What's that old saying, "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear"?
It looks like our governments have a lot to hide, cuz they're shitting their pants right now.
The US Espionage Act could only be applied to a US citizen, not a foriegn national, to whom US laws do not apply outside of the US. Better to charge him with several counts of Reckless Endangerment, or whatever the European equivalent is, for exposing operatives to possible harm. Those charges could be brought against him in whatever European country (Britain, an ally) he happens to be cowering in. Could someone explain what public good he is serving by exposing secrets in such a reckless way?