Primary Sources Podcast

25/04/2022

Today marks the 51st anniversary of the first official inquiry into allegations of U.S. war crimes in the Vietnam War.

51 years later, as evidenced by our recent episode entitled "The Drone Whistleblowers" feat. Lisa Ling, Cian Westmoreland, Keagan Miller & Christopher Aaron, we haven't made much progress on that front since.

13/04/2022

What led Jeffrey Sterling to file his racial discrimination suit against the CIA?

He explains to host Chip Gibbons on the 5th episode of the .

11/04/2022

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer describes to host Chip Gibbons the disturbing pressure campaign applied to Ecuador to hand over Wikileaks founder to the UK 3 years ago today - where he remains imprisoned to this day.

07/04/2022

Today, we celebrate the birthday of Daniel Ellsberg, who is not only one of the inspirations behind the but was our first guest on it.

Listen to the full episode here: https://primarysourcespodcast.org/from-the-pentagon-papers-to-the-doomsday-machine/

06/04/2022

According to Jesselyn Radack on a recent episode of , would never get a fair trial in the US under the Espionage Act.

And Snowden knows that.

31/03/2022

Nils Melzer, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, was accused of using inflammatory language for telling the truth about the abusive conditions Julian Assange was under during his asylum *stay* at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He even provoked the UK foreign minister to angrily take to Twitter with his indignations.

Listen to the full episode here: https://primarysourcespodcast.org/ep-12-the-persecution-of-julian-assange-featuring-nils-melzer/

22/03/2022

In this bonus episode of the , hear the powerful voices of the February 25th Belmarsh Tribunal, held in New York City and for this episode, featuring the voices of Primary Sources host & DRAD policy director, Chip Gibbons, as well as Margaret Kunstler, Srecko Horvat, Jeffrey Sterling, Deborah Hrbek, Nancy Hollander & Mohamed Ould Slahi.

When whistleblowers have been tried under the Espionage Act, the US government has successfully barred them telling the jury about what it is they are on trial for exposing. It’s clear the US government is afraid of juries hearing about the realities of drone strikes, mass surveillance, torture, a...

04/03/2022

"To me, like most people around the world, Assange was just a ra**st, hacker, spy, and narcissist.

"Like so many, I was convinced that I knew the truth about him, even though I could quite remember where that knowledge had come from."

These were the words of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer, in his book "The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution." Learn about how his opinion changed dramatically upon meeting the Wikileaks founder and seeing how he had been treated.

If you haven't listened to the latest episode of , make sure you do at https://primarysourcespodcast.org

27/01/2022

“A prosecution is when you use court proceedings to prosecute a crime. When you misuse judicial institutions to persecute, to silence a dissident who has committed no crime and you’re using the judicial machinery to silence him and to punish him, that’s persecution.”

This is how UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer describes to host Chip Gibbons the legal proceedings against Assange. Melzer was initially skeptical and reluctant to become involved in the Assange case. Yet, after he led a medical team to visit Assange in Belmarsh Prison he concluded Assange was a victim of psychological torture. As he continued to investigate the actions of multiple governments against Assange, his own initially negative views of the WikiLeaks publisher were dramatically altered.

As Melzer warns in his book The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution, “We must not allow Assange’s persecutors to dictate his story, for those who suppress their own crimes and misconduct are unlikely to tell us the truth about a man who lifted the veil and exposed their corruption.”

Listen to full episode here: https://primarysourcespodcast.org/ep-12-the-persecution-of-julian-assange-featuring-nils-melzer/

27/01/2022

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer on overcoming his initial skepticism abt & when he first became aware of the nature of Assange's treatment.

The latest episode of is out now & streaming on all major platforms or @ primarysourcespodcast.org

27/01/2022

The US essentially extorted Ecuador to force them to hand over to UK authorities, according to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer in the latest episode of .

New episode available now for streaming or at primarysourcespodcast.org.

25/01/2022

Chip Gibbons points out the impact of having Pres. Bush & Trump as civil liberty villains versus the difficulty of opposing an Obama administration that often continued the same bad policies.

05/01/2022

"[The CIA] wants to [prosecute Assange] because of the fact that he targeted them. That he went after them. They thought they were exceptional."

Listen to Kevin Gosztola explain the motivations behind the US's prosecution of Julian Assange on the latest episode of at https://primarysourcespodcast.org or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

27/12/2021

"They believe when somebody is your source - who is vulnerable - you should be willing to make sacrifices to protect them from being arrested by legal authorities."

Kevin Gosztola on what distinguishes Wikileaks from other news & media publishers. The full episode, titled "The War on Wikileaks" is streaming now or available at primarysourcespodcast.org.

23/12/2021

In the latest episode of , we explore the story of one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history, leaks which exposed US war crimes and other abuses of power. It is also the story of the US national security state’s ruthless retaliation against those involved, including the source, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, and the publisher, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Journalist Kevin Gosztola, who covered both the Chelsea Manning court martial and Julian Assange extradition trial, joins the Primary Sources Podcast to recount the legal and extra legal war on WikiLeaks.

This is the story of one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history, leaks which exposed US war crimes and other abuses of power. From 2010 to 2011, WikiLeaks worked with media the world over, to publish the Collateral Murder Video, Iraq and Afghan War Logs, State Department Cables...

09/12/2021

In our most recent episode, Clive Stafford Smith talks about what it’s like representing people in Guantanamo Bay.

Download wherever you get your favorite podcasts or at www.PrimarySourcesPodcast.org.

22/11/2021

When it comes to ' founder Julian Assange, most people are aware of the ongoing case against under the Espionage Act for publishing information.

But did you know that 1/3 of the 17 US charges against Assange are related to Wikileaks’ release of the damaging information about the treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, otherwise known as the Guantanamo Files?

Andy Worthington and Clive Stafford Smith join Primary Sources host Chip Gibbons to talk about the role of the Wikileaks’ release of the on their continuing fight for human rights.

When it comes to Wikileaks and it’s founder Julian Assange, most people are aware of the ongoing case against Assange under the Espionage Act not for leaking information but for publishing information. And most people have heard about his leaks around drones. But 1/3 of the 17 US charges against A...

27/10/2021

Those in the drone program have witnessed first hand the serious human costs of the US’s global assassinations program. For years, veterans of the drone program have worked to alert the public to the realities of the drone warfare.

The Kabul Strike, which killed 10 civilians, including 7 children, shocks the conscience of all thinking people. But as drone whistleblowers, have tried to warn, it was hardly an unusual event.

Host Chip Gibbons is joined by drone whistleblowers Lisa Ling, Keagan Miller, Cian Westmoreland, and Christopher Aaron for a timely and troubling conversation.

  Those in the drone program have witnessed first hand the serious human costs of the US’s global assassinations program. For years, veterans of the drone program have worked to alert the public to the realities of the drone warfare. The Kabul Strike, which killed 10 civilians, including 7 childr...

14/10/2021

There were just so many lies being told to us about the war in Afghanistan. Matthew Hoh was persecuted for simply telling the truth.

Listen to the latest episode of the at https://primarysourcespodcast.org

08/10/2021

"There's been one systemic process of lying throughout the Afghan War. From the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration it has just been systemic lying from the American government about the war."

This is what Matthew Hoh says about the US war in Afghanistan during this episode of Primary Sources. Hoh would know. After already completing two assignments in Iraq, Hoh joined the US State Department in Afghanistan. In 2009, he made headlines when he resigned in protest of President Obama's plans to escalate the Afghan War.

Hoh joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss the four decade history of US intervention in Afghanistan, his own journey as a whistleblower, and how the Pentagon hired a PR firm to discredit him when he spoke out against the war.

After already completing two assignments in Iraq, Hoh joined the US State Department in Afghanistan. In 09, he resigned in protest of President Obama's plans to escalate the Afghan War.

10/09/2021

Its been 9/11, but are we any safer? Are we any better as a country as a result of the measures we took post-9/11?

Chip Gibbons and former CIA operative-turned-whistleblower John Kiriakou reflect on the last 20 years of the War on Terror in the latest episode of the .

Check it out at https://primarysourcespodcast.org or wherever you get your favorite podcasts (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.)

08/09/2021

After September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency, with the approval of President George W. Bush, began a highly classified program of renditions and torture. While torture violates both US and international law, President Obama declined to hold any one accountable for the program, saying he was looking forwards, not backwards.

That policy, however, did not apply to whistleblowers. The Obama Administration prosecuted former CIA analyst and case officer John Kiriakou for revealing information about the US torture program. Kiriakou first confirmed the CIA had used waterboarding while Bush was still in office. In spite of the CIA filing a crimes report, they declined prosecution. But the Obama Administration, at the request of CIA Director John Brennan, revived the case and sent Kiriakou to prison.

To date, he remains the only person to be held accountable in connection to the torture program.

Listen to the latest episode here:

After September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency, with the approval of President George W. Bush, began a highly classified program of renditions and torture. While torture violates both US and international law, President Obama declined to hold any one accountable for the program, saying he...

27/08/2021

27/08/2021

Secrecy, Repression, and The Espionage Act Century feat. Carey Shenkman

27/08/2021

The CIA v. The Unwanted Spy feat. Jeffrey Sterling

27/08/2021

The New York Times, the Pentagon Papers, and the Secret Weapon of the First Amendment feat. James Goodale

27/08/2021

From the Pentagon Papers to the Doomsday Machine feat. Daniel Ellsberg

26/08/2021

Thomas Drake swore an oath to defend the US Constitution on multiple occasions. His fidelity to that oath put him on a collision course with his employer, the National Security Agency. Drake assisted in an inspector general complaint concerning a costly intelligence boondoggle and aided Congressional investigations into intelligence failures in the lead-up to 9/11.

And as the national security state expanded post 9/11, Drake’s oath forbade him to remain silent when the government undertook surveillance that violated the rights of Americans. Drake’s good deeds put a target on his back. As a result, he became the signature Espionage Act case in an emerging War on Whistleblowers.

Thomas Drake swore an oath to defend the US Constitution on multiple occasions. His fidelity to that oath put him on a collision course with his employer, the National Security Agency. Drake assisted in an inspector general complaint concerning a costly intelligence boondoggle and aided Congressiona...

26/08/2021

Jeffrey Sterling has described himself as an unwanted spy.

In the early 2000s, he attempted to take the CIA on over its racial discrimination against him. Citing the state secrets doctrine, his case was never considered on its merits. Later, he would go to the Senate Intelligence Committee to alert them about Operation Merlin, a plan to give Iran faulty nuclear plans. After being fired from the CIA, Sterling thought his ordeal was over. Then in 2006, the FBI raided his home and in 2011 brought an indictment against him under the Espionage Act.

Sterling joins host Chip Gibbons to talk about life inside the CIA, his controversial trial, and his path to becoming a whistleblower.

Jeffrey Sterling has described himself as an unwanted spy. In the early 2000s, he attempted to take the CIA on over its racial discrimination against him. Citing the state secrets doctrine, his case was never considered on its merits. Later, he would go to the Senate Intelligence Committee to alert....

26/08/2021

Attorney Jesselyn Radack has been at the forefront of opposing the government’s War on Whistleblowers. She has represented numerous clients indicted under the Espionage Act, including Edward Snowden, Daniel Hale, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou. Jesselyn knows first hand the perils of being a whistleblower.

Before becoming one of the leading attorneys defending the rights of national security whistleblowers, she was a Department of Justice employee who blew the whistle on FBI ethics violations during the interrogation of so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh. Jesselyn joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss her journey and what it’s like being on the front lines of the War on Whistleblowers.

Attorney Jesselyn Radack has been at the forefront of opposing the government’s War on Whistleblowers. She has represented numerous clients indicted under the Espionage Act, including Edward Snowden, Daniel Hale, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou. Jesselyn knows first hand the perils of being a whis...