Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Seth Stern: Freedom of the Press Director of Advocacy on the precedent set by the Julian Assange trial

Transcript

Seth Stern: Freedom of the Press Director of Advocacy on the precedent set by the Julian Assange trial · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Deal has been done. As I mentioned Julian Assange. He
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: pleads guilty, having served time, and is now essentially a
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: free man on his way back to Australia. This is
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: aw all happened as I mentioned a moment ago, and
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  Speaker 1: so I penned you as Commonwealth North of Guam part
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: of the Marianna's Of course, sith Stone is the director
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  Speaker 1: of advocacy at Freedom of the Press and as well.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: A safe morning to you, good morning, great to be here.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: You're happy, you'll not.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Well, it's a mixed bag. We're of course happy that
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  Speaker 2: this saga is finally over and that there won't be
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: a trial of a publisher of newsworthy information for routine
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: journalistic conduct obtaining and publishing information from sources. On the
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: other hand, it was entirely unnecessary to force a guilty
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  Speaker 2: plea here. The Biden administration could have simply dropped the charges.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: This guilty plea will not set a legal precedent in
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  Speaker 2: the US courts. That being said, every judge and prosecutor
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  Speaker 2: will be aware of it and will feel emboldened to
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  Speaker 2: pursue similar constitutionally dubious case against other journalists for doing
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: their jobs.
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  Speaker 1: If you and Julie Assange, would you have done what
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  Speaker 1: he's just done.
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  Speaker 2: Accepted the plea deal. Yeah, I can't fault for doing
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  Speaker 2: what they need to do to get out of prison.
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  Speaker 2: I'm sure Julian Assange would have preferred to not have
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  Speaker 2: to take a plea deal, or to plead to something
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  Speaker 2: else besides a violation of the Espionage Act, which is
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  Speaker 2: an unconstitutional century old law which could have taken literally
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  Speaker 2: criminalize what journalists at the world's most respected newspapers do
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  Speaker 2: every day. That being said, it's far for me to
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  Speaker 2: tell someone who's been in prison for five years and
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  Speaker 2: wants to get out and be with their family what
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  Speaker 2: they should do.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: What does it say about the politics? Because Baden City
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: was considering it. Obviously he's acted. Even Trump said he
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: would consider What does that say about what's happening in
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  Speaker 1: American politics?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the idea that it's even something that needs to
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  Speaker 2: be considered is disturbing. It should be automatic. We've got
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  Speaker 2: a First Amendment here that protects the rights of journalists, publishers,
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  Speaker 2: essentially anybody to speak to speak freely about matters of
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  Speaker 2: public concern. This is a case that should have never
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  Speaker 2: been brought in the first place by the Trump administration.
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  Speaker 2: But everyone recognizes the Trump administration is outwardly anti press.
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  Speaker 2: The Bided administration purports to be something else. They purport
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  Speaker 2: to be friends of the free press. So for them
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  Speaker 2: to have continued this case for years before even beginning
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  Speaker 2: to reportedly consider finding a way out is quite disturbing.
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  Speaker 2: We should have never gotten to this.
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  Speaker 1: Point of all the cases. And he's not the first
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  Speaker 1: person who's done. He's the most celebrated and the most famous.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, where do you think the story sits in
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  Speaker 1: the annals of history.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's the first time in the history of the
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  Speaker 2: Espionage Act that a publisher of newsworthy information and as
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: opposed to a source or a leaker of newsworthy information,
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  Speaker 2: has been prosecuted and convicted. A guilty plea is still
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  Speaker 2: technically a conviction, So it's really a dark day in
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  Speaker 2: American history. I would say other past administrations have considered
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  Speaker 2: prosecuting publishers of news under the ESPIONAJAC, but they've thought
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  Speaker 2: the better of it because they've recognized the repercussions that
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  Speaker 2: could have for newsworthy, legitimate journalism, the kind of investigative
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  Speaker 2: journalism that has led that has shaped American history, is
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  Speaker 2: shaped world history to an extent. So this is a
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  Speaker 2: departure from that tradition and really a troubling omen for
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  Speaker 2: how the First Amendment will be applied in the future.
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  Speaker 2: If this is what Biden does, imagine what Trump would
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  Speaker 2: do if he gets another term.
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  Speaker 1: Sopstone, who is will us procureat? You're inside, Director of
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Advocacy at Freedom All the print.
• 3:54
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• 4:01
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