News and Commentary

By Norman Solomon: TomDispatch While he can no longer speak to the world about the latest developments, Ellsberg will continue to speak directly to hearts and minds about the extreme evils of our time—and the potential for overcoming them with love in action.

Video: Jeffrey Sterling was a CIA whistleblower. He is an attorney and an advocate for other whistleblowers. We discussed his experience, the problem of excessive secrecy, and the importance of whistleblowers to civil society.

By Patrick G. Eddington -- CATO Institute Get ready for another one of those “Congress is trying to pull a fast one” stories … and if you work for or financially support one or more nonprofits, you’ll want to read on. Congressional sources have informed Cato that an extremely controversial tax code bill that could be used to target politically disfavored nonprofits that has already passed the House may get a Senate vote this week. First, some important background information.

By Jeffrey Sterling: Progressive Hub This was to be my first trip abroad in a very long time, certainly the first time since being released from prison.

The Committee to Protect Journalists Dear Attorney General Garland, We, the undersigned coalition of press freedom, civil liberties, and international human rights organizations, write to express acute concern about the Justice Department’s ongoing criminal and extradition proceedings relating to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

By Kathleen McClellan - Jesselyn Radack: Salon.com It happened under Trump — and under Obama: The U.S. is using bad law to crack down on investigative journalism

Deutsche Welle: DW.com German Chancellor Scholz voices opposition to the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US, stressing the importance of fair treatment. He calls on UK courts to ensure Assange's rights are protected.

Kevin Gosztola: The Dissenter Drone whistleblower Daniel Hale was released from prison in February after spending 33 months in some of the harshest confinement conditions ever imposed on a person for disclosing classified information to the press. Hale remains in federal custody but is living in home confinement until July. Though President Donald Trump’s Justice Department indicted Hale, his case became the first major Espionage Act conviction secured by prosecutors under President Joe Biden.

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker Florida-based independent journalist Tim Burke was charged by the Justice Department with 14 felony counts alleging conspiracy, wiretapping and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, in an indictment unsealed on Feb. 21, 2024. FBI agents raided Burke’s home and office in May 2023 in connection to a criminal probe […]

By Chip Gibbons: Jacobin.com In Julian Assange’s ongoing extradition battle in the UK, the United States is asserting its right to track down any journalist anywhere in the world, seize them, haul them to the US, and throw them into a US prison.