On today’s BradCast: You get an indictment! You get an indictment! You get an indictment! Everyone gets an indictment!!! Well, not everyone. At least not everyone who deserves an indictment. But a bunch of folks got indicted today in a bunch of separate federal cases. [Audio link to full show is posted below.]
One time Democratic hero and former Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti was charged in a 36-count federal indictment in California for allegedly stealing from clients, not paying his taxes, and committing bank fraud. Former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig was charged by prosecutors in D.C. for lying to federal agents regarding his lobbying work in Ukraine, a case that came out of the Robert Mueller Special Counsel probe (where Trump Campaign chair Paul Manafort was previously found guilty of very related charges).
And, of course, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was finally arrested in the U.K. after being kicked out of the Ecuadorean embassy in London (where he’s claimed asylum for the past seven years) before being found guilty by a British judge of skipping out on bail while facing extradition for charges of sexual assault in Sweden back in 2012. The Swedish charges have since been dropped, but Assange now faces both prison time in Britain and an extradition request from the U.S. where prosecutors unsealed a one-count indictment [PDF] against him today, as filed under seal in March of 2018.
For now, that charge is an allegation of “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion”. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia claim he attempted to help crack a password for a classified Defense Department computer system to assist then U.S. Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning in hacking documents. That, after Wikileaks had already released hundreds of such documents — many containing evidence of serious U.S. crimes — taken by Manning, back in 2010. Freedom of the press advocates, however, warn today that the charges being brought by Trump’s Dept. of Justice against Assange could be expanded to include normal journalistic activities, which could threaten the Constitutional rights of many media outlets and journalists alike.
We detail today what we know — and don’t — about the indictment; what we know — and don’t — about what Assange and WikiLeaks have done (including the release of documents stolen from the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016); and what all of this may — or may not — mean for U.S. press freedoms as the case moves forward.
Also today: Some good news regarding the death penalty in New Hampshire; Some quick updates on Trump Treasury Dept. Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal (so far) to turn over Trump’s tax returns to Congress in violation of the law; Trump Attorney General William Barr’s obnoxious, hypocritical, and (so far) evidence-free claim that the Obama Administration was “spying” on the Trump Campaign in 2016; And more disturbing details on the perfidy and corruption of David Bernhardt, the longtime oil and gas industry lobbyist who was shamefully confirmed today by the U.S. Senate as Trump’s new Interior Department Secretary.
Finally, Desi Doyen brings us the latest Green News Report on Trump’s newly signed Executive Orders authorizing himself to, among other things, authorize new oil and gas pipelines without approval from other federal agencies, and to remove states’ rights to block energy infrastructure that threatens local water supplies; the second bomb cyclone in weeks to likely bring billions in damages to a number of Midwestern states; and several troubling new studies regarding the acceleration of climate change and glacial ice melt now outpacing previous scientific predictions…
Trump will not be kind to Julian, I’m afraid.
Moreover, the DNC-Democratic Party centrists despise Assange because they see him as the one who helped catapult Trump into office (along with Putin?).
Whatever.
On the Democratic Underground site, they are rejoicing in a flurry of lol emojis and sarcastic smilies.
Makes me nauseous.
Meanwhile, Trump gets to crush Assange in the name of suppressing whistleblowers and the press, while “proving” he wasn’t helped by, nor has any allegiance to, Assange, who seems to be royally screwed at this moment.
Elites win;The rest of us lose.
“Trump Treasury Dept. Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal (so far) to turn over Trump’s tax returns to Congress in violation of the law”
Which is a felony punishable by 5 yrs. in prison (compare 26 USC 6103(f)(1) with 26 USC 7214(a)(3)-(6)).