Bradley Manning trial: Leakers Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg weigh in (+video)

[think]

Bradley Manning trial: Leakers Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg weigh in (+video)

By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer / July 26, 2013

Washington

The outcome of the Pfc. Bradley Manning trial has broad and grave consequences for America as a democracy, warns Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the classified Vietnam-era Pentagon Papers some 40 years ago, exposing widespread governmental misconduct.

~Snip~

In a conference call with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Friday afternoon, Mr. Ellsberg pointed out that President Obama has charged twice as many people under the Espionage Act as all previous presidents.

Yet Manning, rather than someone interested in aiding America’s enemies, is a patriot responsible for “without a doubt the most influential leak in history,” Mr. Assange argues.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki cited documents given by Manning to WikiLeaks in his decision not to renew a Status of Forces Agreement with the US military, which in turn led to the formal end of the Iraq War, Assange noted.

According to Amnesty International, the leaks were one of the leading factors in triggering protests that led to the Arab Spring, he added...


Full article & video:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0726/Bradley-Manning-trial-Leakers-Julian-Assange-and-Daniel-Ellsberg-weigh-in-video

[struggle4progress]

1. This is rather sad BS: "In a conference call with ... Julian Assange, Ellsberg pointed out that

President Obama has charged twice as many people under the Espionage Act as all previous presidents ..."

The claim is so brazenly untrue that it takes my breath away. To get an idea what Espionage Act prosecutions looked like right at the end of WWI, DUers might want to review materials like this NCLB pamphlet:

Espionage Act Cases ...
Published by the National Civil Liberties Board
(Price $1.00) July, 1918
http://debs.indstate.edu/n421e8_1918.pdf

The NCLB published several pamphlets like this, continuing after WWI ended, when Espionage Act prosecutions suddenly took off and thousands people were charged and convicted