The great Daniel Ellsberg shares his thoughts on Julian Assange’s extradition hearing, comparing the situation to his own trial in the 1970s. Ellsberg, of course, was acquitted—in part because it was proven that the government spied on confidential conversations with Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. The CIA and its allies have been shown to have done the same thing in Assange’s case, surveilling both his doctors and his lawyers. On these grounds alone, Ellsberg believes the case should be thrown out. But Ellsberg also reminds us that in the analogy between the two cases, Assange is actually more akin to the New York Times, to whom Ellsberg eventually leaked the Pentagon Papers. Back then no one would have even considered going after the Times; this time around, the precedent is clear: going after Assange opens the door to prosecuting just about any news outlet in America.
Discussed on the show:
- “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)” (IMDb)
- “My Statement on the Prosecution of Julian Assange” (The Libertarian Institute)
- “The Afghanistan Papers” (Washington Post)
- Rage
- “State Department Cables” (WikiLeaks)
- “Baghdad War Diary” (WikiLeaks)
- “Kabul War Diary” (WikiLeaks)
- “Official Secrets (2019)” (IMDb)
- “UN expert says “collective persecution” of Julian Assange must end now” (OHCHR)
- “The Silence of the Lambs (1991)” (IMDb)
- “Daniel Ellsberg Secrets Chapter 1 The Tonkin Gulf: August 1964” (The Scott Horton Show)
Daniel Ellsberg is a former Marine Corps company commander and nuclear expert for the Rand Corporation. He is the leaker behind the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the truth behind the Vietnam War. He is the author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers and The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner.
This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.
Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.
Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from this website. He’s the author of the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan. Visit https://scotthorton.org