PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS: Eleven years ago Americans learned the dirty secrets of the NSA’s illegal surveillance of US citizens – thanks to a courageous whistleblower, Edward Snowden.
Yet, because of the anti-democratic, free-speech-killing Espionage Act, Snowden is stuck in exile, unable to come home.
Snowden
is not the only truthteller to have their life upended by the 107 year
law. The same month Snowden’s revelations made headlines, the US
government put whistleblower Chelsea Manning on trial. She was convicted
under the Espionage Act. And now the government is seeking to prosecute
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for
publishing Manning’s revelations. The
government has escalated its use of the Espionage Act, having moved
from prosecuting journalists’ sources to now prosecuting journalists.
But enough is enough! It’s time to fix the
Espionage Act to prevent the government’s abuse of the law to target
journalists and whistleblowers. Rep. Rashida Tlaib just introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), that would make it much harder to prosecute national security whistleblowers from Ellsberg to Manning to Snowden to Hale (and everyone in between) under the Espionage Act, and would make it impossible to prosecute journalists or publishers like Julian Assange. |
Specifically, the amendment:
- Requires the government prove specific intent to injure the United States or aid a foreign power (i.e. actual espionage)
- Requires that the information exposed was actually properly classified
- Permits a defendant charged under the Espionage Act to testify as to their purpose for disclosing the information
- Creates a public interest defense, including for those seeking to alert the public to war crimes, human rights abuses, and violations of constitutional rights.
Additionally, the amendment would undermine the government’s effort to prosecute Julian Assange - or any future publisher or journalist - under the Espionage Act by excluding journalists, publishers, and members of the general public from its jurisdiction.
Take Action: Tell your Representative to co-sponsor and support this amendment!
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