#silha

[gallade-x-treme]

TODAY WE USE OUR POWER TO FELL A GOD

AND THEN SEIZE OUR SCHEDULED CLOCK-OUT TIME

[piantie]

birthday gift for my sister! character belongs to her at NightmareBug

[sjmcnate-blog]

Obama needs to learn Pentagon Papers lessons, lawyer says

The government should ignore the First Amendment at its own peril, First Amendment lawyer James Goodale said Wednesday.

Goodale spoke about the lessons of the Pentagon Papers on Wednesday night at the Cowles Auditorium as part of the annual Silha Lecture.

He said he doesn't think President Barack Obama has learned them.

Obama has indicted more leakers under the Espionage Act than any other U.S. President, Goodale said.  He said the administration is not nearly as transparent as it claims to be.  

He pointed to the government's recent indictments of leakers such as Edward Snowden and Chelsea (Bradley) Manning as examples of the government's aggressiveness.

Goodale became famous because of the Pentagon Papers case in the early 1970s.  He defended the New York Times after it decided to publish the secret government documents about America's historical involvement in Vietnam.  

The U.S. government sued the Times upon publication and Goodale defended the newspaper in court.  He argued the Espionage Act should not apply to the press.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in his favor, holding prior restraint was nearly impossible to justify under the First Amendment.

Goodale said he thinks the case has two lessons: the government should ignore the first amendment at its own peril and journalists should push through "top secret" branding.

Goodale was an entertaining speaker -- a wiry, fiery man who appeared very passionate about defending First Amendment freedoms.  His points raised serious concerns about the efficacy of the current administration.  

Guardian article supports Goodale's claims

A study by the Commission to Protect Journalists has found the Obama Administration's pursuit of leakers to be the most aggressive since the 1970s, The Guardian reported last week.

Former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie authored the study.  He told The Guardian he feels the administration's actions have "severely hindered the release of information that could be used to hold it to account."

Obama had promised to be more open, Downie said, after inheriting a culture of secrecy that had built up since 9/11.  But instead, Obama has become "more aggressive" in his pursuit of leakers of information, the article said.  

The Commission has called on the government to end prosecutions of leaders under the Espionage Act and to increase transparency, the article said.