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Category: 1A
June 25, 2024
Jack Montgomery
1A
NatSec

FREE AT LAST: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Flies Out of UK After U.S. Plea Deal.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange left the United Kingdom on Monday after securing bail from England’s High Court, following extended negotiations with U.S. authorities. U.S. Justice Department court documents show Assange will appear in federal court to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge related to conspiring to obtain and release classified national defense information unlawfully.

Assange was responsible for the release of numerous classified documents concerning the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and Hillary Clinton’s infamous emails. Following his plea and sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, Assange will return to his native Australia.

Prosecutors are accepting a five-year sentence inclusive of time spent in British custody, meaning Assange should walk free immediately after sentencing.

On Monday, a plane carrying Assange departed England, refueling in Thailand around noon local time (6 AM BST) on Tuesday. Assange had been held in England’s Belmarsh Prison, known for housing jihadists and dangerous killers, for 1,901 days. Prior to that, he spent seven years in the Ecuadorean Embassy until his expulsion following a change in Ecuador’s government.

The official WikiLeaks account and Assange’s family expressed deep gratitude to supporters. On X, Assange’s wife, Stella, celebrated his freedom and thanked those who supported their campaign. Assange’s mother, Christine, also expressed gratitude, revealing the profound personal toll the 14-year ordeal has taken.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange left the United Kingdom on Monday after securing bail from England's High Court, following extended negotiations with U.S. authorities. U.S. Justice Department court documents show Assange will appear in federal court to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge related to conspiring to obtain and release classified national defense information unlawfully. show more
June 18, 2024
1A

Congress Subpoenas State Dept For Censoring Americans.

The State Department has received a congressional subpoena regarding records on programs alleged by Republicans to foster “censorship-by-proxy and revenue interference of American small businesses.” Issued by the House Small Business Committee late last Thursday, the subpoena targets documents and communications from the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC).

Beginning over a year ago, the House Small Business Committee’s inquiry into the GEC has focused on the State Department agency’s grant-making authority. Among these grants is a $100,000 disbursement to the London-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI). An affiliated nonprofit of GDI is registered in the United States, and it works to convince advertisers to avoid right-leaning media outlets.

The committee’s scrutiny of the GEC resulted in legislation last year preventing the Pentagon from funding groups like GDI. Subsequently, the Federalist and the Daily Wire, both right-leaning media, filed a lawsuit against the Biden government. Their complaint alleges the government supported one of the worst censorship initiatives in American history. Both Microsoft and Oracle cut ties with GDI earlier this year following backlash against the censorship group’s activities.

Led by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), the committee is requesting detailed financial documents from the GEC, including unredacted lists of grant recipients since 2019 and records of awards to entities like GDI and New York-based NewsGuard. However, the committee only received heavily redacted, nonpublic documents labeled as “sensitive but unclassified,” sparking accusations of obstruction from the Republicans.

A document from February 14, 2023, titled “GEC-GDI-BLACKLIST,” is believed to contain pivotal information for the committee. The subpoena specifies records pertaining to GEC funding awards since 2018 to nearly two dozen organizations, including GDI, NewsGuard, and Park Advisors. Additionally, Republicans requested information related to the Atlantic Council‘s lab and Albany Associates.

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The State Department has received a congressional subpoena regarding records on programs alleged by Republicans to foster "censorship-by-proxy and revenue interference of American small businesses." Issued by the House Small Business Committee late last Thursday, the subpoena targets documents and communications from the State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC). show more
June 17, 2024
1A
Lawfare

DEI Judge Demands Reporter Reveal Source for Trans Shooter Manifesto.

Michael Patrick Leahy, editor and owner of The Tennessee Star, is facing potential imprisonment if he does not reveal the source who leaked the manifesto of Audrey Hale, the Covenant School shooter. Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles – a local Nashville trial judge – scheduled Leahy for a “show cause hearing” on Monday, June 17, following his publication of the leaked documents.

Audrey Hale’s attack on March 27, 2023, resulted in the deaths of three children and three adults. The manifesto, described as being filled with anti-white and anti-Christian statements, was released despite efforts by federal and local officials to keep it confidential. Authorities cited the risk of it serving as a roadmap for future copycat incidents and the potential unintended consequences for vulnerable populations.

Leahy’s legal representation, First Amendment lawyer Daniel Horwitz, filed an emergency motion on Wednesday to stay the court order. Citing freedom of the press and state law violations, Horwitz argued that the “show cause order” violated Tennessee’s shield law and due process guarantees, among other constitutional concerns.

Horwitz pointed out that the order was vague and did not clearly specify the provisions Leahy may have violated, raising procedural issues regarding Leahy’s ability to mount an adequate defense. In his arguments, Horwitz emphasized protections under the First Amendment against prior restraint, asserting that any prohibition of publication would be unconstitutional.

Following Myles’ refusal to rescind her order, an additional mandate required a representative from Nashville’s government to appear in court. The judge rejected claims of First Amendment infringements and indicated further actions could involve appointing an attorney as amicus curiae to investigate and potentially prosecute any contempt citations related to the case.

Myles has an extremely active Instagram page showcasing her support for gay pride, Juneteenth, and far-left Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She received a “Diversity Fellowship” between 2018 and 2021 and said upon her appointment to the court: “I am truly honored to have an opportunity, as a minority woman, to be the first to bring this diverse and inclusive perspective to our civil trial court bench in Nashville.”

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Michael Patrick Leahy, editor and owner of The Tennessee Star, is facing potential imprisonment if he does not reveal the source who leaked the manifesto of Audrey Hale, the Covenant School shooter. Davidson County Chancellor I'Ashea Myles – a local Nashville trial judge – scheduled Leahy for a "show cause hearing" on Monday, June 17, following his publication of the leaked documents. show more
trump gag order
May 17, 2024
1A
Lawfare

House GOP Introduces ‘Let Trump Speak Act’ to Protect Free Speech Rights Against Gag Orders.

House Republicans are introducing the ‘Let Trump Speak Act’ to stop judges from gagging the former president and other criminal and civil defendants in most circumstances. The bill stipulates that “No judge of the United States or of any State may issue a gag order to the defendant in any criminal or civil proceedings except to prevent the disclosure of confidential information provided in discovery, to protect the privacy of minors, or as part of a plea agreement.”

Compromised judges overseeing Trump cases use gag orders to stop Trump from exposing their inappropriate ties to his political rivals. Arthur Engoron, overseeing Democrat New York Attorney Letitia James‘s civil lawsuit against Trump and his business, banned him from discussing his “co-judge” law clerk Allison Greenfield’s ties to James and Biden. Juan Merchan, overseeing Democrat Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s prosecution of Trump, uses gag orders even more aggressively. He wants to prevent the former president from talking about his daughter, Loren Merchan. She is cheering openly for Trump’s imprisonment. She also has extensive financial links to the Biden regime and the Democratic Party more broadly.

FIRST AMENDMENT. 

“We have watched for years as a politically-weaponized Department of Justice and Democrat activist judges have gone after President Donald J. Trump,” said Rep. Andy Ogles, who introduced the legislation. “There is no right more sacred to Americans than the right to speak freely, as guaranteed in the First Amendment,” he added, arguing that “activists within the justice system are attempting to strip President Trump of this right for the sake of their own political agenda.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has put forward a resolution to award Trump the Congressional Gold Medal, is co-sponsoring Ogles’s bill. “We have seen how our institutions have gone after President Trump to try and forcibly silence him,” she said. “This vital American value must not be corrupted, especially by those driven by political rivalries.”

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House Republicans are introducing the 'Let Trump Speak Act' to stop judges from gagging the former president and other criminal and civil defendants in most circumstances. The bill stipulates that "No judge of the United States or of any State may issue a gag order to the defendant in any criminal or civil proceedings except to prevent the disclosure of confidential information provided in discovery, to protect the privacy of minors, or as part of a plea agreement." show more
April 23, 2024
William Upton
1A

Biden’s Failed Censorship Czar Nina Jankowicz Now Runs a Think-Tank Named After a Venomous Snake.

Nina Jankowicz, the former and brief executive director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Disinformation Governance Board, has a new non-profit group called the American Sunlight Project (ASP). The group aims to combat what it believes is a concerted campaign by conservatives to target and discredit disinformation researchers like Jankowicz. The former DHS employee was the subject of blistering criticism in 2022 over her embrace of pro-Biden government propaganda narratives on social media.

The new organization, led by Jankowicz and Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, has hit the ground running — already accusing several House Republican committee chairmen of using their constitutional subpoena power to silence think tanks and disinformation researchers. “These tactics echo the dark days of McCarthyism, but with a frightening 21st-century twist,” Jaknowicz and Álvarez-Aranyos wrote in a letter published yesterday, leveling a series of hyperbolic accusations against House Republican leaders.

Despite her concerns about ongoing disinformation operations, Jankowicz participated in at least two such initiatives herself in 2020.

The former DHS employee publicly praised the discredited Steele dossier author, Christopher Steele, on social media. After an appearance by the British spy on the Infotagion podcast, Jankowicz posted to X (formerly Twitter), “Listened to this last night — Chris Steele (yes THAT Chris Steele) provides some great historical context about the evolution of disinfo. Worth a listen.” The alleged disinformation expert also dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop — confirmed by the Department of Justice and FBI as authentic — as “a Russian influence op.”

The American Sunlight Project–whose acronym ASP recalls the name of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region of Africa and the European vipera aspis — has a board comprised of several notable figures — including NeverTrumper Katie Harbath, a former Facebook executive and Republican operative; Ineke Mushovic, who leads a think tank that tracks “threats to democracy” and gay, lesbian, transgender movements; and Benjamin Wittes, the resident Deep State apologist at the Brookings Institute, which was primarily backed by the government of Qatar until 2017.

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Nina Jankowicz, the former and brief executive director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s Disinformation Governance Board, has a new non-profit group called the American Sunlight Project (ASP). The group aims to combat what it believes is a concerted campaign by conservatives to target and discredit disinformation researchers like Jankowicz. The former DHS employee was the subject of blistering criticism in 2022 over her embrace of pro-Biden government propaganda narratives on social media. show more