When the Trump administration indicted WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange under the infamous 1917 Espionage Act, journalists and other public figures sounded the alarms, warning of a war on the free press. This prosecution is in keeping with Trump’s authoritarian contempt for a free press and the rule of law generally. Other U.S. documents published by WikiLeaks showed more than 15,000 civilian deaths in the Iraq war that the Pentagon did not disclose. Advocates for human rights and press freedom, as well as members of Congress, all need to raise their voices in this case before it is too late. But democracy, a free press and human rights begin at home.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 06, 2021 16:30 UTC