{"id":91138,"date":"2017-04-24T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=91138"},"modified":"2017-04-23T17:00:15","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T16:00:15","slug":"sessions-wont-rule-out-prosecuting-media-outlets-besides-wikileaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/04\/sessions-wont-rule-out-prosecuting-media-outlets-besides-wikileaks\/","title":{"rendered":"Sessions Won\u2019t Rule Out Prosecuting Media Outlets besides WikiLeaks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>The attorney general is leaving the door open for a major assault on press freedoms.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_91139\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cnn-jeff-sessions-media-assange-wikileaks.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-91139\" class=\"wp-image-91139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cnn-jeff-sessions-media-assange-wikileaks.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cnn-jeff-sessions-media-assange-wikileaks.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cnn-jeff-sessions-media-assange-wikileaks-300x164.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/cnn-jeff-sessions-media-assange-wikileaks-768x420.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-91139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CREDIT: CNN screengrab<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>21 Apr 2017 &#8211; <\/em>Amid a swirl of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/04\/20\/politics\/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges\/\" >reports<\/a> that U.S. authorities \u201chave prepared charges to seek the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,\u201d Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn\u2019t ruling out the possibility that cracking down on WikiLeaks could lead to other media outlets being prosecuted for covering leaks.<\/p>\n<p>During a Friday morning CNN appearance, Sessions was asked by anchor Kate Bolduan whether \u201cfolks should be concerned that this would also open up news organizations like CNN and the New York Times to prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sessions wouldn\u2019t rule anything out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s speculative, and I\u2019m not able to comment on that,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AG Sessions declines to comment when asked if prosecuting WikiLeaks might mean news orgs could also be prosecuted <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TYcw0XSKJH\" >https:\/\/t.co\/TYcw0XSKJH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CNN (@CNN) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CNN\/status\/855442341317836800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >April 21, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sessions\u2019 CNN comments come a day after he <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2017\/04\/julian-assange-arrest-priority-jeff-sessions-170421023413061.html\" >said<\/a> the arrest of Assange is a \u201cpriority\u201d during a news conference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks,\u201d Sessions said. \u201cThis is a matter that\u2019s gone beyond anything I\u2019m aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious\u2026 Whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the past, the idea of charging Assange was complicated by the fact that other media outlets reported on leaked documents published by WikiLeaks. But <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2017\/04\/20\/politics\/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges\/\" >CNN reports<\/a> U.S. authorities are thinking of bringing charges and seeking Assange\u2019s arrest and extradition from London\u2019s Ecuadorian embassy \u201cafter investigators found what they believe was proof that WikiLeaks played an active role in helping Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst, disclose a massive cache of classified documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Still, going after Assange would represent a major reversal for the Trump and company. On April 13, CIA Director Mike Pompeo signaled the Trump administration was moving in the direction of crackdown by denouncing Wikileaks during a speech. Pompeo said Assange and his organization \u201cwalks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/pompeo-wikileaks-cia-9756f59b09af\" ><strong>CIA Director Pompeo denounces WikiLeaks, forgets he used them to attack Hillary Clinton &#8211; <\/strong>How convenient.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>But during the presidential campaign, Pompeo\u200a\u2014\u200athen a Republican U.S. representative from Kansas\u200a\u2014\u200atweeted out an article about hacked Democratic National Committee emails in an effort to attack Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeed further proof that the fix was in from Pres. Obama on down? BUSTED: 19,252 Emails from DNC Leaked by WikiLeaks,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/mike-pompeo-wikileaks-2017-1\" >Pompeo\u2019s since-deleted July 24 tweet read<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During his April 11 speech, Pompeo went on to discuss the U.S. intelligence community\u2019s conclusion \u201cthat Russian military intelligence\u200a\u2014\u200athe GRU\u200a\u2014\u200ahad used WikiLeaks to release data of U.S. victims that the GRU had obtained through cyber operations against the Democratic National Committee.\u201d The U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russia used WikiLeaks in an effort to help Trump, which adds a wrinkle to news the Trump administration may try and have Assange arrested.<\/p>\n<p>Trump himself effusively praised WikiLeaks on the campaign trail, infamously proclaiming \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-loved-leaks-before-he-hated-them-8df720204c7b\" >I love WikiLeaks!<\/a>\u201d during an October rally in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-loved-leaks-before-he-hated-them-8df720204c7b\" ><strong>Trump loved leaks before he hated them &#8211; <\/strong>Days after handling national security crisis in a Mar-a-Lago dining area, Trump decries \u201cillegal leaks.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing how nothing is secret today when you talk about the internet,\u201d Trump added, before reading aloud the contents of emails hacked from the Clinton campaign and leaked to WikiLeaks.<\/p>\n<p>Trump mentioned WikiLeaks <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-mentioned-wikileaks-164-times-in-last-month-of-election-now-claims-it-didnt-impact-one-40aa62ea5002\" >164 times during the last month of the election<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks. So dishonest! Rigged system!<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/786201435486781440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >October 12, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But since taking power, Trump and his inner circle have repeatedly denounced leakers, in part because they have helped keep alive the story about <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/fbi-tracking-carter-page-since-2013-cc61700771d5\" >his campaign\u2019s shady dealings<\/a> with Russian intelligence officials\u200a\u2014\u200aa story <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-russia-intercepted-communications-leak-924defcffd17\" >intelligence officials reportedly fear the Trump administration is trying to suppress<\/a>, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc?<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/831510532318429184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >February 14, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While Trump proclaimed his love for WikiLeaks on the campaign trail, he also didn\u2019t try and hide his belief that the First Amendment provides \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/miami.cbslocal.com\/2016\/10\/23\/the-cbs4-interview-trump-on-rigged-system-the-press\/\" >too much protection<\/a>\u201d for free speech. In February 2016, he said he wanted to \u201copen up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.\u201d Shortly before the election, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement unprecedented in the organization\u2019s 35-year history saying that \u201cTrump, through his words and actions as a candidate for president of the United States, has consistently betrayed First Amendment values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-threat-to-press-freedom-committee-to-protect-journalists-eddc2e6d4270\" ><strong>24 hours illustrating why Trump is a threat to press freedom &#8211; <\/strong>\u201cAbsolute scum. They\u2019re totally dishonest people.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the beginning of his candidacy, Trump has insulted and vilified the press, and has made his opposition to the media a centerpiece of his campaign,\u201d the statement said. \u201cTrump has routinely labeled the press as \u2018dishonest\u2019 and \u2018scum\u2019 and singled out individual news organizations and journalists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But while Assange and WikiLeaks may have an anti-Clinton agenda, there\u2019s no evidence they published any \u201cfalse articles.\u201d Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union\u2019s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, referenced that fact during an interview with CNN, saying, \u201cNever in the history of this country has a publisher been prosecuted for presenting truthful information to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And now, America\u2019s attorney general won\u2019t rule out that prosecuting Assange is just the beginning of a broader crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Aaron-Rupar.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-91140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Aaron-Rupar.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"60\" height=\"60\" \/><\/a><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/@atrupar?source=post_header_lockup\" >Aaron Rupar<\/a> &#8211; Journalist, <\/em>ThinkProgress<em>. Twitter: @atrupar. Email: arupar@americanprogress.org<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/sessions-wikileaks-priority-assange-crackdown-press-freedoms-7f332489db2b\" >Go to Original \u2013 thinkprogress.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>21 Apr 2017 &#8211; Amid a swirl of reports that U.S. authorities \u201chave prepared charges to seek the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,\u201d Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn\u2019t ruling out the possibility that cracking down on WikiLeaks could lead to other media outlets being prosecuted for covering leaks. He is leaving the door open for a major assault on press freedoms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}