shadowproof--2020-10-27--Whistleblower Who Exposed Ex-EPA Chief’s Scandalous Conduct Sues EPA Over Retaliation

An Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower , whose disclosures ultimately led to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt ’ s resignation , filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging his free speech and due process rights were violated .
The lawsuit [ PDF ] says Kevin Chmielewski was a political appointee and worked as Pruitt ’ s deputy chief of staff for operations .
He faced a retaliatory investigation from the EPA ’ s Office of the Inspector General that “ falsely accused ” him of “ not having a security clearance and covering up a past arrest.
” It claims Corey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald Trump ’ s 2016 campaign , told the whistleblower that Pruitt “ knew about his disclosures.
” After Chmielewski refused to “ violate laws and federal rules and made disclosures to officials outside of the EPA , ” Pruitt assigned his responsibilities to another employee .
Furthermore , according to the lawsuit , Charles Munoz , the White House liaison for the EPA , informed Chmielewski on February 12 , 2018 , “ Pruitt wants you to resign effective immediately.
” He was urged to “ sign a resignation form ” because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lose his clearance and never get another job in the federal government.
” The EPA allegedly sent Chmielewski documents on April 20 , 2018 , that falsely represented he resigned from his job .
Helena Wooden-Aguilar , the EPA deputy associate administrator for the Office of Policy , and Justin Fugh , the EPA senior counsel for ethics , both warned “ [ Pruitt ’ s ] chief of staff Ryan Jackson not to make statements to the effect that plaintiff was removed because he went to Congress , human resources , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s “ compliance with expense , budgetary , personnel use , record keeping , and email policies and regulations ” were not duties assigned to Chmielewski .
Nor was it part of his job , according to the lawsuit .
He simply did not want to be part of this misconduct .
He demands that his employment at the EPA be reinstated or that the Energy Department hire him to a position he was promised earlier in 2020 .
Multiple scandals erupted around Pruitt ’ s abuse of taxpayer dollars and how he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his family .
The disgraced EPA administrator was too much of a liability for the Trump administration and resigned on July 5 , 2018 .
Chmielewski accused Pruitt of violating federal statutes , regulations , and EPA policies when he spent funds on travel , “ office improvements , ” and used staff for “ personal tasks.
” “ [ Pruitt ] spent more than $ 120,000 of public funds during a June 2017 trip to Italy that an EPA lobbyist organized under the guise of a meeting with environmental ministers from G-7 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ This trip included a $ 30,500 security detail and nearly $ 90,000 spent on food , hotels , commercial airfare , and an $ 11,000 military jet used by the Administrator and nine of his staffers.
” Although commercial flights were available that were “ faster and cheaper , ” Pruitt still had the EPA shell out $ 11,000 for this flight that took him and his staff from Cincinnati to New York for the trip to Italy .
Chmielewski “ objected that travel logistics or expenditures were not allowed , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t care .
I ’ m a Cabinet Secretary .
Make it happen.
” Pruitt also approved a first-class return trip from Morocco for an EPA official .
But Chmielewski insisted that violated regulations and refused to sign paperwork for the trip .
While Pruitt ran the EPA , he issued a “ blanket waiver ” so officials could fly first class .
He stayed in some of the “ most expensive hotels in violation of the travel policies and regulations .
His travel often exceeded the prescribed 150 percent per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Pruitt , who is no longer a closeted lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry , rented a condo from the head of Williams & Jensen , a lobbying firm .
“ One of the firm ’ s clients in 2017 was Cheniere Energy Inc. , which owned an active liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) export plan at the time , a matter of regulatory concern to the EPA , ” the lawsuit recalls .
Chmielewski was present for meetings between May 2017 and February 2018 , where Pruitt and officials discussed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil industry , and fertilizer businessmen/lobbyists from a “ secret calendar.
” He changed entries to “ staff meeting ” on the public to conceal this activity .
“ EPA staff were directed to falsify the Administrator ’ s official schedules after the meetings took place so the public , and the EPA would not know of meetings with lobbyists.
” Several of the lobbyists involved in fertilizer companies were from Oklahoma , where he was attorney general .
In April 2018 , Chmielewski provided detailed information to the House Oversight and Government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endured when challenging this conduct .
Chmielewski provided details of EPA corruption to NBC News , ABC News , the New York Times , CNN , and the Hill .
“ I hate to take a credit for a man losing his job , but I guess I ’ d have to say that I take the credit , ” Chmielewski told The Hill .
He tried to find work and was informed by the Energy Department that he would be hired on March 31 .
Yet , a little more than a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House Personnel Office there would be no place for him in the Trump administration .
* Chmielewski is one of dozens of employees , who have lost their job in the federal government during the Trump presidency because they were not “ loyal ” enough .
They may never work in government again , despite the fact that they seem to care whether rules or regulations are followed .
In February , White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said the administration would “ examine ” employees who tried to undermine Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that we want people in positions that work with this president , not against him , and too often we have people in this government—I mean the federal government is massive , with millions of people—and there are a lot people out there taking action against this president and when we find them we will take appropriate action , ” Gidley added .
On October 21 , Trump issued an executive order that re-classified numerous federal government positions so the administration would have more authority to fire employees if they speak to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from career professionals in positions that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition but who discharge significant duties and exercise significant discretion in formulating and implementing executive branch policy and programs under the laws of the United States , ” the order states .
“ The heads of executive departments and agencies ( agencies ) and the American people also entrust these career professionals with non‑public information that must be kept confidential.
” Chillingly , it asserts , “ Career employees in confidential , policy-determining , policy‑making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over government operations and effectiveness .
Agencies need the flexibility to expeditiously remove poorly performing employees from these positions without facing extensive delays or litigation.
” From loyalty pledges to gag orders , what happened with Chmielewski is but one example of what could become increasingly common and unremarkable in government if the free speech rights of federal government employees are not defended .

An Environmental Protection Agency whistleblower, whose disclosures ultimately led to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation, filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging his free speech and due process rights were violated.
The lawsuit [PDF] says Kevin Chmielewski was a political appointee and worked as Pruitt’s deputy chief of staff for operations. He faced a retaliatory investigation from the EPA’s Office of the Inspector General that “falsely accused” him of “not having a security clearance and covering up a past arrest.”
It claims Corey Lewandowski, a former official for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, told the whistleblower that Pruitt “knew about his disclosures.” After Chmielewski refused to “violate laws and federal rules and made disclosures to officials outside of the EPA,” Pruitt assigned his responsibilities to another employee.
Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, Charles Munoz, the White House liaison for the EPA, informed Chmielewski on February 12, 2018, “Pruitt wants you to resign effective immediately.” He was urged to “sign a resignation form” because if he was fired he would “lose his clearance and never get another job in the federal government.”
The EPA allegedly sent Chmielewski documents on April 20, 2018, that falsely represented he resigned from his job.
Helena Wooden-Aguilar, the EPA deputy associate administrator for the Office of Policy, and Justin Fugh, the EPA senior counsel for ethics, both warned “[Pruitt’s] chief of staff Ryan Jackson not to make statements to the effect that plaintiff was removed because he went to Congress, human resources, or other officials.”
Oversight of Pruitt’s “compliance with expense, budgetary, personnel use, record keeping, and email policies and regulations” were not duties assigned to Chmielewski. Nor was it part of his job, according to the lawsuit. He simply did not want to be part of this misconduct.
He demands that his employment at the EPA be reinstated or that the Energy Department hire him to a position he was promised earlier in 2020.
‘I’m A Cabinet Secretary, Make It Happen’
Multiple scandals erupted around Pruitt’s abuse of taxpayer dollars and how he used the position to enrich himself and his family.
The disgraced EPA administrator was too much of a liability for the Trump administration and resigned on July 5, 2018.
Chmielewski accused Pruitt of violating federal statutes, regulations, and EPA policies when he spent funds on travel, “office improvements,” and used staff for “personal tasks.”
“[Pruitt] spent more than $120,000 of public funds during a June 2017 trip to Italy that an EPA lobbyist organized under the guise of a meeting with environmental ministers from G-7 countries,” the lawsuit declares. “This trip included a $30,500 security detail and nearly $90,000 spent on food, hotels, commercial airfare, and an $11,000 military jet used by the Administrator and nine of his staffers.”
Although commercial flights were available that were “faster and cheaper,” Pruitt still had the EPA shell out $11,000 for this flight that took him and his staff from Cincinnati to New York for the trip to Italy.
Chmielewski “objected that travel logistics or expenditures were not allowed,” and Pruitt allegedly replied, “I don’t care. I’m a Cabinet Secretary. Make it happen.”
Pruitt also approved a first-class return trip from Morocco for an EPA official. But Chmielewski insisted that violated regulations and refused to sign paperwork for the trip.
While Pruitt ran the EPA, he issued a “blanket waiver” so officials could fly first class. He stayed in some of the “most expensive hotels in violation of the travel policies and regulations. His travel often exceeded the prescribed 150 percent per diem rate without appropriate justification and approval.”
Falsifying A Calendar To Hide Meetings With Corporate Representatives
Pruitt, who is no longer a closeted lobbyist for the fossil fuel industry, rented a condo from the head of Williams & Jensen, a lobbying firm.
“One of the firm’s clients in 2017 was Cheniere Energy Inc., which owned an active liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plan at the time, a matter of regulatory concern to the EPA,” the lawsuit recalls.
Chmielewski was present for meetings between May 2017 and February 2018, where Pruitt and officials discussed removing meetings with coal, mining, oil industry, and fertilizer businessmen/lobbyists from a “secret calendar.” He changed entries to “staff meeting” on the public to conceal this activity.
“EPA staff were directed to falsify the Administrator’s official schedules after the meetings took place so the public, and the EPA would not know of meetings with lobbyists.”
Several of the lobbyists involved in fertilizer companies were from Oklahoma, where he was attorney general.
In April 2018, Chmielewski provided detailed information to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about what he observed and endured when challenging this conduct.
Chmielewski provided details of EPA corruption to NBC News, ABC News, the New York Times, CNN, and the Hill.
“I hate to take a credit for a man losing his job, but I guess I’d have to say that I take the credit,” Chmielewski told The Hill.
He tried to find work and was informed by the Energy Department that he would be hired on March 31. Yet, a little more than a week after, he was told by the White House Personnel Office there would be no place for him in the Trump administration.
*
Chmielewski is one of dozens of employees, who have lost their job in the federal government during the Trump presidency because they were not “loyal” enough. They may never work in government again, despite the fact that they seem to care whether rules or regulations are followed.
In February, White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said the administration would “examine” employees who tried to undermine Trump.
“It’s not a secret that we want people in positions that work with this president, not against him, and too often we have people in this government—I mean the federal government is massive, with millions of people—and there are a lot people out there taking action against this president and when we find them we will take appropriate action,” Gidley added.
On October 21, Trump issued an executive order that re-classified numerous federal government positions so the administration would have more authority to fire employees if they speak to the media.
“The federal government benefits from career professionals in positions that are not normally subject to change as a result of a presidential transition but who discharge significant duties and exercise significant discretion in formulating and implementing executive branch policy and programs under the laws of the United States,” the order states. “The heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) and the American people also entrust these career professionals with non‑public information that must be kept confidential.”
Chillingly, it asserts, “Career employees in confidential, policy-determining, policy‑making, and policy-advocating positions wield significant influence over government operations and effectiveness. Agencies need the flexibility to expeditiously remove poorly performing employees from these positions without facing extensive delays or litigation.”
From loyalty pledges to gag orders, what happened with Chmielewski is but one example of what could become increasingly common and unremarkable in government if the free speech rights of federal government employees are not defended.


shadowproof--2020-10-29--Beyond Prisons Podcast: In Defense Of Looting Feat. Vicky Osterweil

Beyond Prisons Podcast : In Defense Of Looting Feat .
Vicky Osterweil Vicky Osterweil joins the Beyond Prisons podcast to discuss her new book , “ In Defense Of Looting : A Riotous History Of Uncivil Action.
” Our wide-ranging conversation includes Vicky ’ s analysis of the claim that “ real ” and legitimate protests are nonviolent by nature , while rioting and looting constitute an act of hijacking by malevolent outside forces .
We talk about Black women and armed resistance , and their places within the historical legacy of these tactics , as well as the differences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups that have different relations to power .
The conversation explores how these tactics threaten the perceived invincibility of property relations , we think about how prison riots fit within this framework , and a lot more .
Vicky Osterweil is a writer , editor and agitator based in Philadelphia .
Her book , “ In Defense of Looting : A Riotous History of Uncivil Action ” , was released in August by Bold Type Books .
“ I wonder if you fully understand why they ’ ve kept you so well hidden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just because they want this idea of yours .
But because you are an idea .
A dangerous one .
The idea of anarchism , made flesh .
Walking amongst us.
” — Ursula K Le Guin , The Dispossessed Created and hosted by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein Support our show and join us on Patreon .
Check out our other donation options as well .
Please listen , subscribe , and rate/review our podcast on Apple Podcast , Spotify , and Google Play Join our mailing list for updates on new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wilson is available for speaking engagements and to facilitate workshops .
Please contact beyondprisonspodcast @ gmail.com for more information

Vicky Osterweil joins the Beyond Prisons podcast to discuss her new book, “In Defense Of Looting: A Riotous History Of Uncivil Action.”
Our wide-ranging conversation includes Vicky’s analysis of the claim that “real” and legitimate protests are nonviolent by nature, while rioting and looting constitute an act of hijacking by malevolent outside forces.
We talk about Black women and armed resistance, and their places within the historical legacy of these tactics, as well as the differences in how these tactics are used by groups that have different relations to power.
The conversation explores how these tactics threaten the perceived invincibility of property relations, we think about how prison riots fit within this framework, and a lot more.
Vicky Osterweil is a writer, editor and agitator based in Philadelphia. Her book, “In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action”, was released in August by Bold Type Books.
Follow her on Twitter @Vicky_ACAB
Episode Notes & Resources
Buy “In Defense Of Looting” from Bold Type Books
“I wonder if you fully understand why they’ve kept you so well hidden […] It’s not just because they want this idea of yours. But because you are an idea. A dangerous one. The idea of anarchism, made flesh. Walking amongst us.” — Ursula K Le Guin, The Dispossessed
Credits
Created and hosted by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein
Edited by Ellis Maxwell
Website & volunteers managed by Victoria Nam
Theme music by Jared Ware
Support Beyond Prisons
Visit our website at beyond-prisons.com
Support our show and join us on Patreon. Check out our other donation options as well.
Please listen, subscribe, and rate/review our podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Play
Join our mailing list for updates on new episodes, events, and more
Send tips, comments, and questions to beyondprisonspodcast@gmail.com
Kim Wilson is available for speaking engagements and to facilitate workshops. Please contact beyondprisonspodcast@gmail.com for more information
Twitter: @Beyond_Prison
Facebook: @beyondprisonspodcast
Instagram: @beyondprisons


shadowproof--2020-10-30--Dissenter Weekly: DHS Urges Employees To Rat Out Leakers, Snowden’s Permanent Residency In Russia

Dissenter Weekly : DHS Urges Employees To Rat Out Leakers , Snowden ’ s Permanent Residency In Russia On this edition of the “ Dissenter Weekly , ” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola highlights a whistleblower retaliation suit filed against President Donald Trump ’ s administration by former EPA official who worked for the disgraced ex-EPA chief Scott Pruitt .
Later in the show , Gosztola covers an illegal gag order at the Homeland Security Department that discourages whistleblowing .
He ends with some discussion of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden ’ s permanent residency in Russia and an update @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case .
Whistleblower Who Exposed Ex-EPA Chief ’ s Scandalous Conduct Sues EPA Over Retaliation Illegal Gag Order : DHS Urges Employees To Report Colleagues Who Leak Seven Whistleblowers Purged From Texas Attorney General ’ s Office Snowden Granted Permanent Residency In Russia , Where He Remains In Exile Update On WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange ’ s Case This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com , a 100 % reader-funded press organization .
If you enjoy our work , you can support us with a donation or by subscribing for $ 5/month @ @ @ @ @ @

On this edition of the “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola highlights a whistleblower retaliation suit filed against President Donald Trump’s administration by former EPA official who worked for the disgraced ex-EPA chief Scott Pruitt.
Later in the show, Gosztola covers an illegal gag order at the Homeland Security Department that discourages whistleblowing. He ends with some discussion of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s permanent residency in Russia and an update on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s case.
This week’s stories:
Whistleblower Who Exposed Ex-EPA Chief’s Scandalous Conduct Sues EPA Over Retaliation
Illegal Gag Order: DHS Urges Employees To Report Colleagues Who Leak
Seven Whistleblowers Purged From Texas Attorney General’s Office
Snowden Granted Permanent Residency In Russia, Where He Remains In Exile
Update On WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange’s Case
Send tips and feedback to editor@shadowproof.com
This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com, a 100% reader-funded press organization. If you enjoy our work, you can support us with a donation or by subscribing for $5/month or more: https://shadowproof.com/donate


shadowproof--2020-11-02--Facing COVID-19 Outbreak Among Workers, USPS Seeks Help With Mail-In Ballots In Swing States

Facing COVID-19 Outbreak Among Workers , USPS Seeks Help With Mail-In Ballots In Swing States The coronavirus has had such a severe impact on U.S .
Postal Service workers in Wisconsin and Michigan that state agencies are reportedly asking Minnesota to send help as Election Day looms on the horizon .
An outbreak affecting letter carriers could have major consequences for Wisconsin and Michigan voters , as both states have a hard Election Day deadline for votes to be received .
“ The vast majority of voters in Wisconsin and a lot of states are likely going to be voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ founder and executive director of Spread The Vote , told Shadowproof .
“ Now we ’ re having this trouble.
” A current Minnesota postal service worker with knowledge of the Wisconsin request confirmed to Shadowproof that the plea was made during a union phone call on October 29 .
According to the worker , the union ’ s national business agent said that the disease is “ rampant ” among carriers in Wisconsin and that stations around the state are seeing labor shortages due to the outbreak .
Carriers were also implored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for an opportunity to make some extra money , ” according to internal documents reviewed by Shadowproof .
The paper said workers traveling over 50 miles could be eligible for roundtrip mileage and hotel reimbursements , as well as a per diem of up to $ 56 a day .
According to the Washington Post : “ In Detroit , where Democrats are relying on heavy turnout to carry the rest of Michigan , only 70.9 percent of first-class mail was on time the week that ended October 9 , compared with 92.2 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The Supreme Court on October 26 ruled that ballots in Wisconsin must be received no later than Election Day at 8 p.m. , irrespective of postmark .
That cutoff could result in the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters .
“ Elections must end sometime , a single deadline supplies clear notice , and requiring ballots be in by Election Day puts all voters on the same footing , ” Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh wrote of the deadline in a concurring opinion .
“ County clerks can ’ t start counting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and ballots that are postmarked and received by November 3rd will still be valid , ” explained Wisconsin ACLU Rights for All Organizer Ryeshia Farmer in a blog post on October 22 .
“ All of this means that it could take a while before we get verified results.
” “ That we have this pandemic is exactly why we need the courts to step in , ” said Spread the Vote ’ s Calvin .
“ And it ’ s why the recent Supreme Court decisions have been so disturbing—they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” In a year where trust in the electoral process is already low , Calvin contended the ruling and the disruption to the polls could present real issues for the democratic system .
“ That ’ s another reason to make people question the legitimacy of this election , which is the last thing we need , ” Calvin said .
Wisconsin currently has one of the nation ’ s highest rates of COVID-19 , with 5,778 new cases confirmed on October 31 .
The state ’ s outbreak has coincided with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the polls .
According to Paul McKenna , president of the American Postal Workers Union , AFL-CIO for Milwaukee Area Local 3 , the pandemic has had a major effect on the Lakeland District , which encompasses much of eastern Wisconsin .
The outbreak , McKenna said , was in some ways foreseeable .
“ It ’ s hard forcing workers to wear masks , ” said McKenna , adding that masks weren ’ t mandated for carriers until last week .
McKenna said he was not aware of a call for letter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go to the National Association of Letter Carriers , not APWU .
He told Shadowproof the total cases in the district from March were a little over 500 , with around 200 of those coming in October alone .
“ There were 236 cases from March to September 1 , ” said McKenna .
“ Then , in September and October , there were roughly 300.
” The news from Wisconsin and Michigan is part of a worrying trend of slowing mail that began over the summer .
Critics at that time charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency ahead of an increase in the use of absentee ballots .
As NPR reported on October 31 : “ After becoming postmaster general , Louis DeJoy , a high-dollar donor to Republicans including Trump , instituted a number of service changes that critics charge slowed mail deliveries.
” “ The Postal Service says it has stopped those measures , including the removal of distribution machines , sidewalk mail boxes and other actions , until after the election , ” the news agency continued .
“ A series of court rulings ordered similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Purcell , in a hearing on October 30 , called for stronger measures to ensure ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin are counted .
He maintained that added sweeps in post offices to find misplaced ballots could “ go a long ways.
” “ If we find out next Wednesday that they weren ’ t , ” said Purcell , “ it will be too late and there will be no way to undo the harm.
” The U.S .
Postal Service ( USPS ) is seeing mail delays in central Pennsylvania , Detroit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ COVID-19 and employee unavailability.
” The three regions , which include parts of two states seen as essential to winning the election , are taking “ special , extraordinary measures to deliver ballots , ” according to the USPS .
As a result of a lawsuit from the NAACP , Vote Forward , and other voting rights groups requiring its disclosure , the data detailing those delays was released .
D.C. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan , who is presiding over the case , said at the end of an October 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court ’ s hat is off to the men and women who are responsible for the day-to-day processing and delivery.
” “ They didn ’ t create the problems in this case , ” said Sullivan .
“ Those at the top of the employment ladder , the supervisors and [ Postmaster General Louis ] DeJoy , created the problems.
” Sullivan ’ s praise for USPS workers was echoed by Calvin , who called them “ the most essential of workers.
” “ I ’ m concerned about the postal workers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ make people mistrust them , ” said Calvin .
“ But there ’ s no excuse for us to even be in this situation .
”

The coronavirus has had such a severe impact on U.S. Postal Service workers in Wisconsin and Michigan that state agencies are reportedly asking Minnesota to send help as Election Day looms on the horizon.
An outbreak affecting letter carriers could have major consequences for Wisconsin and Michigan voters, as both states have a hard Election Day deadline for votes to be received.
“The vast majority of voters in Wisconsin and a lot of states are likely going to be voting by mail,” Kat Calvin, founder and executive director of Spread The Vote, told Shadowproof. “Now we’re having this trouble.”
A current Minnesota postal service worker with knowledge of the Wisconsin request confirmed to Shadowproof that the plea was made during a union phone call on October 29.
According to the worker, the union’s national business agent said that the disease is “rampant” among carriers in Wisconsin and that stations around the state are seeing labor shortages due to the outbreak.
Carriers were also implored to volunteer for the Detroit office “for an opportunity to make some extra money,” according to internal documents reviewed by Shadowproof. The paper said workers traveling over 50 miles could be eligible for roundtrip mileage and hotel reimbursements, as well as a per diem of up to $56 a day.
According to the Washington Post: “In Detroit, where Democrats are relying on heavy turnout to carry the rest of Michigan, only 70.9 percent of first-class mail was on time the week that ended October 9, compared with 92.2 percent at the start of the year.”
The Supreme Court on October 26 ruled that ballots in Wisconsin must be received no later than Election Day at 8 p.m., irrespective of postmark. That cutoff could result in the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters.
“Elections must end sometime, a single deadline supplies clear notice, and requiring ballots be in by Election Day puts all voters on the same footing,” Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh wrote of the deadline in a concurring opinion.
“County clerks can’t start counting votes until 7 a.m. on Election Day, and ballots that are postmarked and received by November 3rd will still be valid,” explained Wisconsin ACLU Rights for All Organizer Ryeshia Farmer in a blog post on October 22. “All of this means that it could take a while before we get verified results.”
“That we have this pandemic is exactly why we need the courts to step in,” said Spread the Vote’s Calvin. “And it’s why the recent Supreme Court decisions have been so disturbing—they are not taking the current crisis into account.”
In a year where trust in the electoral process is already low, Calvin contended the ruling and the disruption to the polls could present real issues for the democratic system.
“That’s another reason to make people question the legitimacy of this election, which is the last thing we need,” Calvin said.
Wisconsin currently has one of the nation’s highest rates of COVID-19, with 5,778 new cases confirmed on October 31. The state’s outbreak has coincided with a surge in mail-in voting as people avoid the polls.
According to Paul McKenna, president of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO for Milwaukee Area Local 3, the pandemic has had a major effect on the Lakeland District, which encompasses much of eastern Wisconsin. The outbreak, McKenna said, was in some ways foreseeable.
“It’s hard forcing workers to wear masks,” said McKenna, adding that masks weren’t mandated for carriers until last week.
McKenna said he was not aware of a call for letter carriers but that such a call would go to the National Association of Letter Carriers, not APWU. He told Shadowproof the total cases in the district from March were a little over 500, with around 200 of those coming in October alone.
“There were 236 cases from March to September 1,” said McKenna. “Then, in September and October, there were roughly 300.”
The news from Wisconsin and Michigan is part of a worrying trend of slowing mail that began over the summer. Critics at that time charged the slow-down was aimed at disrupting the agency ahead of an increase in the use of absentee ballots.
As NPR reported on October 31: “After becoming postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a high-dollar donor to Republicans including Trump, instituted a number of service changes that critics charge slowed mail deliveries.”
“The Postal Service says it has stopped those measures, including the removal of distribution machines, sidewalk mail boxes and other actions, until after the election,” the news agency continued. “A series of court rulings ordered similar steps.”
Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell, in a hearing on October 30, called for stronger measures to ensure ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin are counted. He maintained that added sweeps in post offices to find misplaced ballots could “go a long ways.”
“If we find out next Wednesday that they weren’t,” said Purcell, “it will be too late and there will be no way to undo the harm.”
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is seeing mail delays in central Pennsylvania, Detroit, and greater Michigan regions—among others—due to “COVID-19 and employee unavailability.” The three regions, which include parts of two states seen as essential to winning the election, are taking “special, extraordinary measures to deliver ballots,” according to the USPS.
As a result of a lawsuit from the NAACP, Vote Forward, and other voting rights groups requiring its disclosure, the data detailing those delays was released.
D.C. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, who is presiding over the case, said at the end of an October 29 hearing on delivery times that “the court’s hat is off to the men and women who are responsible for the day-to-day processing and delivery.”
“They didn’t create the problems in this case,” said Sullivan. “Those at the top of the employment ladder, the supervisors and [Postmaster General Louis] DeJoy, created the problems.”
Sullivan’s praise for USPS workers was echoed by Calvin, who called them “the most essential of workers.”
“I’m concerned about the postal workers. I don’t want this to make people mistrust them,” said Calvin. “But there’s no excuse for us to even be in this situation.”


shadowproof--2020-11-02--Sex-Offense Registry Sweeps Intended To Boost Support For Cops Unwittingly Spread COVID-19

The Oklahoma City Police Department pulled off a social media coup on July 7 .
“ Meet the top 10 most wanted individuals being sought by our Sex Offender Registration Unit , ” the department posted on its Facebook page .
“ It ’ s important we keep tabs on these guys ( and gal ) , so help us find them.
” The post engaged a huge number of readers , receiving 1,500 shares and nearly 500 comments .
Told dangerous people were loose on city streets , readers responded .
“ [ She ] works at [ a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick !
” posted one .
Shadowproof is withholding this individual ’ s name and place of work to protect them from retaliation .
Others had their own solutions : “ If I spot any I ’ ll send you the parts.
” “ Should just chalk these guys up as losses .
Let the people deal some justice.
” “ Take them out back and shoot them.
” The department hasn ’ t clearly explained how it chose its top 10 .
At least six were convicted of a sexual crime that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haven ’ t been convicted of a new one , according to state information .
Their names are published in the state ’ s sex-offense registry , alongside their photos , personal and workplace addresses , and other information .
No one on the “ top 10 most wanted ” list was accused of a repeat sexual crime , it appears .
Instead , the department had warrants out for them because they had failed to show up in person to update their information on the registry , department spokesperson Megan Morgan wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t sure whether any had warrants out for any other offense . )
It is not uncommon for police departments around the country to conduct registry sweeps like this one , looking for registrants whose paperwork is out of compliance .
This summer in Utah , federal , state , and local law enforcement conducted what a spokesperson said may have been the state ’ s largest registry compliance operation ever , arresting 33 people .
The logic behind these operations is simple : registrants who don ’ t update their information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s no evidence to support that logic , and law enforcement may have other purposes in mind .
All but one of those targeted in the Oklahoma City sweep appears to have been homeless at the time of the social media post .
Four are listed on the state ’ s registry as “ transient.
” Five others have addresses in commercial or industrial zones where there are no homes , according to the address data on the department ’ s Facebook post and the registry .
The tenth is listed as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wasn ’ t sure how many were transient and that she ’ d be relying on the same information as this reporter to determine the answer .
State policy may well have forced them into homelessness .
In 2006 , Oklahoma enacted a law barring registrants from living within 2,000 feet of a school or daycare .
As a result , 84 percent of the city ’ s housing was off limits , with the little that remained located in industrial areas with no homes , according to a 2007 Human Rights Watch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted last year in South Carolina , have found a tight link between expansive bans on where registrants can live and higher rates of homelessness .
In Oklahoma nearly 200 people dropped off the state registry after the law ’ s passage .
“ If a man is in prison for a sex-offense and doesn ’ t have somebody help him once he gets out , he ’ s very apt to end up sleeping under a bridge somewhere , ” said “ David , ” who lives in an RV near Tulsa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ name used for fear of retaliation .
For people whose lives are in chaos because of homelessness , it ’ s easy to make a mistake .
State rules almost guarantee mistakes will happen .
Homeless registrants are required to report in person to local law enforcement every seven days to update the location where they ’ re camped .
A 2010 Minnesota study concluded that not updating registration is the most common reason those on sex-offense registries return to prison .
In some Oklahoma counties , the law enforcement bureaucracy itself may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is required to register four times a year—missing the deadline subjects him to the possibility of five years in prison and/or a $ 5,000 fine .
The state ’ s Department of Corrections was supposed to send David an address verification form at least 10 days before his registration deadline , which he completes and brings with him in person to his local sheriff ’ s office , which in turn forwards it to the state .
When he called the sheriff ’ s office where he registers to tell them he hadn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person on the phone told him not to come in until October 23—13 days after his deadline .
“ I feel helpless , ” David added .
He fears cops in another jurisdiction , who don ’ t know he ’ s trying to comply , could arrest him .
Locked Up Over Failure To Do Paperwork Filling jails and prisons with people for failing to do paperwork seems like a particularly bad move as more than 242,000 people behind bars have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 1,400 inmates and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New York Times .
Those include sixty-year-old New Yorker Hector Rodriguez , a homeless ex-offender sent to Rikers Island on March 4 for failing to register .
He died of COVID-19 on June 21 .
His crime dated to 1979 .
In Colorado in early March , 78-year-old Charlie Peterson was arrested for failing to register and was subsequently incarcerated in the Weld County Jail .
He died three weeks later of health complications apparently caused by COVID-19 .
In January , 51-year-old Charles Hobbs was arrested in Florida for failing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Miami-Dade jail and died of the coronavirus at the end of April , becoming the first in the jail to die of the illness and likely infecting others .
None of that has deterred cops from continuing to lock up registrants around the country for missing registration deadlines .
Stories of those arrests spill across local news sites every week .
There ’ s almost no evidence the interlocking policies that led Oklahoma City cops to arrest homeless people make anyone safer .
Studies in three states between 2009 and 2012 , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recidivism between registration-compliant and noncompliant sex offenders , ” notes a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Justice summarizing the research on those convicted of past sexual crimes .
A 2006 study in Washington State found that those who failed to register had a felony sex crime conviction recidivism rate of 4.3 percent compared with 2.8 percent for those whose registration papers were in order .
“ It is unknown whether this difference was statistically significant , ” according to the Justice Department .
The data on residency restrictions like Oklahoma ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The DOJ examined the impact of residency bans since 2004 .
“ In summary , there is no empirical support for the effectiveness of residence restrictions , ” the report concluded .
If anything , the restrictions make communities more dangerous : “ In fact , a number of negative unintended consequences have been empirically identified , including loss of housing , loss of support systems and financial hardship that may aggravate rather than mitigate offender risk , ” according to the report .
But all of this might miss the point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press conference about the Utah sweep , U.S .
Marshal Matt Harris , an appointee of President Donald Trump , said the operation “ gives confidence to the moms and dads out there , knowing that at the start of the school year , and even when some in our nation are looking down on our profession , that we continue to protect and serve , and we will keep your children safe.
” U.S. Attorney John Huber , an appointee of President Barack Obama , added that “ this extensive , expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands and chants of the activists are .
This type of operation shows how ridiculous the demands are to defund the police , to defund law enforcement .
Who will protect our children in such a bizarre counter-universe ?
” In August , for a story about “ hidden sex offenders ” that ran on a Missouri TV station , police sergeant James Brown said , “ If someone gets a Facebook page and doesn ’ t register that with me , then that ’ s a felony.
” “ Since I took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have probably arrested 30-to-40 sex offenders for failure to register , ” Brown added .
Keeping fear at a low boil helps gin up more support for cops , and not many registrants push back .
Most registrants are just trying to stay off the radar since vigilantes regularly target them and their families .
“ Registrants , like victims , don ’ t feel they have much of a voice , so very few have the courage to speak up and tell their stories , ” writes Jeff Miller , a Utah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a similar compliance sweep in 2017 , by email .
Back in Oklahoma , David says that “ sex offenders are an easy pick-on because they don ’ t fight back.
” It helps that mainstream media often serve as willing partners in framing registration violations as imminent threats .
In September , NPR ran a story about law enforcement “ losing track of sex offenders ” during the pandemic .
“ When authorities don ’ t aggressively pursue sex offenders who flee , they often move undetected , sometimes across state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the reporter noted , offering no data to support the claim .
In March , People Magazine reporter Tomás Mier wrote about Kenneth Petty , husband of rapper Nicki Minaj , who ’ d been arrested for not updating his registration information after moving from New York to California .
He was convicted of attempted rape 25 years ago when he was age 15 , served four years in prison , and is required to be on the California sex-offender registry for life .
If convicted of forgetting to report to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to ten years in prison Mier used the New York State registry ’ s language about Petty—as a level 2 registrant , he ’ s a “ moderate ” risk to reoffend .
But that term needs context : the most definitive synthesis of 21 studies , done in 2014 , found that among almost 8,000 ex-offenders , 12 percent reoffended over the course of 15 years .
Among moderate-risk ex-offenders , the figure was 2 percent , the same as the risk in ex-offenders with no sexual crime at all in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get a pass on compliance sweeps for much longer .
A few grassroots groups pushed back on Oklahoma City ’ s social media post .
Lori Hamilton , a private investigator who coordinates the group OK Voices , put up a number of comments on the page to correct misinformation .
The National Association for Rational Sex Offender Laws , a nonprofit advocacy group , issued a press release that argued the post “ incites mob rule and vigilantism ” and demanded it be taken down .
In a 2010 study , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed what other research was showing : failure to register didn ’ t predict recidivism .
Those results led them to recommend a reform that would not waste taxpayer dollars .
“ In light of the data indicating that a relatively small number of sex offenders fail to comply with registration , and those who do are not apt to reoffend sexually , we suggest that resources might be better allocated to helping sex offenders reintegrate successfully , ” they wrote .
“ Provisions for stable and meaningful employment , housing , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ model of punitive and surveillance-based supervision , might contribute more beneficially to public safety .
”

The Oklahoma City Police Department pulled off a social media coup on July 7. “Meet the top 10 most wanted individuals being sought by our Sex Offender Registration Unit,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “It’s important we keep tabs on these guys (and gal), so help us find them.” The post engaged a huge number of readers, receiving 1,500 shares and nearly 500 comments.
Told dangerous people were loose on city streets, readers responded. “[She] works at [a local store] I’m fucking sick!” posted one. Shadowproof is withholding this individual’s name and place of work to protect them from retaliation.
Others had their own solutions: “If I spot any I’ll send you the parts.” “Should just chalk these guys up as losses. Let the people deal some justice.” “Take them out back and shoot them.”
The department hasn’t clearly explained how it chose its top 10. At least six were convicted of a sexual crime that happened 10 or more years ago and haven’t been convicted of a new one, according to state information. Their names are published in the state’s sex-offense registry, alongside their photos, personal and workplace addresses, and other information.
No one on the “top 10 most wanted” list was accused of a repeat sexual crime, it appears. Instead, the department had warrants out for them because they had failed to show up in person to update their information on the registry, department spokesperson Megan Morgan wrote in an email. (She wasn’t sure whether any had warrants out for any other offense.)
It is not uncommon for police departments around the country to conduct registry sweeps like this one, looking for registrants whose paperwork is out of compliance.
This summer in Utah, federal, state, and local law enforcement conducted what a spokesperson said may have been the state’s largest registry compliance operation ever, arresting 33 people.
The logic behind these operations is simple: registrants who don’t update their information pose an imminent threat. But there’s no evidence to support that logic, and law enforcement may have other purposes in mind.
All but one of those targeted in the Oklahoma City sweep appears to have been homeless at the time of the social media post. Four are listed on the state’s registry as “transient.” Five others have addresses in commercial or industrial zones where there are no homes, according to the address data on the department’s Facebook post and the registry. The tenth is listed as “address unknown.”
Morgan said she wasn’t sure how many were transient and that she’d be relying on the same information as this reporter to determine the answer.
State policy may well have forced them into homelessness. In 2006, Oklahoma enacted a law barring registrants from living within 2,000 feet of a school or daycare. As a result, 84 percent of the city’s housing was off limits, with the little that remained located in industrial areas with no homes, according to a 2007 Human Rights Watch report.
Several studies, including one conducted last year in South Carolina, have found a tight link between expansive bans on where registrants can live and higher rates of homelessness. In Oklahoma nearly 200 people dropped off the state registry after the law’s passage.
“If a man is in prison for a sex-offense and doesn’t have somebody help him once he gets out, he’s very apt to end up sleeping under a bridge somewhere,” said “David,” who lives in an RV near Tulsa and doesn’t want his real name used for fear of retaliation.
For people whose lives are in chaos because of homelessness, it’s easy to make a mistake. State rules almost guarantee mistakes will happen.
Homeless registrants are required to report in person to local law enforcement every seven days to update the location where they’re camped. A 2010 Minnesota study concluded that not updating registration is the most common reason those on sex-offense registries return to prison.
In some Oklahoma counties, the law enforcement bureaucracy itself may make it tough to comply. David is required to register four times a year—missing the deadline subjects him to the possibility of five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
The state’s Department of Corrections was supposed to send David an address verification form at least 10 days before his registration deadline, which he completes and brings with him in person to his local sheriff’s office, which in turn forwards it to the state. When he called the sheriff’s office where he registers to tell them he hadn’t received his form, the person on the phone told him not to come in until October 23—13 days after his deadline.
“I feel helpless,” David added. He fears cops in another jurisdiction, who don’t know he’s trying to comply, could arrest him.
Locked Up Over Failure To Do Paperwork
Filling jails and prisons with people for failing to do paperwork seems like a particularly bad move as more than 242,000 people behind bars have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 1,400 inmates and corrections officers have died, according to the New York Times.
Those include sixty-year-old New Yorker Hector Rodriguez, a homeless ex-offender sent to Rikers Island on March 4 for failing to register. He died of COVID-19 on June 21. His crime dated to 1979.
In Colorado in early March, 78-year-old Charlie Peterson was arrested for failing to register and was subsequently incarcerated in the Weld County Jail. He died three weeks later of health complications apparently caused by COVID-19.
In January, 51-year-old Charles Hobbs was arrested in Florida for failing to register. He was held in the Miami-Dade jail and died of the coronavirus at the end of April, becoming the first in the jail to die of the illness and likely infecting others.
None of that has deterred cops from continuing to lock up registrants around the country for missing registration deadlines. Stories of those arrests spill across local news sites every week.
There’s almost no evidence the interlocking policies that led Oklahoma City cops to arrest homeless people make anyone safer. Studies in three states between 2009 and 2012, “failed to find any significant differences in recidivism between registration-compliant and noncompliant sex offenders,” notes a 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Justice summarizing the research on those convicted of past sexual crimes.
A 2006 study in Washington State found that those who failed to register had a felony sex crime conviction recidivism rate of 4.3 percent compared with 2.8 percent for those whose registration papers were in order. “It is unknown whether this difference was statistically significant,” according to the Justice Department.
The data on residency restrictions like Oklahoma’s 2,000-foot ban are even more conclusive. The DOJ examined the impact of residency bans since 2004.
“In summary, there is no empirical support for the effectiveness of residence restrictions,” the report concluded.
If anything, the restrictions make communities more dangerous: “In fact, a number of negative unintended consequences have been empirically identified, including loss of housing, loss of support systems and financial hardship that may aggravate rather than mitigate offender risk,” according to the report.
But all of this might miss the point of these roundups.
At an August press conference about the Utah sweep, U.S. Marshal Matt Harris, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the operation “gives confidence to the moms and dads out there, knowing that at the start of the school year, and even when some in our nation are looking down on our profession, that we continue to protect and serve, and we will keep your children safe.”
U.S. Attorney John Huber, an appointee of President Barack Obama, added that “this extensive, expensive operation brings into focus how ludicrous the demands and chants of the activists are. This type of operation shows how ridiculous the demands are to defund the police, to defund law enforcement. Who will protect our children in such a bizarre counter-universe?”
In August, for a story about “hidden sex offenders” that ran on a Missouri TV station, police sergeant James Brown said, “If someone gets a Facebook page and doesn’t register that with me, then that’s a felony.”
“Since I took this position two-and-a-half years ago, I have probably arrested 30-to-40 sex offenders for failure to register,” Brown added.
Keeping fear at a low boil helps gin up more support for cops, and not many registrants push back.
Keeping Fear At A Low Boil
Most registrants are just trying to stay off the radar since vigilantes regularly target them and their families.
“Registrants, like victims, don’t feel they have much of a voice, so very few have the courage to speak up and tell their stories,” writes Jeff Miller, a Utah registrant who was one of the targets of a similar compliance sweep in 2017, by email.
Back in Oklahoma, David says that “sex offenders are an easy pick-on because they don’t fight back.”
It helps that mainstream media often serve as willing partners in framing registration violations as imminent threats. In September, NPR ran a story about law enforcement “losing track of sex offenders” during the pandemic.
“When authorities don’t aggressively pursue sex offenders who flee, they often move undetected, sometimes across state lines, and commit additional sex crimes,” the reporter noted, offering no data to support the claim.
In March, People Magazine reporter Tomás Mier wrote about Kenneth Petty, husband of rapper Nicki Minaj, who’d been arrested for not updating his registration information after moving from New York to California. He was convicted of attempted rape 25 years ago when he was age 15, served four years in prison, and is required to be on the California sex-offender registry for life. If convicted of forgetting to report to the cops in California, he faces up to ten years in prison
Mier used the New York State registry’s language about Petty—as a level 2 registrant, he’s a “moderate” risk to reoffend. But that term needs context: the most definitive synthesis of 21 studies, done in 2014, found that among almost 8,000 ex-offenders, 12 percent reoffended over the course of 15 years.
Among moderate-risk ex-offenders, the figure was 2 percent, the same as the risk in ex-offenders with no sexual crime at all in their past.
Law enforcement might not get a pass on compliance sweeps for much longer. A few grassroots groups pushed back on Oklahoma City’s social media post. Lori Hamilton, a private investigator who coordinates the group OK Voices, put up a number of comments on the page to correct misinformation.
The National Association for Rational Sex Offender Laws, a nonprofit advocacy group, issued a press release that argued the post “incites mob rule and vigilantism” and demanded it be taken down.
In a 2010 study, a group of top experts on sexual recidivism confirmed what other research was showing: failure to register didn’t predict recidivism.
Those results led them to recommend a reform that would not waste taxpayer dollars.
“In light of the data indicating that a relatively small number of sex offenders fail to comply with registration, and those who do are not apt to reoffend sexually, we suggest that resources might be better allocated to helping sex offenders reintegrate successfully,” they wrote. “Provisions for stable and meaningful employment, housing, and family support, rather than the dominant model of punitive and surveillance-based supervision, might contribute more beneficially to public safety.”


shadowproof--2020-11-02--I No Longer Hate Trump. In Fact, I Love Joe Biden Too.

I No Longer Hate Trump .
In Fact , I Love Joe Biden Too .
It is nearly Election Day , and I would like to clear up any confusion out there .
If you think I am only voting against President Donald Trump , you are terribly mistaken .
I have a hawkish crush on former Vice President Joe Biden , Senator Kamala Harris , and their campaign , and I can not wait to see the Biden-Harris ticket triumph .
I mean it .
I may have a history of supporting bombing campaigns in the Middle East .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ right-wing policies here and there that would benefit powerful corporations .
I may have framed the first page of the crime bill in 1994 .
But that is exactly why I will kneel on the ground Biden walks upon before he boards the Amtrak to the White House .
Biden hugs people .
I saw Biden hug a child .
Biden took that child in his arms in a big way .
That child was not a preteen so it was not gross like it would ’ ve been if Trump put his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been thinking of Ivanka .
With Biden , even if he sometimes gives you that dirty grandpa grin when he puts on his ballcap , he doesn ’ t think about fucking his children or anybody else ’ s children .
Every day Biden wakes up , he is thinking about compromising .
He actively seeks out people , who are repulsive and no longer representative of politics in the United States , and he says , “ You know , maybe we can work together to make progress not happen.
” This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time inspiring people so he accepts that it is not worth it for Democrats to pretend to be an opposition party .
From the beginning , he will welcome Republicans into the White House so the hope for change that haunted the Obama administration does not return .
Biden is not a radical tool .
He ’ s just a tool , and he will always be a tool .
He is a tool right now .
He is being used by Republicans , who do not like Trump , to beat Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infested with some of the worst termite , cockroaches , and rodent politicians—people even Biden would not want to work with when elected .
But back to the main point , a social justice president who gives the American people progress , like the Green New Deal , Medicare For All , or an expanded Supreme Court , would make me more irrelevant than I already am to the average American .
In terms of foreign policy , Biden will not let despotic leaders manipulate him .
He will manipulate the despotic leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supposed to be as America maintains its dominance in the world .
We tell countries when to drop bombs for us and whether we need them to uphold human rights ( sometimes it can get in the way ) .
And then , those leaders are free to govern and serve the interests of American corporations .
Biden is not afraid to admit that he was wrong .
Remarkably , he will gladly read any plagiarized speech his advisers give him in order to get the press off his back .
There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go leaking to the media .
Do you want him to start a commission and go after leakers ?
C ’ mon , let ’ s not let the Russian , and Iranians , and Chinese tear us apart .
We have gotten away from listening to experts .
Do you recall when the experts brought us a financial crash in 2008 that was the result of massive fraud on Wall Street ?
And when they brought us a good old fashioned war of occupation in Iraq and an endless but good war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fighting ?
( Hey , son .
If you ’ re reading this , the family really wishes you ’ d post less about QAnon on Facebook . )
It is true that Biden is not a reality television star .
Cable news media ratings and the bottom lines for news media organizations will likely suffer , and media will need to fuel some kind of moral panic to keep consumers glued to their screens .
But don ’ t worry .
Part of my job is feeding into panics so that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show off my shiny bald head , which I learned to groom myself during COVID-19 .
Biden is a winner , and I look forward to going to the White House with a mask to kiss his feet and congratulate him on restoring elites we can believe in to positions of power .
I even attached a white card inside my fedora so I can get his autograph and ask him to invite me to the Oval Office to debate him during his administration .
( I ’ m willing to lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So join me in showing enthusiasm for Biden .
I ’ ll be setting off pee tape golden shower fireworks when the people return this country to the same status quo that brought us President Trump .

It is nearly Election Day, and I would like to clear up any confusion out there. If you think I am only voting against President Donald Trump, you are terribly mistaken. I have a hawkish crush on former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris, and their campaign, and I cannot wait to see the Biden-Harris ticket triumph.
I mean it. I may have a history of supporting bombing campaigns in the Middle East. I may have shilled for a few right-wing policies here and there that would benefit powerful corporations. I may have framed the first page of the crime bill in 1994. But that is exactly why I will kneel on the ground Biden walks upon before he boards the Amtrak to the White House.
Biden hugs people. I saw Biden hug a child. Biden took that child in his arms in a big way. That child was not a preteen so it was not gross like it would’ve been if Trump put his arms around her. Trump would have been thinking of Ivanka. With Biden, even if he sometimes gives you that dirty grandpa grin when he puts on his ballcap, he doesn’t think about fucking his children or anybody else’s children.
Every day Biden wakes up, he is thinking about compromising. He actively seeks out people, who are repulsive and no longer representative of politics in the United States, and he says, “You know, maybe we can work together to make progress not happen.” This is good because Biden has a tough time inspiring people so he accepts that it is not worth it for Democrats to pretend to be an opposition party. From the beginning, he will welcome Republicans into the White House so the hope for change that haunted the Obama administration does not return.
Biden is not a radical tool. He’s just a tool, and he will always be a tool. He is a tool right now. He is being used by Republicans, who do not like Trump, to beat Trump because we let the Republican Party become infested with some of the worst termite, cockroaches, and rodent politicians—people even Biden would not want to work with when elected. But back to the main point, a social justice president who gives the American people progress, like the Green New Deal, Medicare For All, or an expanded Supreme Court, would make me more irrelevant than I already am to the average American.
In terms of foreign policy, Biden will not let despotic leaders manipulate him. He will manipulate the despotic leaders. That is the way it is supposed to be as America maintains its dominance in the world. We tell countries when to drop bombs for us and whether we need them to uphold human rights (sometimes it can get in the way). And then, those leaders are free to govern and serve the interests of American corporations.
Biden is not afraid to admit that he was wrong. Remarkably, he will gladly read any plagiarized speech his advisers give him in order to get the press off his back. There is no need for any government employees to go leaking to the media. Do you want him to start a commission and go after leakers? C’mon, let’s not let the Russian, and Iranians, and Chinese tear us apart.
We have gotten away from listening to experts. Do you recall when the experts brought us a financial crash in 2008 that was the result of massive fraud on Wall Street? And when they brought us a good old fashioned war of occupation in Iraq and an endless but good war in Afghanistan that my son is now fighting? (Hey, son. If you’re reading this, the family really wishes you’d post less about QAnon on Facebook.)
It is true that Biden is not a reality television star. Cable news media ratings and the bottom lines for news media organizations will likely suffer, and media will need to fuel some kind of moral panic to keep consumers glued to their screens. But don’t worry. Part of my job is feeding into panics so that I can get invited on the evening news to show off my shiny bald head, which I learned to groom myself during COVID-19.
Biden is a winner, and I look forward to going to the White House with a mask to kiss his feet and congratulate him on restoring elites we can believe in to positions of power. I even attached a white card inside my fedora so I can get his autograph and ask him to invite me to the Oval Office to debate him during his administration. (I’m willing to lose the debate, of course.)
So join me in showing enthusiasm for Biden. I’ll be setting off pee tape golden shower fireworks when the people return this country to the same status quo that brought us President Trump.


shadowproof--2020-11-05--Joe Biden And The Democrats’ 2020 Election Catastrophe: Interview With Branko Marcetic

Joe Biden And The Democrats ’ 2020 Election Catastrophe : Interview With Branko Marcetic Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic joined Shadowproof managing editor Kevin Gosztola to analyze the outcome of the 2020 election for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party .
While this conversation took place a little after 2 pm ET on November 4 , it was evident Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had a slim path toward eking out 270 electoral votes .
He was likely to win by a razor-thin margin , despite polls and a media narrative that suggested he would handily defeat President Donald Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ errors his campaign made likely had a negative impact on down ballot Democratic candidates in House and Senate races .
From the Democratic National Convention to Election Day , the Biden campaign often kept the progressive left at a distance believing it may tarnish Biden ’ s chances .
Marcetic , who is the author of Yesterday ’ s Man : The Case Against Joe Biden , declared , “ I can ’ t really say that I ’ m totally surprised at this result because what Biden did , and what Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same campaign as 2016 , a campaign that rested on pure anti-Trumpism that had a very minimal vision and platform.
” Biden offered a “ minimal social democratic platform to really explain to people how they were going to make their lives better.
” He ceded the message on the economy to Trump , which may have cost him voters since Trump won people who saw the economy as the biggest issue .
“ As in 2016 , they again tried to go for ex-Republicans , wealthy , better-educated suburbanites , white people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to make gains among white voters in the suburbs , especially older people over 65 .
But he “ handed over a huge chunk of what used to be the Obama coalition ” to Trump , which is amazing since “ Trump is the most openly racist president of the United States ” —certainly since President Ronald Reagan and possibly President Richard Nixon .
When it came to Latinos , Biden did not receive the kind of support he needed in Miami-Dade County to win Florida .
He also lost chunks of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 90 percent Latino .
According to Marcetic , that “ really sunk him.
” To Marcetic , they lacked a “ strong economic message ” that could counter Trump , and they dropped the ball on tying him to the coronavirus pandemic .
There also clearly was a lack of organization on the part of Democrats when it came to mobilizing voters .
“ It was an open secret that the Democratic upper echelon had little faith in Biden , and they were proven right .
And yet they still preferred risking this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a social democratic platform .
The greed and callousness of these people , ” Marcetic wrote on Twitter .
Marcetic recalled how Democrats were skeptical of Biden as a candidate after seeing his debate performances and “ lethargic campaign schedule during the primary.
” Former President Barack Obama even was quoted as saying , “ Don ’ t underestimate Joe ’ s ability to fuck things up.
” But when stopping Senator Bernie Sanders from becoming the nominee became the top priority , Marcetic points out Obama helped organize a coalition .
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amy Klobuchar dropped out because Biden was the “ only centrist corporate-backed nominee left in the race ” that could compete with Sanders .
Plus , Biden , unlike Buttigieg and Klobuchar , could appeal to black voters .
There was “ fear-mongering that Sanders was too extreme .
He would bring down Democrats in down ballot races , ” Marcetic recounted .
“ He would ultimately hurt the prospects of having a Democratic Senate and holding the House.
” “ That is exactly what has happened with Biden now .
His failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Latinos voting for Democrats in [ many ] parts of the country seems to have contributed to losses in a whole bunch of races that were looking pretty promising for Democrats at one point.
” So what if Biden makes it to the White House .
The result is stunning “ when you look at the scope of devastation and incompetence from Trump.
” “ We ’ re looking at 235,000 people dead from COVID-19 , a completely absent policy from the federal government .
We ’ re looking at economic devastation that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 100 years on an epic scale .
We ’ re looking at climate disaster on the west coast.
” “ This should be like when Reagan thumped Carter back in1980 or Roosevelt thumped Hoover back in 1932 , ” Marcetic concluded .
America ’ s present crises are very much the fault of the incumbent , Donald Trump , and yet Democrats truly failed to harness them for political gain .

Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic joined Shadowproof managing editor Kevin Gosztola to analyze the outcome of the 2020 election for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
While this conversation took place a little after 2 pm ET on November 4, it was evident Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had a slim path toward eking out 270 electoral votes. He was likely to win by a razor-thin margin, despite polls and a media narrative that suggested he would handily defeat President Donald Trump.
Results showed Biden’s messaging and errors his campaign made likely had a negative impact on down ballot Democratic candidates in House and Senate races. From the Democratic National Convention to Election Day, the Biden campaign often kept the progressive left at a distance believing it may tarnish Biden’s chances.
Marcetic, who is the author of Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden, declared, “I can’t really say that I’m totally surprised at this result because what Biden did, and what Democrats did, was basically run the exact same campaign as 2016, a campaign that rested on pure anti-Trumpism that had a very minimal vision and platform.”
Biden offered a “minimal social democratic platform to really explain to people how they were going to make their lives better.” He ceded the message on the economy to Trump, which may have cost him voters since Trump won people who saw the economy as the biggest issue.
“As in 2016, they again tried to go for ex-Republicans, wealthy, better-educated suburbanites, white people,” Marcetic added. Biden was able to make gains among white voters in the suburbs, especially older people over 65. But he “handed over a huge chunk of what used to be the Obama coalition” to Trump, which is amazing since “Trump is the most openly racist president of the United States”—certainly since President Ronald Reagan and possibly President Richard Nixon.
When it came to Latinos, Biden did not receive the kind of support he needed in Miami-Dade County to win Florida. He also lost chunks of voters in Texas counties that are over 90 percent Latino. According to Marcetic, that “really sunk him.”
To Marcetic, they lacked a “strong economic message” that could counter Trump, and they dropped the ball on tying him to the coronavirus pandemic. There also clearly was a lack of organization on the part of Democrats when it came to mobilizing voters.
“It was an open secret that the Democratic upper echelon had little faith in Biden, and they were proven right. And yet they still preferred risking this than running an actual populist candidate on a social democratic platform. The greed and callousness of these people,” Marcetic wrote on Twitter.
Marcetic recalled how Democrats were skeptical of Biden as a candidate after seeing his debate performances and “lethargic campaign schedule during the primary.” Former President Barack Obama even was quoted as saying, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up.”
But when stopping Senator Bernie Sanders from becoming the nominee became the top priority, Marcetic points out Obama helped organize a coalition. Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar dropped out because Biden was the “only centrist corporate-backed nominee left in the race” that could compete with Sanders. Plus, Biden, unlike Buttigieg and Klobuchar, could appeal to black voters.
“But at what price?” Marcetic asked.
There was “fear-mongering that Sanders was too extreme. He would bring down Democrats in down ballot races,” Marcetic recounted. “He would ultimately hurt the prospects of having a Democratic Senate and holding the House.”
“That is exactly what has happened with Biden now. His failure to turn out the vote and get Latinos voting for Democrats in [many] parts of the country seems to have contributed to losses in a whole bunch of races that were looking pretty promising for Democrats at one point.”
So what if Biden makes it to the White House. The result is stunning “when you look at the scope of devastation and incompetence from Trump.”
“We’re looking at 235,000 people dead from COVID-19, a completely absent policy from the federal government. We’re looking at economic devastation that hasn’t been seen for nearly 100 years on an epic scale. We’re looking at climate disaster on the west coast.”
“This should be like when Reagan thumped Carter back in1980 or Roosevelt thumped Hoover back in 1932,” Marcetic concluded.
America’s present crises are very much the fault of the incumbent, Donald Trump, and yet Democrats truly failed to harness them for political gain.


shadowproof--2020-11-07--Dissenter Weekly: Dumping Radioactive Waste In Landfills, Belmarsh Prison Tragedy

On this edition of the “ Dissenter Weekly , ” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola shares an update on @ @ @ @ @ National Regulatory Commission and their plans to allow the dumping of radioactive waste in garbage @ @ @ @ @ show , Gosztola discusses former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor , the “ Anonymous ” @ @ @ @ @ book who has phonily positioned himself as a whistleblower for his own personal benefit .
@ @ @ @ @ death of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ’ s friend in Belmarsh prison—a gay Brazilian who @ @ @ @ @ Kingdom government .
Landfills May Soon Have Decommissioned Nuclear Reactors , Watchdog Group Warns Revealed @ @ @ @ @ Book Is Not A Whisteblower Mueller Lacked Evidence To Prosecute WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Fearing @ @ @ @ @ ’ s In Belmarsh Prison Commits Suicide This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com @ @ @ @ @ press organization .
If you enjoy our work , you can support us with a @ @ @ @ @ $ 5/month or more : https : //shadowproof.com/donate

On this edition of the “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola shares an update on President Donald Trump’s National Regulatory Commission and their plans to allow the dumping of radioactive waste in garbage landfills.
Later in the show, Gosztola discusses former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, the “Anonymous” author of a Trump administration book who has phonily positioned himself as a whistleblower for his own personal benefit.
Gosztola concludes with the tragic death of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s friend in Belmarsh prison—a gay Brazilian who faced deportation by the United Kingdom government.
This week’s stories:
Landfills May Soon Have Decommissioned Nuclear Reactors, Watchdog Group Warns
Revealed Anonymous Author Of Trump Administration Book Is Not A Whisteblower
Mueller Lacked Evidence To Prosecute WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
Fearing Deportation, Friend Of Assange’s In Belmarsh Prison Commits Suicide
Send tips and feedback to editor@shadowproof.com
This show is brought to you by Shadowproof.com, a 100% reader-funded press organization. If you enjoy our work, you can support us with a donation or by subscribing for $5/month or more: https://shadowproof.com/donate


shadowproof--2020-11-10--Assange Legal Team Submits Closing Argument Against Extradition To United States

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ’ s legal team submitted their closing argument to a British magistrates ’ court .
They argue , “ It is politically motivated , it is an abuse of the process of this court , and it is a clear violation of the Anglo-U.S. treaty that governs this extradition.
” The closing argument relies on evidence presented by witnesses , who testified during a trial in September , and details how President Barack Obama ’ s administration declined to prosecute Assange .
President Donald Trump ’ s administration reversed this “ principled ” position because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disclosures to the world and the nature of his political opinions , which inevitably attracted the hostility of the Trump administration and the CIA.
” Prosecutors will submit their closing argument on November 20 , and Judge Vanessa Baraitser is expected to rule on the extradition request on January 4 .
While Trump ’ s campaign for re-election failed , the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is not expected to impact the decision .
( In fact , the submission contains zero references to President-elect Joe Biden . )
Assange was charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act and one count of conspiracy to commit a computer intrusion that contains elements of an Espionage Act offense .
The charges criminalize the act of merely receiving classified information , as well as the publication of state secrets from the U.S. government .
It targets common practices in newsgathering , which is why the case is widely opposed by press freedom organizations throughout the world .
All of the charges relate to the documents Pfc .
Chelsea Manning provided to WikiLeaks in 2010 .
Assange ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agenda ” of the Trump administration and their “ obvious hostility ” to Assange ’ s “ exposure and condemnation of U.S. war crimes and human rights abuses.
” “ Trump ’ s ‘ America First ’ policy supporting immunity for U.S. crimes , denouncing the investigations by the ICC [ International Criminal Court ] of U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan , occurred in harmony with the CIA ’ s motivation for targeting Julian Assange , ” the submission declares .
Beginning in 2017 , Trump officials publicly condemned Assange .
Charges were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and June 2020 , and “ breaches of the rule of law ” allegedly occurred , as Assange was targeted by a U.S. intelligence-backed surveillance operation while he lived under political asylum in the Ecuador embassy in London .
What unfolded was an “ unprecedented prosecution for the receipt and publication of documents , where the international publications were plainly in the public interest , ” the legal team contends .
“ To this end , the U.S. prosecution has sought to distort the facts in order to present what is plainly a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for ‘ ordinary ’ crimes.
” The Washington Post reported on May 24 , 2019 , that the decision to indict Assange under the Espionage Act led to protest and the resignation of career prosecutors in the Justice Department .
Back in 2013 , former Justice Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the Post , “ If you are not going to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information , which the department is not , then there is no way to prosecute Assange.
” Miller later said Assange acted as a publisher and not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration never charged Assange .
In February 2017—Trump ’ s first month in office—WikiLeaks published “ CIA espionage orders ” that called attention to how major political parties in France were “ targeted for infiltration ” in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election .
About a month later , WikiLeaks brought further scrutiny to the CIA when they published the “ Vault 7 ” material , which they described as the “ largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.
” The files exposed the CIA ’ s “ fleet of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computers .
They called attention to a program called “ Weeping Angel ” that made it possible for the CIA to attack Samsung F8000 TVs and convert them into spying devices .
As CNBC reported , the CIA had 14 “ zero-day exploits , ” which were “ software vulnerabilities ” that had no fix yet .
The agency used them to “ hack Apple ’ s iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones.
” Documents showed the “ exploits were shared with other organizations including the National Security Agency ( NSA ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The CIA did not tell Apple about these vulnerabilities.
” WikiLeaks additionally revealed that the CIA targeted Microsoft Windows users , as well as Signal and WhatsApp users , with malware .
Mike Pompeo , who was the CIA director , responded to the publication on April 13 , 2017 .
“ The false narratives that increasingly define our public discourse can not be ignored .
There are fictions out there that demean and distort the work and achievements of CIA and of the broader intelligence community.
” “ And in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voices—ones that proclaim treason to be public advocacy—gain a gravity they do not deserve .
It is time to call these voices out .
The men and women of CIA deserve a real defense.
” “ That is one of the many reasons why we at CIA find the celebration of entities like WikiLeaks to be both perplexing and deeply troubling.
” Stunningly , in Pompeo ’ s first public remarks as CIA director , and with zero evidence , he labeled WikiLeaks a “ non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had “ no First Amendment freedoms ” because “ he is not a U.S. citizen , ” which to Assange ’ s legal team was a preview of the legal theory top administration officials later “ devised ” to justify pursuing charges .
“ We ’ ve had administrations before that have been squeamish about going after these folks under some concept of this right-to-publish , ” Pompeo also declared .
Unlike the Obama administration , Pompeo would not let principles of freedom of the press under the Constitution stop the CIA from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Assange maintain the case “ coincided with the grant of diplomatic status by the Ecuadorian government .
That grant of diplomatic status was of course well-known to the U.S. authorities because US intelligence agencies had access to recordings in the embassy ” collected by UC Global .
“ By then , prosecution had become a political imperative , and they wished to counteract the potential effects of the granting of diplomatic status by Ecuador.
” Extralegal measures were taken that involved making attorneys representing Assange priority targets for surveillance .
Legally privileged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they could be handed over to the FBI ’ s office in the United Kingdom .
Furthermore , the legal team for Assange sees a connection between this prosecution and the Trump administration ’ s retaliation against the ICC .
They sanctioned ICC officials in June after the body asserted the authority to investigate war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan .
Pompeo and Attorney General Bill Barr stated , “ Those who assist the ICC ’ s politically motivated investigation of American service members and intelligence officers without the United States ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department of Justice fully supports these measures and will vigorously enforce the sanctions imposed today under the executive order to the fullest extent of the law.
” *** Assange and WikiLeaks revealed war crimes and exposed the U.S. agenda to obstruct international bodies and foreign governments from holding the U.S. government accountable for human rights violations .
Numerous examples were raised by witnesses at the extradition trial and mentioned in the closing argument submitted to the court .
The CIA and U.S. forces were involved in extrajudicial assassinations in Pakistan .
Civilians were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. officials to not investigate torture .
This included efforts to ensure the German government did not prosecute CIA personnel involved in the abduction , rendition , and torture of German citizen Khaled el-Masri , who submitted testimony in defense of Assange According to diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks , the Yemeni government held their own citizens in prison for the U.S. government , even though they had “ no evidence they were involved in terrorist acts.
” The CIA enlisted U.S. officials to spy on the UN Secretary-General , UN Security Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in New York in violation of international law .
Officials were encouraged to collect “ DNA samples , iris scans , and computer passwords ” of foreign government officials .
Measures were put in place to limit the scope of the “ Chilcot Inquiry , ” which was established to examine the British government ’ s involvement in the Iraq War .
U.S. war crimes in Iraq were exposed , including a 2006 raid by U.S. troops , where an elderly woman and her five-month old child were killed .
An airstrike was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the killing .
( This revelation eventually led to the withdrawal of U.S. troops because the Iraqi government refused to grant soldiers immunity for war crimes . )
The closing argument asserts , “ It is highly significant that the Department of Justice under the Obama administration recognized that it would be both wrong and impolitic to prosecute Julian Assange.
” “ It is equally significant that the DOJ under the Trump administration , for blatantly political reasons , was pressured into reversing the approach of the Obama administration and prosecuting Julian Assange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the constitutional protection of the First Amendment , and despite the nature of the revelations.
” “ Indeed , ” as attorneys conclude , “ the prosecution was part of a political drive to punish leakers , intimidate journalists , and assert worldwide U.S. impunity for war crimes , rendition , and torture .
”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s legal team submitted their closing argument to a British magistrates’ court. They argue, “It is politically motivated, it is an abuse of the process of this court, and it is a clear violation of the Anglo-U.S. treaty that governs this extradition.”
The closing argument relies on evidence presented by witnesses, who testified during a trial in September, and details how President Barack Obama’s administration declined to prosecute Assange. President Donald Trump’s administration reversed this “principled” position because of the nature of Assange’s “disclosures to the world and the nature of his political opinions, which inevitably attracted the hostility of the Trump administration and the CIA.”
Prosecutors will submit their closing argument on November 20, and Judge Vanessa Baraitser is expected to rule on the extradition request on January 4.
While Trump’s campaign for re-election failed, the outcome of the U.S. presidential election is not expected to impact the decision. (In fact, the submission contains zero references to President-elect Joe Biden.)
Assange was charged by the United States Justice Department with 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act and one count of conspiracy to commit a computer intrusion that contains elements of an Espionage Act offense.
The charges criminalize the act of merely receiving classified information, as well as the publication of state secrets from the U.S. government. It targets common practices in newsgathering, which is why the case is widely opposed by press freedom organizations throughout the world.
All of the charges relate to the documents Pfc. Chelsea Manning provided to WikiLeaks in 2010.
Assange’s defense refers to the “political agenda” of the Trump administration and their “obvious hostility” to Assange’s “exposure and condemnation of U.S. war crimes and human rights abuses.”
“Trump’s ‘America First’ policy supporting immunity for U.S. crimes, denouncing the investigations by the ICC [International Criminal Court] of U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, occurred in harmony with the CIA’s motivation for targeting Julian Assange,” the submission declares.
Beginning in 2017, Trump officials publicly condemned Assange. Charges were “ratcheted up” between December 2017 and June 2020, and “breaches of the rule of law” allegedly occurred, as Assange was targeted by a U.S. intelligence-backed surveillance operation while he lived under political asylum in the Ecuador embassy in London.
What unfolded was an “unprecedented prosecution for the receipt and publication of documents, where the international publications were plainly in the public interest,” the legal team contends.
“To this end, the U.S. prosecution has sought to distort the facts in order to present what is plainly a prosecution for political offenses into a prosecution for ‘ordinary’ crimes.”
CIA Seeks Revenge After WikiLeaks Publishes ‘Vault 7’ Materials
The Washington Post reported on May 24, 2019, that the decision to indict Assange under the Espionage Act led to protest and the resignation of career prosecutors in the Justice Department.
Back in 2013, former Justice Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the Post, “If you are not going to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, which the department is not, then there is no way to prosecute Assange.” Miller later said Assange acted as a publisher and not a hacker. So, the Obama administration never charged Assange.
In February 2017—Trump’s first month in office—WikiLeaks published “CIA espionage orders” that called attention to how major political parties in France were “targeted for infiltration” in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election.
About a month later, WikiLeaks brought further scrutiny to the CIA when they published the “Vault 7” material, which they described as the “largest ever publication of confidential documents on the agency.”
The files exposed the CIA’s “fleet of hackers,” who targeted smartphones and computers. They called attention to a program called “Weeping Angel” that made it possible for the CIA to attack Samsung F8000 TVs and convert them into spying devices.
As CNBC reported, the CIA had 14 “zero-day exploits,” which were “software vulnerabilities” that had no fix yet. The agency used them to “hack Apple’s iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones.” Documents showed the “exploits were shared with other organizations including the National Security Agency (NSA) and GCHQ, another U.K. spy agency. The CIA did not tell Apple about these vulnerabilities.”
WikiLeaks additionally revealed that the CIA targeted Microsoft Windows users, as well as Signal and WhatsApp users, with malware.
Mike Pompeo, who was the CIA director, responded to the publication on April 13, 2017. “The false narratives that increasingly define our public discourse cannot be ignored. There are fictions out there that demean and distort the work and achievements of CIA and of the broader intelligence community.”
“And in the absence of a vocal rebuttal, these voices—ones that proclaim treason to be public advocacy—gain a gravity they do not deserve. It is time to call these voices out. The men and women of CIA deserve a real defense.”
“That is one of the many reasons why we at CIA find the celebration of entities like WikiLeaks to be both perplexing and deeply troubling.”
Stunningly, in Pompeo’s first public remarks as CIA director, and with zero evidence, he labeled WikiLeaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.”
Pompeo said Assange had “no First Amendment freedoms” because “he is not a U.S. citizen,” which to Assange’s legal team was a preview of the legal theory top administration officials later “devised” to justify pursuing charges.
“We’ve had administrations before that have been squeamish about going after these folks under some concept of this right-to-publish,” Pompeo also declared.
A Target Of Espionage And Lawfare
Unlike the Obama administration, Pompeo would not let principles of freedom of the press under the Constitution stop the CIA from seeking revenge—through espionage and lawfare.
Lawyers for Assange maintain the case “coincided with the grant of diplomatic status by the Ecuadorian government. That grant of diplomatic status was of course well-known to the U.S. authorities because US intelligence agencies had access to recordings in the embassy” collected by UC Global.
“By then, prosecution had become a political imperative, and they wished to counteract the potential effects of the granting of diplomatic status by Ecuador.”
Extralegal measures were taken that involved making attorneys representing Assange priority targets for surveillance. Legally privileged papers were seized by Ecuador authorities so they could be handed over to the FBI’s office in the United Kingdom.
Furthermore, the legal team for Assange sees a connection between this prosecution and the Trump administration’s retaliation against the ICC. They sanctioned ICC officials in June after the body asserted the authority to investigate war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Pompeo and Attorney General Bill Barr stated, “Those who assist the ICC’s politically motivated investigation of American service members and intelligence officers without the United States’ consent will suffer serious consequences. The Department of Justice fully supports these measures and will vigorously enforce the sanctions imposed today under the executive order to the fullest extent of the law.”
***
Assange and WikiLeaks revealed war crimes and exposed the U.S. agenda to obstruct international bodies and foreign governments from holding the U.S. government accountable for human rights violations.
Numerous examples were raised by witnesses at the extradition trial and mentioned in the closing argument submitted to the court.
The CIA and U.S. forces were involved in extrajudicial assassinations in Pakistan. Civilians were killed.
European countries were pressured by U.S. officials to not investigate torture. This included efforts to ensure the German government did not prosecute CIA personnel involved in the abduction, rendition, and torture of German citizen Khaled el-Masri, who submitted testimony in defense of Assange
According to diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, the Yemeni government held their own citizens in prison for the U.S. government, even though they had “no evidence they were involved in terrorist acts.”
The CIA enlisted U.S. officials to spy on the UN Secretary-General, UN Security Council members and foreign diplomats at the UN in New York in violation of international law. Officials were encouraged to collect “DNA samples, iris scans, and computer passwords” of foreign government officials.
Measures were put in place to limit the scope of the “Chilcot Inquiry,” which was established to examine the British government’s involvement in the Iraq War.
U.S. war crimes in Iraq were exposed, including a 2006 raid by U.S. troops, where an elderly woman and her five-month old child were killed. An airstrike was called in to wipe out evidence of the killing. (This revelation eventually led to the withdrawal of U.S. troops because the Iraqi government refused to grant soldiers immunity for war crimes.)
The closing argument asserts, “It is highly significant that the Department of Justice under the Obama administration recognized that it would be both wrong and impolitic to prosecute Julian Assange.”
“It is equally significant that the DOJ under the Trump administration, for blatantly political reasons, was pressured into reversing the approach of the Obama administration and prosecuting Julian Assange despite the implications of the prosecution for the constitutional protection of the First Amendment, and despite the nature of the revelations.”
“Indeed,” as attorneys conclude, “the prosecution was part of a political drive to punish leakers, intimidate journalists, and assert worldwide U.S. impunity for war crimes, rendition, and torture.”