15 February 2020 — Defend Wikileaks
The Prosecution of Julian Assange: His Right to Publish is Our Right to Know
Jen Robinson | Opening Statement: the Prosecution of Julian Assange | Feb. 2020
Margaret Kunstler | “In Defense of Julian Assange” | OR Books | 2019
The charges Assange faces are a major threat to press freedom. James Goodale, who represented the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case, commented: “The charge against Assange for ‘conspiring’ with a source is the most dangerous I can think of with respect to the First Amendment in all my years representing media organizations.”
It is critical now to build support for Assange and prevent his delivery into the hands of the Trump administration. That is the urgent purpose of this book. A wide range of distinguished contributors, many of them in original pieces, here set out the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, the importance of their work, and the dangers for us all in the persecution they face. In Defense of Julian Assange is a vivid, vital intervention into one of the most important political issues of our day.
Daniel Ellsberg | WikiLeaks and Whistleblowers | Feb 2020
Daniel Ellsberg and Noam Chomsky | Assange and the freedom of the press | Feb. 2020
Glen Ford | Free All Political Prisoners –- Including Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning | Feb. 13, 2020
Julian Assange and his protégés have made common cause with Black revolutionaries in their zeal to lay bare the dictatorial nature of the omni-pervasive national security state and the sheer, racist barbarity of the U.S. imperial project.
“A huge struggle must be launched to claim the means of human expression.”
All of our fates are entwined with that of Julian Assange, a political prisoner of the global imperial state. Assange, an Australian currently held in solitary confinement in Britain’s Belmarsh prison, faces 175 years behind bars if extradited to the United States, the imperial power whose international crimes and domestic machinations have been severely compromised by Wikileaks, the journalism operation Assange founded.
Renata Avila | The Case against WikiLeaks: A Direct Threat to Our Community | Dec. 2019
The case against @WikiLeaks: a summary from our slides presented at #36C3 https://t.co/yZcLPLdKTz
— Renata Avila (@avilarenata) December 29, 2019
OR Books | “Women, Whistleblowing, WikiLeaks” | 2018
The most controversial activist organization of the 21st century, WikiLeaks has attracted strong, divergent opinions from across the political spectrum. Lauded by its supporters for its indispensable role in holding governments, corporations, and human rights abusers to account, its advocates and journalists have been excoriated by opponents as traitors, threats to legitimate governments, and misogynists. Yet so much media attention is focused upon founder Julian Assange, and his ongoing confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, that the broader dimensions of WikiLeaks are rarely aired. Especially critical in these omissions is the role of women, both in the organization and the more general struggle for information freedom.
Women, Whistleblowing, WikiLeaks presents a conversation between three extraordinary advocates who have been at the forefront of such activity: acclaimed journalist and human rights advocate Sarah Harrison, Croatian-German theater director, activist and author Angela Richter, and Renata Avila, a celebrated Guatemalan human rights lawyer and digital rights expert. Ranging widely, from the dishonesty of the mainstream media and its contrasting treatment of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning to the terrifying monopolization of personal data under tech behemoths such as Facebook and Google, this book is a crucial intervention in the ongoing debate around digital activism.
Renata Avila, Glen Ford, Max Blumenthal | “Julian Assange: Countdown To Freedom” | Feb. 14, 2020
James Goodale | “Is Assange Entitled to Full First Amendment Protection?” | 2019
There should be no question whether Julian Assange is entitled to full First Amendment protection for publication of the Afghanistan war logs, Iraq war logs, and State Department cables for which he was indicted on 11 April 2019 and on 23 May 2019. Further, there is no doubt that the test of such protection should be some iteration of the “clear and present danger test” as used in the Pentagon Papers case.
More James Goodale:
Max Blumenthal | Interview with Randy Credico | Feb. 7, 2020
“Because Julian Assange revealed what they were doing behind the scenes — which I think is good for democracy, I think it’s good for America, I think more democracy is better, more transparency is better — because he revealed that, he’s being punished. “
Anya Parampil | Latin America says ‘No to neoliberalism’: Ecuador’s ex-foreign minister talks uprisings and Assange | Dec. 19, 2020
Anya Parampil and Guillaume Long discuss the coup in Bolivia, the anti-neoliberal uprisings sweeping Latin America, US Monroeism and the OAS, CIA spying on the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and President Lenin Moreno’s betrayal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
We are seeing “a big geopolitical return of a very hawkish and aggressive United States, trying to force Monroeism on the region, the old Monroe Doctrine – ‘It’s our backyard,’” Long explains.
Los Angeles
UCLA Law School | The Prosecution of Julian Assange & the Threat to the Freedom of the Press | Feb. 9 2020
WikiLeaks | “Collateral Murder” | April 2010
5th April 2010 10:44 EST WikiLeaks has released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate slaying of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad — including two Reuters news staff.
Reuters has been trying to obtain the video through the Freedom of Information Act, without success since the time of the attack. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-sight, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.
Barry Pollack | Assange’s US Attorney Says the Case Impacts Not Just Journalists | January 2020
Margaret Kunstler | “In Defense of Julian Assange” | OR Books | 2019
The charges Assange faces are a major threat to press freedom. James Goodale, who represented the New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case, commented: “The charge against Assange for ‘conspiring’ with a source is the most dangerous I can think of with respect to the First Amendment in all my years representing media organizations.”
It is critical now to build support for Assange and prevent his delivery into the hands of the Trump administration. That is the urgent purpose of this book. A wide range of distinguished contributors, many of them in original pieces, here set out the story of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, the importance of their work, and the dangers for us all in the persecution they face. In Defense of Julian Assange is a vivid, vital intervention into one of the most important political issues of our day.
Stephen Rohde | Julian Assange, the Espionage Act of 1917, and Freedom of the Press | June 2019
The Espionage Act has never before been used to prosecute a media organization for publishing or disseminating unlawfully disclosed classified information. Although the Justice Department questions whether Assange is a legitimate journalist, the fact is that since founding WikiLeaks, Assange has been in the business of gathering and publishing newsworthy information and documents. He came to the U.S. government’s attention because much of what he has published has been highly incriminating and embarrassing to the U.S. government, including the controversial “Collateral Murder” video showing a U.S. air crew in Apache helicopters in July 2007 slaughtering a dozen people in Iraq. The dead included two Iraqis working for Reuters news agency, contradicting U.S. claims that all the dead were insurgents.
Marjorie Cohn | Assange’s Indictment Treats Journalism as a Crime | April 2019
The 2003 treaty between the U.S. and the U.K. prohibits extradition if the request is “politically motivated.” That limitation is certainly at play here: Trump administration has made a political decision to single out WikiLeaks and make it an example. The administration wishes to send a message to other press organizations that they publish material critical of U.S. policy at their peril.
The U.K. must deny the extradition of Assange to the United States.
Bianca Bagatourian | Playwright
Carey Shenkman | Whistleblowers Have a Human Right to a Public Interest Defense, And Hacktivists Do, Too | May 2015
Not a single one of those prosecuted has been allowed to argue that their actions served the public good. Chelsea Manning, the alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower, exposed human rights abuses worldwide and opened an unprecedented window into global politics. Her disclosures are to this day cited regularly by the media and courts. Thomas Drake exposed massive NSA waste, while John Kiriakou exposed waterboarding later admitted to be torture in the recent Senate CIA Torture Report. The story of Edward Snowden’s disclosures of widespread NSA surveillance recently won an Oscar.
Whistleblowers cannot argue that their actions had positive effects, known as a “public interest defense.” The United States treats disclosures to the press as acts of spying — no matter what good they lead to. In response, European and international human rights bodies are urging the United States to adopt better protections for whistleblowers.
These protections should apply not only to insiders who blow the whistle, but also to other transparency advocates such as hacktivists. A public interest defense should have been available to Aaron Swartz, the Creative Commons creator and Reddit co-founder who tragically committed suicide following an overzealous government prosecution. His crime? Trying to make academic articles accessible to the public.
Democracy Now | WikiLeaks releases “Iraq War Logs” | 2010
Washington DC
National Press Club | The Prosecution of Julian Assange and Its Impact on the Freedom of the Press | Jan. 30, 2020
Mary-Rose Papandrea | Does Assange Indictment Set Dangerous Precedent for Journalists? Papandrea Explains Concerns | May 2019
“If Julian Assange is convicted… the concern is that there will be no meaningful principle to distinguish the rejection of the First Amendment argument for him from the application of the First Amendment defense to the mainstream media,” explains Mary-Rose Papandrea, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.
“There actually isn’t a very good way of defining who counts as a journalist these days,” she said.
“There never has been, but particularly with the internet, anybody can be a journalist, anybody can be a third party that receives information from a source.”
Jameel Jaffer | Podcast: Prosecuting Julian Assange for Espionage is a Coup Attempt against the First Amendment | May 2019
On Intercepted, Knight Institute’s Jameel Jaffer discusses the indictment of Julian Assange under the Espionage Act and explains why the case represents a grave threat to press freedom.
Ben Wizner | ACLU Comment on Julian Assange’s Indictment | May 2019
“For the first time in the history of our country, the government has brought criminal charges against a publisher for the publication of truthful information. This is an extraordinary escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on journalism, and a direct assault on the First Amendment. It establishes a dangerous precedent that can be used to target all news organizations that hold the government accountable by publishing its secrets. And it is equally dangerous for U.S. journalists who uncover the secrets of other nations. If the US can prosecute a foreign publisher for violating our secrecy laws, there’s nothing preventing China, or Russia, from doing the same.”
Further reading
- US superseding indictment of Julian Assange, 1 CFAA charge & 17 Espionage Act charges, 23 May 2019 – PDF
- WikiLeaks/Chelsea Manning 2010 disclosures – PDF
- The “Assange Precedent”: The threat to the media posed by Trump’s prosecution of Julian Assange – (PDF)
- Russiagate Smears Against WikiLeaks – PDF
- Top Newsrooms Condemn Julian Assange Indictment – PDF
- US Politicians and Presidential Candidates Oppose Julian Assange’s Indictment – PDF
- Free Press Groups Condemn Julian Assange’s Indictment – PDF
- UN torture expert says “collective persecution” of Julian Assange must end now (31 May 2019) – click here
- Press release: UN expert criticizes States for ‘ganging up’ on Wikileaks’ Assange; warns against extradition, fearing ‘serious’ rights violations – click here
- UN expert on torture sounds alarm again that Julian Assange’s life may be at risk (1 November 2019) – click here
Get involved
- Julian Assange Liveblog
- Donate to the WikiLeaks/Assange Defense Fund
- Take Action for Assange & WikiLeaks
- Upcoming Events for Julian Assange
- We Are Millions: photo campaign for Assange
Event organizers
Los Angeles:
- ACLU of Southern California
- National Lawyers Guild – Los Angeles Chapter
- LA Progressive
- FAIR
- Courage Foundation
New York City:
The New Dark Age 
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