After Assange's Espionage Act Indictment, Police Move Against More
Journalists for Publishing Classified Material
June 5, 2019
Less than two months after the arrest of journalist Julian Assange, and two
weeks after his indictment under the Espionage Act, emboldened governments
have sent the police after journalists who've challenged the state. Joe
Lauria reports.
By Joe Lauria
in Sydney, Australia
Special to Consortium News
Following the arrest and Espionage Act indictment of Julian Assange a number
of police actions against journalists for publishing classified information
and other journalistic activity has heightened fears among mainstream
journalists that they could be next.
Police in Sydney, Australia on Wednesday raided the offices of the
taxpayer-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation, copying thousands of
files related to a 2017 ABC broadcast that revealed allegations of war
crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
Three Australian Federal Police officers and three police technicians
entered ABC's Sydney headquarters with a search warrant that named two ABC
investigative journalists and the network's news director. The police
demanded to look through the journalists' emails, ABC reported.
David Anderson, the ABC managing director, said it was "highly unusual for
the national broadcaster to be raided in this way".
"This is a serious development and raises legitimate concerns over freedom
of the press and proper public scrutiny of national security and Defence
matters," he said. "The ABC stands by its journalists, will protect its
sources and continue to report without fear or favour on national security
and intelligence issues when there is a clear public interest." John Lyons,
ABC's executive editor and head of investigative journalism, tweeted:
Lyons said the federal police were going through dozens of emails with the
authority to delete or even change their content. Protagonist Winston
Smith's job in Orwell's 1984 was to rewrite news archives.
"I recall writing ages ago about Australian legislation giving the
Australian govt power to 'add, alter or delete' targeted material,"
Australian psychologist and social critic Lissa Johnson told Consortium
News. "The msm barely batted an eyelid at the time. Now that power is being
wielded against the ABC."
Gaven Morris, ABC's news director, said: "Journalism is not a crime."
"Our journalists do a really difficult job, I'm proud of what they do, they
do it in the public's interest," he said. "I'd say to all the journalists at
the ABC and all the journalists across Australia, don't be afraid of the job
you do."
Marcus Strom, president of Australia's journalists' union, the Media,
Entertainment and Arts Alliance, called the raid "disturbing."
"It should chill the public as well as journalists," he said."These raids
are all about intimidating journalists and intimidating whistle blowers so
that mistakes made by the Government, including potential crimes, by the
military, remain covered up, remain secret, and don't fall in to the public
domain."
Political Editor's Home Raided
On Tuesday morning in an unrelated case, Canberra police entered the home of
the political editor of the Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph. "Journalist
Annika Smethurst opened her front door to find seven AFP officers waiting
for her. All because she dared to do her job and keep the nation informed on
what its government was doing," the Telegraph said in an editorial.
Ironically, the Smethhurst article in April 2018 that raised the ire of the
government "revealed the departments of Defence and Home Affairs were
considering new powers allowing Australians to be monitored for the first
time," The Telegraph reported. "Her original article included images of top
secret letters between Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo and Defence
Secretary Greg Moriarty."
French Journalists Arrested
Assange was arrested in London on April 11. Police in Paris arrested two
journalists who were covering Yellow Vest protests on April 20. One of the
journalists, Alexis Kraland, said he was taken into custody after refusing
to be searched and to turn his camera over to police at Gare du Nord train
station. The largest journalism union in France demanded an explanation from
police.
SF Police Raid Journalists' Home
And on May 10 in San Francisco, police using sledgehammers to break down the
door, raided the home of Bryan Carmody, a freelance journalist, to get him,
while handcuffed, to reveal the source who leaked him a police report into
the sudden death of the city's elected public defender. Police took away
computers, cameras, mobile phones and notes.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said initially that Carmody had
"crossed a line" with his report. After a public outcry and demands that
Scott resign, the police chief issued an apology.
Fears Justified
While there is no direct connection between Assange's arrest and indictment
for possessing and disseminating classified material and these subsequent
police actions, a Western taboo on arresting or prosecuting the press for
its work has clearly been weakened. One must ask why Australian police acted
on a broadcast produced in 2017 and an article published in April only after
Assange's arrest and prosecution.
Within hours of Assange's Espionage Act indictment on May 23, major
publications and media figures, who have harshly treated Assange, began
lining up in his defense out of self-interested concern that the government
could apply the same prosecutions to them for also routinely publishing
classified information.
Their fears are beginning to be realized.
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former correspondent
for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and
numerous other newspapers. He can be reached at joelauria@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and followed on Twitter @unjoe .
