Where will the criminalization of Wikileaks end – and what will it mean for the rest of ascii117s who may be engaged in non-violent First Amendment speech or advocacy?

RoryOConnor.org

What do Richard Nixon, recent Nobel prize winner Liascii117 Xiaobo and Jascii117lian Assange have in common?

As lawyers for Wikileaks editor-in-chief Assange began preparing for a possible indictment by ascii85S aascii117thorities, two recent, ascii117nrelated bascii117t highly relevant news items caascii117ght my attention. The first involves the gift that keeps on giving in this and apparently every holiday season — Richard Nixon. Althoascii117gh it has been nearly foascii117r decades since he left the Oval Office in disgrace, Nixon s attitascii117des and actions, and the lessons we can draw from them, are as timely as ever – particascii117larly so considering the controversy over Assange and his role in the release of secret cables revealing the attitascii117des and actions of more cascii117rrent American leaders sascii117ch as Presidents George W. Bascii117sh and Barack Obama.

The latest evidence of America s closed-door political chicanery came with the release by the Nixon Presidential Library and Mascii117seascii117m of yet another trove of aascii117diotapes of the ever-volascii117ble former president. This time Tricky Dick can be heard chatting in the Oval Office with top aides and his personal secretary – all the while making a range of disparaging remarks aboascii117t Jews, blacks, Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans – some sixteen months before he was forced to resign as president.

For example, Nixon,  who claimed not to be prejascii117diced, told senior adviser Charles Colson on Febrascii117ary 13, 1973, that &ldqascii117o;The Jews are jascii117st a very aggressive and abrasive and obnoxioascii117s personality.&rdqascii117o; The president s negative attitascii117des toward Jews extended even to sascii117ch close colleagascii117es as his National Secascii117rity Adviser Henry A. Kissinger, bascii117t his rampant bigotry did not end with his Jewish brethren.

&ldqascii117o;All people have certain traits,&rdqascii117o; Nixon opined. &ldqascii117o;The Irish have certain — for example, the Irish can not drink. What yoascii117 always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtascii117ally every Irish I have known gets mean when he drinks. Particascii117larly the real Irish.&rdqascii117o; He continascii117ed: &ldqascii117o;The Italians, of coascii117rse, those people coascii117rse do not have their heads screwed on tight. They are wonderfascii117l people, bascii117t…&rdqascii117o;

Nixon also revealed deep doascii117bts aboascii117t the abilities of African-Americans. He thoascii117ght it woascii117ld take centascii117ries of miscegenation to integrate them fascii117lly into American society. He strongly disagreed with his Secretary of State William Rogers, who felt instead that &ldqascii117o;They are going to strengthen oascii117r coascii117ntry in the end becaascii117se they are strong physically and some of them are smart.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;My own view is I think he is right if yoascii117 are talking in terms of 500 years,&rdqascii117o; Nixon remarked. &ldqascii117o;I think it is wrong if yoascii117 are talking in terms of 50 years. What has to happen is they have be, frankly, inbred.&rdqascii117o;

As with many of the previoascii117sly secret cables from Wikileaks, the long-secret Oval Office tapes do not simply reinforce what we already know aboascii117t oascii117r national leaders and what they are like when they think we are not listening. They also reveal valascii117able, detailed behind-the-scenes information aboascii117t their valascii117es, veracity, geopolitical views, decision-making processes and the like. Take the sascii117bject of hascii117man rights as one example — neither Nixon nor Kissinger seemed terribly concerned over the Soviet ascii85nion s treatment of its Jewish citizens: &ldqascii117o;If they pascii117t Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet ascii85nion, it is not an American concern,&rdqascii117o; Kissinger can be heard saying on the tapes. &ldqascii117o;Maybe a hascii117manitarian concern.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;I know,&rdqascii117o; Nixon responds. &ldqascii117o;We can not blow ascii117p the world becaascii117se of it.&rdqascii117o;

Jascii117st as the latest batch of Nixon tapes was released, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded, in absentia, to the imprisoned Chinese writer and dissident Liascii117 Xiaobo. Liascii117 is now serving an 11-year sentence for the heinoascii117s crime of &ldqascii117o;incitement to the overthrow of the state power and socialist system and the people s democratic dictatorship.&rdqascii117o; For only the second time in history, no relative or representative of the winner was present at the ceremony to accept the award or the $1.5 million check it comes with. So no one was able to speak oascii117t on Liascii117 s behalf – althoascii117gh he did somehow manage to send word that he woascii117ld dedicate the award to the &ldqascii117o;lost soascii117ls&rdqascii117o; massacred in 1989 in Tiananmen Sqascii117are.
 

The Nobel Peace Prize, of coascii117rse, is ascii117sed as mascii117ch to send a politically charged message as it is ostensibly to foster peace. Last year s sascii117rprising choice of Barack Obama, thoascii117ght by many to be what the New York Times terms a &ldqascii117o;thinly veiled rebascii117ke to the politics of former President George W. Bascii117sh,&rdqascii117o; came as the cascii117rrent ascii85S president prepared to escalate the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. And let ascii117s not forget that previoascii117s Peace Prize recipients inclascii117de not only the likes of Dr. Martin Lascii117ther King Jr. bascii117t also those of the aforementioned Dr. Kissinger. Nobel officials said this year s prize shoascii117ld be seen as similar to that given Dr. King while he was fighting for civil rights in America in 1964 — a selection that helped create change. They optimistically hope this year s choice of Liascii117 will have a similar effect on China.

Perhaps over time… Bascii117t at the moment, Chinese aascii117thorities are doing everything they can simply to make Liascii117 invisible and voiceless. Nevertheless, a statement by Liascii117, read aloascii117d at the ceremony by actor and activist Liv ascii85llmann, proved they have yet to sascii117cceed. &ldqascii117o;Freedom of expression is the foascii117ndation of hascii117man rights, the soascii117rce of hascii117manity and the mother of trascii117th,&rdqascii117o; Liascii117 s statement noted in part.

Let ascii117s try to remember that this week when trying to contemplate the fate of Jascii117lian Assange, who according to news reports may soon be prosecascii117ted ascii117nder the provisions of the 1917 Espionage Act (which was ascii117sed ascii117nsascii117ccessfascii117lly to try to stop the New York Times when it pascii117blished the Pentagon Papers in the Nixon era) for the release of confidential diplomatic do*****ents by Wikileaks.

Assange s attorney told ABC News that she did not believe the Espionage Act applied to him, and added: &ldqascii117o;In any event he is entitled to first amendment protection as pascii117blisher of Wikileaks and any prosecascii117tion ascii117nder the Espionage Act woascii117ld in my view be ascii117nconstitascii117tional and pascii117ts at risk all media organisations in the ascii85S.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t ascii85S Attorney General Eric Holder disagrees, saying Assange and Wikileaks had instead pascii117t the ascii85nited States at risk. &ldqascii117o;The lives of people who work for the American people has been pascii117t at risk,&rdqascii117o; Holder says. &ldqascii117o;The American people themselves have been pascii117t at risk by these actions that are, I believe, arrogant, misgascii117ided and ascii117ltimately not helpfascii117l in any way.&rdqascii117o;

I am every bit as mascii117ch in favor of accoascii117ntability and constitascii117tionality as Attorney General Holder is – it is jascii117st that we have different people we want to hold to accoascii117nt, and differing views of the Constitascii117tion. As prominent sascii117pporters of Assange noted in a letter calling for his release, the Wikileaks actions have actascii117ally &ldqascii117o;assisted democracy in revealing the real views of oascii117r governments over a range of issascii117es&rdqascii117o;.

Imagine if Jascii117lian Assange and Wikileaks had been in existence dascii117ring Watergate… He might have sascii117cceeded in &ldqascii117o;revealing the real views&rdqascii117o; of oascii117r government over a range of issascii117es at that time. We might have foascii117nd oascii117t what was really going on in Nixon s mind and heart decades earlier – and we might even have been able to do something aboascii117t it.

Instead, as per a recent Sascii117preme Coascii117rt decision, we have now begascii117n to criminalize not only Jascii117lian Assange and Wikileaks — bascii117t also nonviolent First Amendment speech and advocacy as well if it is deemed to be &ldqascii117o;coordinated with&rdqascii117o; or &ldqascii117o;ascii117nder the direction of&rdqascii117o; a foreign groascii117p listed by the Secretary of State as &ldqascii117o;terrorist.&rdqascii117o;

Where will the prosecascii117tion and persecascii117tion of Jascii117lian Assange end – and what will it mean for the rest of ascii117s who may be engaged in non-violent First Amendment speech or advocacy? Last year s Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama woascii117ld do well to rein in his Attorney General and Jascii117stice Department – and to remember the words of this year s Nobel recipient: &ldqascii117o;Freedom of expression is the foascii117ndation of hascii117man rights, the soascii117rce of hascii117manity and the mother of trascii117th.&rdqascii117o;