Obama's abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

[DesMoinesDem]

Obama's abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

Shame on this president for persecuting whistleblowers with a legal relic, while administration officials leak with impunity


The conviction of Bradley Manning under the 1917 Espionage Act, and the US Justice Department's decision to file espionage charges against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden under the same act, are yet further examples of the Obama administration's policy of using an iron fist against human rights and civil liberties activists.

President Obama has been unprecedented in his use of the Espionage Act to prosecute those whose whistleblowing he wants to curtail. The purpose of an Espionage Act prosecution, however, is not to punish a person for spying for the enemy, selling secrets for personal gain, or trying to undermine our way of life. It is to ruin the whistleblower personally, professionally and financially. It is meant to send a message to anybody else considering speaking truth to power: challenge us and we will destroy you.

Only ten people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them under Barack Obama. The effect of the charge on a person's life – being viewed as a traitor, being shunned by family and friends, incurring massive legal bills – is all a part of the plan to force the whistleblower into personal ruin, to weaken him to the point where he will plead guilty to just about anything to make the case go away. I know. The three espionage charges against me made me one of "the Obama Seven".

...

Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, declared a war on whistleblowers virtually as soon as they assumed office. Some of the investigations began during the Bush administration, as was the case with NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, but Espionage Act cases have been prosecuted only under Obama. The president has chosen to ignore the legal definition of whistleblower – any person who brings to light evidence of waste, fraud, abuse or illegality – and has prosecuted truthtellers.

This policy decision smacks of modern-day McCarthyism. Washington has always needed an "ism" to fight against, an idea against which it could rally its citizens like lemmings. First, it was anarchism, then socialism, then communism. Now, it's terrorism. Any whistleblower who goes public in the name of protecting human rights or civil liberties is accused of helping the terrorists.

more...http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/06/obama-abuse-espionage-act-mccarthyism

[Safetykitten]

1. +1 and remember, Amazon is hiring!

[MotherPetrie]

2. Obama administration: Protecting the torturer, prosecuting the whistleblower

[forestpath]

20. +1000

[randome]

3. What President has not prosecuted leakers? Any?

Obama is prosecuting more leakers now because there are more of them.

He also greatly expanded whistleblower protections and created the National Declassification Center, which is working frantically to declassify as much material as possible.

Conflating 'whistleblower' with 'leaker' is shit-stirring, nothing more.

Yeah, McCarthyism. A load of hyperbolic shit that doesn't even care about the facts I pointed out.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[DesMoinesDem]

4. "Only ten people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified"

"Only ten people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them under Barack Obama."

Your answer is right there in the article. You didn't even need to click on the link. You obviously didn't read past the title.

[randome]

6. That's ignoring my point.

What President has not prosecuted leakers? I didn't say that all Presidents encountered leakers during their terms. If someone leaks classified material, they should be prosecuted. Do you agree or not?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[DesMoinesDem]

10. You're creating a strawman to argue with. Obama has charged 7 people

with espionage for leaking classified information. Only 3 other leakers in the history of the US have been charged with espionage. And as the article points out people in his administration leak with impunity. Do you agree that these are facts? Why don't you try reading the article instead of inventing a strawman to argue with. Oh, that's right, you can't actually argue with the point of the article.

[randome]

12. Why would anyone care what the exact charge is? Someone commits a crime, they get charged.

Is the writer taking the point of view that leakers should be charged with some other crime? What crime would that be and why would that be different than being charged with espionage?

How is it 'abuse' of the Espionage Act to charge an individual with a crime?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[DesMoinesDem]

13. Is that article blocked for you? Why are you not able to read it?

[randome]

15. I see a lot of whining from someone who got caught.

Why didn't he go the whistleblower route instead of talking about classified information to the press?

He's an idiot, that's why.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[DesMoinesDem]

17. I'll give you some credit.

At least you're not claiming there is no proof Obama has charged 7 people with espionage.

[rhett o rick]

19. You use of ad hominem attacks is childish. We are fully aware you support the status quo

and hatred of whistle-blowers or whatever you rename them. in your world everyone should know their place and obey all laws their authoritarian government tells them to. Let me warn you. Your beloved authoritarian state doesnt love you. They will use you and discard you. Choose the side of the people, the side for freedoms and liberties.

[randome]

21. Care to answer my questions?

Why didn't this guy go the whistleblower route instead of blabbing to the press?

What crime should a leaker be charged with instead of the Espionage Act?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[rhett o rick]

22. I will take you more series when you get over your obsessions with vilifying Snowden

and defending Obama. There's a whole big world out there.

[randome]

24. So I need to meet your litmus test first?

I'm not so much defending Obama as asking a couple of questions that I think are pertinent to the OP.

Obama is not perfect. Neither is Snowden. There. Does that satisfy you?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[rhett o rick]

27. Are you asking if that's all you need to say for me to take you series?? What do you think? nm

[randome]

30. I think someone could deign to answer the two questions I posed.

But there isn't an easy answer, of course. It's a trap.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[AppleBottom]

16. You're time is precious don't waste it. nt.

[pnwmom]

28. How many before him ever released hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables?

Zero.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Obama has prosecuted more than all other postwar

presidents combined.

Obama deeply prefers to work in secret, transparency ain't his thing.

[randome]

9. Sure. Just ignore the National Declassification Center.

Ignore the expanded whistleblower protection acts.

Just focus on the number of people who have been caught leaking classified material and be sure to put the blame on Obama for making those individuals commit crimes.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[MannyGoldstein]

11. Abusing prosecutorial discretion, torture, and mooning due process

These are the real issues.

Ellsberg wasn't tortured. Manning was.

[randome]

14. Oh, the hell with Manning.

The guy was suicidal. Even the U.N. representative who said his confinement might have amounted to torture never even saw the guy!

'Abusing prosecutorial discretion', huh? Does the writer say what crime leakers should be charged with instead? Maybe you have an idea?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[pnwmom]

29. More documents have been stolen and leaked than in all postwar presidents combined. n/t

[warrior1]

7. bullshit

[MrScorpio]

8. I guess that's how Obama is supposed to outrage us again today

Grrrr.

There, time for lunch.

[AppleBottom]

18. Thank you for raising awareness on this important issue

Talk from politicians is cheap, but you can measure the true character of a person by their acts.

[Drunken Irishman]

23. Calling something McCarthyism is modern-dayMcCarthyism

[woo me with science]

25. It is an assault on the First Amendment, on whistleblowing, on investigative journalism,

and on the fundamental ability of Americans to identify and correct government abuse of power.

It is an assault on the very foundations of this democracy.

[pnwmom]

26. When, in the entire history of the US, has a person ever stolen and disseminated

hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic documents before?

It was whistle-blowing when Manning released the helicopter videos.

It was a clear violation of the law to leak hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables for the simple reason that he could.

[quinnox]

31. K&R, whistle blowers have been under siege ever since the Bush admin

and it has continued (and with an ever more aggressive stance!) under Obama.

Manning and Snowden's treatment are prime proof of this phenomena.

[randome]

32. At least be accurate. They were not whistleblowers. They were leakers.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[quinnox]

33. nah, you are mistaken

My terminology is spot on.

[Mojorabbit]

34. Great job at derailing discussion on this thread. nt

[randome]

35. That's why they call me the human derailleur.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[woo me with science]

36. K&R

[WillyT]

37. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!