In this video Jimmie Dore analyses an article by Elizabeth Goitein,[1] "The U.S. says Julian Assange ‘is no journalist.’ Here’s why that shouldn’t matter,"(May 25, 2019) which appeared in the Washington Post, showing how prosecution of Assange would go against the First Amendment and threaten, not just journalists, but anyone who speaks, reports, writes or publishes. Inside there is another video interview with US lawyer Alan Dershowitz by Afshin Rattansi, on the same issue.
Alan Dershowitz: Julian Assange’s indictment threatens all mainstream outlets! (E752)
"On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Alan Dershowitz (Harvard Law professor and former legal adviser to Julian Assange) about the latest indictment against the WikiLeaks founder, the danger it poses to mainstream outlets such as CNN, the New York Times and Washington Post, the silence of most Democrats and Republicans on Assange’s persecution, Donald Trump’s state visit, and more. Next, we speak to Mauritius’ Permanent UN Representative Jagdish Koonjul after the UN General Assembly voted to urge the UK to leave the Chagos Islands. He discusses the UK’s history of occupation of the islands, what he calls ‘unfinished decolonization,’ and why the UK should end its administration of the Chagos Islands."
Notes
[1] Elizabeth (Liza) Goitein
Co-Director, Liberty & National Security Program
Elizabeth (Liza) Goitein co-directs the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. Ms. Goitein is the author of the Brennan Center’s report The New Era of Secret Law and co-author of the reports Overseas Surveillance in an Interconnected World, What Went Wrong with the FISA Court, and Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability. She is also the author of the chapter “Overclassification: Its Causes and Consequences” in the book An Enduring Tension: Balancing National Security and Our Access to Information, and co-author of the chapter “Lessons From the History of National Security Surveillance” in the 2017 Cambridge Handbook of Surveillance Law. Her writing has been featured in major newspapers including The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and LA Times, and she has appeared on national television and radio shows including the The Rachel Maddow Show, All In with Chris Hayes, the PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She has testified before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
Before coming to the Brennan Center, Ms. Goitein served as counsel to Senator Feingold, Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Ms. Goitein graduated from the Yale Law School and clerked for the Honorable Michael Daly Hawkins on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
*Ms. Goitein is admitted to the Bar in the State of Massachusetts. Her practice in Washington, DC is limited to practice before U.S. courts as provided in DCCA Rule 49(c)(3).
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James Sinnamon
Thu, 2019-05-30 21:17
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Australian parliament silent on 17 Assange espionage charges
The following is from Australian government, Labor opposition silent on espionage charges against Assange (28/5/19) by Oscar Grenfell | World Socialist Web Site:
By their silence, the Liberal-National government and Labor are signalling their support for the US-led persecution of Assange, over his role in the exposure of US war crimes, mass surveillance and diplomatic conspiracies around the world.
The political establishment is making clear that nothing will be done to prevent Assange's extradition from Britain to the US, where he would face a show-trial that would establish a precedent for the suppression of freedom of the press and free speech.
…
The refusal to defend Assange on the part of the official parties is in line with their collaboration in the US-led vendetta against him since 2010.
Successive Labor and Coalition governments have refused to exercise their legal discretion and diplomatic powers to protect Assange. Instead they have joined in the chorus of denunciations and aided the US intelligence agencies in their efforts to destroy WikiLeaks.
…
The refusal to defend Assange on the part of the official parties is in line with their collaboration in the US-led vendetta against him since 2010.
Successive Labor and Coalition governments have refused to exercise their legal discretion and diplomatic powers to protect Assange. Instead they have joined in the chorus of denunciations and aided the US intelligence agencies in their efforts to destroy WikiLeaks.
…
Labor and Coalition MPs made mealy-mouthed statements that they would provide him with unspecified consular assistance, committing them to nothing. With the assistance of the Greens, the unions and the pseudo-left, they buried the issue of Assange's plight throughout the official federal election campaign that began just hours after his detention by British police.
Now, senior political figures are voicing concerns that the government's abandonment of Assange may provoke widespread opposition from workers, students and young people, who rightly view him as a heroic figure who is being attacked for revealing the truth.
On Friday, former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr told the Guardian that the additional charges against Assange “change the game” and could “test the patience” of US allies, including Australia. He noted that the length of the maximum sentence against Assange made the charges against him almost as severe as those which attract capital punishment.
Carr issued a warning to the Coalition government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison that its Foreign Minister Marise Payne “needs to protect herself from the charge that she's failed in her duty to protect the life of an Australian citizen.”
Carr stated that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade would likely provide Payne with “talking points” for discussions with her US, British and Swedish counterparts. Sweden has revived a sexual misconduct investigation into Assange, aimed at blackening his name and creating an alternate route for his extradition to the US.
“Not to do so would leave the minister exposed to withering criticism that they did not take all appropriate action that might have made a difference, mainly before the British court makes a decision,” he warned.
(The article goes on to goes on to point out Bob Carr's previous role as an effective agent for the U.S. government within the Australian Labor Party and questions the motives for his apparent support for Julian Assange. Whilst Bob Carr's previous record of support for the U.S. should not be overlooked, I think that it would be more helpful to Julian Assange to take Bob Carr's words at face value. We should ask Bob Carr to raise his voice more loudly for Julian Assange including on his own blog. A search "Julian Assange site:bobcarrblog.wordpress.com" found nothing!)
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