Revealing He Too Had Manning Leaks, Ellsberg Dares DOJ to Prosecute Him Like Assange

[cbabe]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/12/07/revealing-he-too-had-manning-leaks-ellsberg-dares-doj-prosecute-him-assange

Revealing He Too Had Manning Leaks, Ellsberg Dares DOJ to Prosecute Him Like Assange

"Let's take this to the Supreme Court," says the Pentagon Papers whistleblower, taking aim at what he argues is an unconstitutional use of the Espionage Act.

JESSICA CORBETT
December 7, 2022

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on Tuesday dared U.S. prosecutors to come after him like they have Julian Assange by revealing in a BBC News interview that the WikiLeaks publisher sent him a backup of leaked materials from former military analyst Chelsea Manning.

"Let me tell you a secret. I had possession of all the Chelsea Manning information before it came out in the press," Ellsberg said to BBC's Stephen Sackur in the on-camera interview. "I've never said that publicly."

Assange had sent him the materials—which include evidence of U.S. war crimes—in case "they caught him and they got everything," the 91-year-old explained. "He could rely on me to find some way to get it out."

Australian-born Assange is currently detained in London and fighting in British and European courts against his extradition to the United States, where he could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted under Espionage Act charges.

Inviting action by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Ellsberg said that "I am now as indictable as Julian Assange and as everyone who put that information out—the papers, everybody who handled it."

"Yes, I had copies of it and I did not give them to an authorized person. So, if they want to indict me for that, I will be interested to argue that one in the courts—whether that law is constitutional," he continued, referring to the Espionage Act.

Highlighting that the highest U.S. court has never held that it is constitutional to use the Espionage Act as if it were a British Official Secrets Act, Ellsberg said that "I'd be happy to take that one to the Supreme Court."

The Espionage Act, "used against whistleblowers, is unconstitutional," he asserted. "It's a clear violation of the First Amendment."

…more…

[Autumn]

1. Daniel Ellsberg. One of the greatest Americans ever. A true hero.

[JohnSJ]

2. Fuck Julian Assange.

[Happy Hoosier]

3. Fuck 'im.

I support TRUE whistle blowing. I absolutely repudiate the indiscriminate release of sensitive information that can endanger people in the field without regard to whether or not it represents abuses.

Manning did that. Assange did that.

If Ellsberg support that, fuck 'im.

[mopinko]

5. when u do it at the behest of a dictator like putler,

yeah, that’s a bad thing.

[Happy Hoosier]

6. Absolutely....

I am afraid that way too many on the left are falling victim to manipulations of Putler and his agents, like Assange. Assange is a man who has positioned himself so resolutely agains the USA, that he has lost all ability to understand that he's become a willing tool. Snowden is another. That asshole betrayed his country and fled to Russia in the name of "Free Speech." Fucking hypocrites, the both of them. If Ellsberg is aligning with them, then he has lost his way.

[cbabe]

8. To clarify: Snowden in Russia

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

Edward Snowden asylum in Russia - Wikipedia

Edward Snowden's residency in Russia is part of the aftermath from the global surveillance disclosures made by Edward Snowden. On June 23, 2013, Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow 's Sheremetyevo International Airport. Observing that his U.S. passport had been canceled, Russian authorities restricted him to the airport terminal.

[Happy Hoosier]

9. Snowden is a Russian citizen now.

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1125109303/putin-edward-snowden-russian-citizenship

[sanatanadharma]

4. Imagine an anti-war journalist in 1944 whistle-blowing against more war

Imagine a journalist getting the V-day (WW2) allied invasion plans and publishing them on June 1st 1944?

[joshcryer]

7. A lot of us had the passworded torrent file.

Which Wikileaks was keeping as a ransom so that they could sell the whole cablegate story piecemeal.

[48656c6c6f20]

10. Offer accepted and by the way

Did you send the docs to Greenwald? We can pick him up too. A twofer espionage triel whooot!

[TheBlackAdder]

11. Does the First Amendment applied to foreign citizens in foreign countries?