A jury continues to deliberate on a verdict in the trial against former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of leaking details about a CIA operation that involved a Russian asset, who secretly provided Iran with flawed blueprints for a nuclear weapon. The government claims he leaked the details to New York Times journalist James Risen.
The government initially charged Sterling with committing ten felonies, seven of which fall under the Espionage Act. The other charges include mail fraud and obstruction of justice. The mail fraud charge he faced was dismissed by the judge last week.
The jury has already asked Judge Leonie Brinkema some substantive questions about elements of the charges.
Marcy Wheeler, one of the only journalists who has been covering this leak trial each day as it has unfolded, appears on “Unauthorized Disclosure” this week. Her reports have been published by http://www.exposefacts.org“>ExposeFacts.org.
Sterling is known to have blown the whistle on this operation called “Operation Merlin” through proper channels in the government. The government’s prosecution, Wheeler explains, has been a “farce” when it considering the damage done to press freedom. She explains why Sterling probably should have been put on trial in Missouri and not Virginia. She also offers a recap of the arguments in the case, what the government claims about Sterling and what the defense has said to rebut what amounts to largely circumstantial evidence.
During the discussion portion of the show, hosts Kevin Gosztola and Rania Khalek talk about the fawning over a dead tyrant, King Abdullah and Speaker John Boehner inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide a rebuttal to the State of the Union. The first book published by a Guantanamo prisoner is highlighted, with excerpts read on air. And Khalek discusses her efforts to expose the propaganda in the film, “American Sniper.”
The podcast is available on iTunes for download. For a link (and also to download the episode), go here. Click on “go here” and a page will load with the audio file of the podcast. The file will automatically start playing so you can listen to the episode.
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