WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS NEWSLETTER, Series 2, #5, May 9, 2021.

 

 

OMNI

WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS NEWSLETTER, Series 2, #5, May 9,

2021.

Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology

http://omnicenter.org/donate/

Series 2

#1 May 18, 2015   http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2015/05/whistleblowers-and-leakers-newsletter.html

#2 Aug. 6, 2016   http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2016/08/whistleblowers-and-leakers-newsletter.html

#3 Dec. 13, 2018   https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2018/12/whistleblower-newsletter-series-2-3.html

#4 Oct. 3, 2019  https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2019/10/whistleblowers-and-leakers-newsletter-4.html

#5 May 9, 2021

 

CONTENTS WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS NEWSLETTER, SERIES 2, #5, MAY 9, 2021

Webinar May 18, Noon, Distinguished Panel of Radack, Kiriakou, Kelly

Corporate Ag-Gag v. First Amendment

Whistleblowers and Leakers

Katharine Gun

Jeffrey Sterling

Joel Clement

Thomas Drake

John Kiriakou

Chelsea Manning

Julian Assange

Daniel Ellsberg

Edward Snowden

Mordechai Nannunu

 

TEXTS

REGISTER: CovertAction Magazine WEBINAR - May 18, 2021 @ 12pm: CovertAction Magazine invites you to an Interactive Webinar with Leading Whistleblower Attorney Jesselyn Radack, Ex-CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou, and Anti-drone Peace Activist Kathy Kelly. DATE: May 18, 2021 - TIME: 12:00pm–1:30pm EST To Register, Email: Register@CovertActionMagazine.com PARTICIPATION IS FREE How to Protect and Empower Whistleblowers in an Era of Rampant Government Criminality Attorney JESSELYN RADACK (herself a courageous former Justice Department whistleblower) has defended numerous whistleblowers including Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake, Jeffrey Sterling, John Kiriakou, and Daniel Hale. She heads the Whistle-blower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts. Ex-CIA Case Officer JOHN KIRIAKOU got 30 months in federal prison for exposing the CIA’s illegal torture program but the criminals who committed those crimes went unpunished, and one of them (Gina Haspel) was actually rewarded by being promoted to CIA Director.  KATHY KELLY is a noted peace activist who has risked her life in combat zones to document and testify against the ravaging effects of the drone war. As revealed by ex-National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Daniel Hale, the U.S. lied and covered up the extensive human rights violations and massive civilian death toll of its drone warfare program, especially the devastating fact that ninety percent of the people killed were not even the intended targets. The Webinar will explore the developing legal strategies and citizen pressures that can be deployed to safeguard whistleblowers. Special attention will be paid to the recent conviction of Daniel Hale for leaking documents to The Intercept reporter Jeremy Scahill that exposed how the drone war was being run. Hale will be sentenced on July 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison.  Panelists will accept questions from online Webinar participants about the Hale case and the drone war, as well as the legal prospects of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange—who, like Daniel Hale and John Kiriakou, were indicted under the infamous Espionage Act of 1917. This statute has been weaponized to intimidate, silence, and imprison journalists and government whistleblowers who risk their careers and their freedom to expose the hidden lies and crimes against humanity that plutocratic elites commit in the name of U.S. citizens. Read in browser »   Sincerely, Chris Agee Executive Editor CovertAction Magazine   Copyright © 2021 CovertAction Magazine, All rights reserved. Subscribers 2021 Our mailing address is: CovertAction Magazine 55 Gerard St # 1323 Huntington, NY 11743-8252

 

 

NATIONAL AG-GAG RULE ASSAULT ON FIRST AMENDMENT V. TRUTH,  AND WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS

Exposing Corporate-Backed Attacks on Activists and Whistleblowers

Chip Gibbons, Policy & Legislative Counsel 9-11-17 chip@rightsanddissent.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com	1:04 PM (1 hour ago)
to James
Dear Dick, In state houses across the country, a sweeping assault on the First Amendment is underway, as lawmakers consider bills aimed at silencing whistleblowers. These bills, known as “ag-gag” laws, began as attempts to shield big agriculture and pharma from public scrutiny by penalizing whistleblowers and undercover investigators in “animal enterprises.”  Yet, as other industries have noticed the benefits of these protections against transparency, the anti-whistleblower fervor has grown, and these bills have morphed into general gag bills attacking whistleblowers in nursing homes, child care facilities, hospitals, schools and every other business.. Defending Rights & Dissent along with our ally the Center for Constitutional Rights is publishing today a pioneering new study, entitled Ag-Gag Across America:Corporate-Backed Attacks on Activists and Whistleblowers. This groundbreaking report  not only catalogues ag-gag laws passed at the state level, it contextualized their emergence in the “Green Scare,” a political moment when politicians, law enforcement, and big business parroted one-another’s claims about the threat posed by “eco-terrorists” and “animal rights extremists.” After stoking a climate of fear, they then pushed for harsh new laws ostensibly designed to address this threat, but in fact were meant to chill speech, demonize dissent, and conflate activism with terrorism.       But the picture isn’t all bleak. Our report also details the successful movements to defeat ag-gag bills. Coalitions of animal rights activists, civil libertarians, press freedom advocates, and whistleblower protection groups have mobilized the public and defeated bills backed by powerful corporate interests. More ag-gag bills have been defeated than passed. Two ag-gag bills have been declared unconstitutional. These bills continue to pop up and activists continue to fight them. That’s why we wrote this report; so it could serve as a powerful advocacy tool for grassroots activists who want to stand up for transparency, accountability, and the right to dissent. Big corporations are increasingly demanding that state legislatures protect them from whistleblowers. It is better for them if we don’t know what goes on behind their closed doors, but that’s not better for us. So we’ll fight for our right to know, and to share that information. Read the report, learn about the corporate backed attack on our rights, and how to fight back! #Resist, Chip Gibbons Policy & Legislative Counsel P.S. We need your support to protect whistleblower rights and to fight corporate attempts to silence them. Please donate generously today.

 

 

INDIVIDUAL WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS

Katharine Gun

4-3-18    In this new video, Katharine Gun describes how she saw U.S. war preparations in September 2002 and knew the United States was going to attack Iraq in a major way, even while President George W. Bush was claiming to be trying to avoid war.

Watch the video.

RootsAction Education Fund is in desperate need of funding. We will not be able to continue supporting brave whistleblowers unless people who care now pitch in and help a bit. If you appreciate what we do, please click here to fund our work with a tax-deductible donation and watch Gun's video.

Katharine Gun was a 28-year-old linguist and analyst at GCHQ when Prime Minister Tony Blair was teaming up with President Bush, eager to push a resolution through the UN Security Council for an invasion of Iraq. 

On the last day of January 2003, Gun recounts, she and other GCHQ employees “received an email from a senior official at the National Security Agency. It said the agency was ‘mounting a surge particularly directed at the UN Security Council members,’ and that it wanted ‘the whole gamut of information that could give U.S. policymakers an edge in obtaining results favorable to U.S. goals or to head off surprises.’” In other words, the Bush and Blair governments wanted to eavesdrop on key UN delegations and then manipulate or even blackmail them into voting for war.

In this video -- speaking at a recent news conference that the RootsAction Education Fund co-sponsored with ExposeFacts in London -- Gun describes her reaction to the email as immediate and automatic, the same as if she'd seen a child wandering into a busy road. Gun responded with basic human decency. Yet, over 100 other people received the same email and did not react as Gun did.

Click here to watch the video and to help us support such rare and courageous whistleblowers.

Your donation is tax-deductible.

Gun took action: “I was furious when I read that email and leaked it. Soon afterwards, when theObserver ran a front-page story -- ‘US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war’ -- I confessed to the leak and was arrested on suspicion of the breach of section 1 of the Official Secrets Act.” 

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg has called what Katharine Gun did “the most important and courageous leak I have ever seen.... No one else -- including myself -- has ever done what Gun did: tell secret truths at personal risk, before an imminent war, in time, possibly, to avert it.”

JEFFREY STERLING

Holly Sterling via RootsAction Team 1-8-18   via uark.onmicrosoft.com

to James

Dear Friends, Jeffrey and I would like to express our sincerest gratitude for your support you have shown us throughout his wrongful incarceration. It is difficult to fathom that my beloved husband has been imprisoned for the last 2.5 years and that truth and justice did not prevail. Forever Jeffrey must wear the scarlet letter of being a supposed traitor to his country. The country he still loves. As the new year begins, we are preparing for Jeffrey's transfer to a halfway house scheduled for January 16, 2018, where he will complete the remainder of his sentence. This new year brings hope that we can begin the arduous journey of rebuilding our life that the government vehemently destroyed. Jeffrey is faced with the daunting task of obtaining employment with seven felony convictions of espionage. He is an intelligent, ethical, and compassionate man who desires to once again contribute to our world. Please continue to support us and assist in Jeffrey's homecoming. Your help for the Jeffrey Sterling Homecoming Fund will assist with a plane ticket for Jeffrey from Denver Colorado (near where he has been in prison) to Saint Louis Missouri; public transportation expenses for Jeffrey to attend job interviews and medical appointments, as we only have one vehicle; a cell phone; and other expenses that will be necessary for Jeffrey to rebuild his life. Jeffrey and I thank each of you for your genuine concern, direct actions you have taken to assist us in trying to obtain justice and medical care, and your generous financial contributions.We remain eternally grateful and humbled by the outpouring of goodwill we have received. Every one of you has had a direct positive impact in our daily life sustaining our fortitude against this gross miscarriage of justice. We wish all of you and your families a healthy, peaceful, and happy new year. Fondly, Holly Sterling Background:from RootsAction >>  BBC News: "Jeffrey Sterling's Trial by Metadata" >>  John Kiriakou: “CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling Placed in Solitary Confinement” >>  ExposeFacts: Special Coverage of the Jeffrey Sterling Trial >>  Marcy Wheeler, ExposeFacts: "Sterling Verdict Another Measure of Declining Government Credibility on Secrets" >>  Norman Solomon, The Nation: "CIA Officer Jeffrey Sterling Sentenced to Prison: The Latest Blow in the Government's War on Journalism" >>  Reporters Without Borders: "Jeffrey Sterling Latest Victim of the U.S.' War on Whistleblowers" >>  AFP: "Pardon Sought for Ex-CIA Officer in Leak Case" >>  Documentary film: "The Invisible Man: CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling"

 

AFFIRMATIVE GOVERNMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE DISMANTLED BY TRUMP, AGENCY BY AGENCY, BUT SOME RESIST:  JOEL CLEMENT HERO OF THE PEOPLE  --D

·        

·         TOPICS > SCIENCE

Interior official turns whistle-blower, claiming retaliation for climate change work

August 2, 2017 at 6:20 PM EDT

A government scientist who studied dangerous climate change in the Arctic got an ironic reassignment at the Interior Department from the Trump administration: collecting checks from oil and gas companies. Joel Clement, the former director of the Interior Department Office of Policy Analysis, believes he was reassigned because he worked on climate change. Clement joins William Brangham to explain.

 COMMENTS

·         EMAIL

LISTEN

Audio Player

SEE PODCASTS

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, what do you do when your job changes, but you don’t agree with the change?

For one government scientist, it forced him into the role of a reluctant whistle-blower.

Our William Brangham has our conversation.

Recently, Joel Clement had been working as a senior policy official in the Department of the Interior. His work included the Arctic and the dangerous climate change posed.

But, in June, he was reassigned, along with several dozen others, to a completely different position unrelated to his previous work.

Last week, Clement went public in a The Washington Post op-ed alleging that he was reassigned because of his work on climate change. He said he was now — quote — “a whistle-blower on an administration that chooses silence over science.”

Joel Clement joins me now.

Welcome to the NewsHour.   MORE https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/interior-official-turns-whistleblower-claiming-retaliation-climate-change-work  

 

I reported on Bravehearts and Traitor in both #3 and #4, and again on Drake and Kiriakou in #4. 
Let's help pay the price of freedom and democracy

RootsAction Education Fund  7-6-17    info@rootsaction.org via uark.onmicrosoft.com	7:03 AM (3 hours ago)
to James
After the U.S. government has done all it can to crush them via the court system, “national security” whistleblowers must try to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. That’s been the reality during the last few years for NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou. Federal prosecutors have tried to destroy these historic and heroic whistleblowers. And that’s why it is an important act of resistance to click here and make a tax-deductible contribution in support of Tom and John as they continue to co-chair the Whistleblowers Public Education Campaign. After the years of vindictive harassment, investigation and prosecution finally ended for Tom, his finances were completely wrecked. The same was true for John when he got home to his family after two years in prison. Persecution of Tom Drake and John Kiriakou left them deeply in financial debt.Ironically, we are in their debt -- morally, politically and ethically. We owe them so much because they stood up for civil liberties and human decency. . . . With many thanks, The RootsAction Education Fund team Background: >  Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Former NSA Executive Urges Public Vigilance Against Government Overreach” >  “The Constitution and Conscience: NSA’s Thomas Drake”: Video of speech on May 2, 2017 > The Washington Times: “Donald Trump on Edward Snowden: Kill the ‘Traitor’” >  Jesselyn Radack, The New York Times: "Whistleblowers Deserve Protection Not Prison" >  The Huffington Post: "The One Man Jailed for CIA Torture Tried to Expose It" >  Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: Thomas Drake -- "The Secret Sharer"

 

REMEMERING THE TORTURE AND PERSCUTION OF CHELSEA MANNING
 [see manning newsletters: http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2015/08/chelsea-manning-newsletter-7.html ]
Remembering:   “Serving 35-Year Sentence for Leaking Documents, Manning Tries Suicide Again.”  (NYT).  NADG (Nov. 5, 2016).   Chelsea Manning “tried to kill herself a second time last month” as her solitary confinement was reimposed that had been “punishment for a previous attempt to end her life in July.”

Chelsea Manning: to those who kept me alive all these years, thank you.   Chelsea E Manning.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/13/chelsea-manning-prison-sentence-commutation?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

REMEMBERING, NOT FORGETTING

 

JULIAN ASSANGE

The following 3 items are from Transcend Media Service Weekly Digest, 9-2/8-2019

Roger Waters to Perform ‘Wish You Were Here’ for Julian Assange Outside Britain’s Home Office on 2 Sep 2019

John Pilger – TRANSCEND Media Service

On Monday, 2 Sep, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd will perform his classic ‘Wish You Were Here’ outside the Home Office (Interior Ministry) on Marsham Street in the heart of London. I will be speaking. Join us at 6 p.m. in solidarity with Britain’s major political prisoner.   Read more...

Clinical Psychologist Lissa Johnson: They Are Trying to Break Assange “Physically and Psychologically”

Oscar Grenfell | WSWS – TRANSCEND Media Service

28 Aug 2019 – Australian clinical psychologist Lissa Johnson has been an outspoken defender of Julian Assange. Earlier this year she wrote an extensive five-part investigative series titled “The Psychology of Getting Julian Assange.” Johnson provided the following responses to a series of questions earlier this week.   Read more...

Breaking the Media Blackout on the Imprisonment of Julian Assange

Mnar Muhawesh - MintPress News

26 Aug 2019 – The role of journalism in a democracy is publishing information that empowers the public to become more engaged citizens so that we can vote in representatives that work in the interest of “we the people.” The same media that has spent years dragging Assange’s name through the mud is now engaging in a blackout on his treatment. If you are waiting for corporate media pundits to defend freedom of the press, you’re going to be disappointed.

 

Edward Snowden.  Newsletter #4

Bravehearts by Mark Hertsgaard Features Numerous Past and Present GAP Clients Revealing A New Chapter In The Edward Snowden Story And Highlighting The Whistle Blowers Who Pay With Their Lives to Save Ours.  https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2019/10/whistleblowers-and-leakers-newsletter-4.html

DANIEL ELLSBERG Covert ACTION NEWSLETTER   10-15-19   INTERVIEW BY DENNIS BERNSTEIN PUBLISHED ON WEBSITE – click here to read it Dear Subscriber –   Daniel Ellsberg terrified the U.S. war-making establishment in 1971 when he smuggled the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and revealed how five Presidents deliberately lied to the American people about the Vietnam War that killed millions. No wonder Henry Kissinger, Nixon's National Security Advisor, called Ellsberg "the most dangerous man in America … [who] had to be stopped at all costs." But they couldn’t stop Ellsberg in 1971, and they can’t stop him now. In a chilling new interview, Ellsberg  (fresh from his 89th arrest for protesting government secrecy) reveals a present-day nuclear cover-up whose deadly consequences, if unchecked, could eclipse even those of the Vietnam War. Read it here. Copyright © 2019 CovertAction Magazine, All rights reserved. 55 Gerard St # 1323 Huntington, NY 11743-8252

 

Mordechai Vanunu
Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu convicted again over meetings with US citizens

Mordechai Vanunu spent 18 years in prison for revealing Israel's nuclear secrets 

 Raf Sanchez, jerusalem  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/23/israeli-nuclear-whistleblower-mordechai-vanunu-convicted-meetings/ (Also in Nuclear Resister).  23 JANUARY 2017 • 6:56PM

 

DEFENDERS OF WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS

National Whistleblower Center - Whistleblower Legal Advocacy 2021

https://www.whistleblowers.org/, Google Search 4-23-21

 

Since 1988, We Have Provided Services And Advocacy On Behalf Of Whistleblowers. We Offer Legal & Educational Programs To Assist Whistleblowers. Working To Expand Rights.

‎Contact Us · ‎Know Your Rights · ‎Home · ‎FAQ's

Our Team Our Team. For over 30 years, NWC has worked with whistleblowers ...	Find A Whistleblower Attorney Providing legal assistance to whistleblowers is a top priority ...
Contact Us Contact National Whistleblower Center contact@whistleblowers ...	Know Your Rights Know Your Rights. Whistleblower laws around the world are ...
Mission & History The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is the leading ...	Careers The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is a nonprofit ...
More results from whistleblowers.org »

National Whistleblower Center (@StopFraud) · Twitter

https://twitter.com/StopFraud

 

In this episode of the #Whistleblower of the Week podcast, Jane Turner, @fbiwhistlestop, talks with FBI forensic laboratory #whistleblower Frederic Whitehurst. Listen to the podcast on Whistleblower Network News | @WhistleblowerNN: ow.ly/HP9350Evwqk

Twitter · 2 hours ago

Department of Veterans Affairs does not oppose reforms to protect #whistleblowers. Read on 13News Now | @13NewsNow: ow.ly/olGn50EvtKN

Twitter · 18 hours ago

“#Whistleblowers already play a central role in protecting the Earth, and they should be able to continue to continue fighting for what’s right for our planet.” The unsung heroes of #EarthDay: Environmental #whistleblowers. Read on @WhistleblowerNN: ow.ly/2XbC50EvtJv

Twitter · 20 hours ago

 

Happy Earth Day! @StopFraud celebrates #EarthDay by fighting for #whistleblowers who report wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and climate corruption. Learn more about how to combat climate corruption and report climate crimes, here: ow.ly/Cwxs50Evkky

Twitter · 22 hours ago

“Without an insider, a #whistleblower, you can’t detect corruption!” said Stephen M. Kohn, NWC Board Chair, during his keynote speech. #Whistleblower experts share their insights at BR’s Tax, Law & Lobby Conference. Read on Business Review | @BR_RO: ow.ly/tTes50Evb2U
National Whistleblower Center - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › National_Whistleblow...

The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax exempt, educational and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by the lawyers Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP. As of March 2019, John Kostyack is the executive director.

 

Government Accountability Project

I have reported on this excellent NGO several times, for example #3:   https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2018/12/whistleblower-newsletter-series-2-3.html

 

 

CONTENTS: WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS NEWSLETTER, Series 2, #4, October 3, 2019.

https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2019/10/whistleblowers-and-leakers-newsletter-4.html

Reporting in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Whistleblower, the Newsletter of Government Accountability Project

Bravehearts by Mark Hertsgaard

Snowden’s New Book, Permanent Record 

Jesselyn Radack’s memoir Traitor: The Whistleblower and the American Taliban

Whistleblowers Thomas Drake and John Kiriakou

Army Reserve Captain, Brittany Ramos Debarros

Film:  War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State

 

END WHISTLEBLOWERS AND LEAKERS NEWSLETTER, SERIES 2, #5, May 9, 2021