Political Quotes

“alerting the public to government wrongdoing is not a crime. Yet, sadly, administrations of both parties are increasingly using the Espionage Act to target and prosecute whistleblowers and journalists for sharing critical information, important information, with the public. Such prosecutions undermine our government's transparency and are a clear violation of the First Amendment and fundamental right to due process. That is why I am introducing the Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act, which would prevent abuses against whistleblowers, journalists, and the American public for exposing government corruption. Ever since it became law in 1917, the Espionage Act has been used to criminalize political dissent, and that is dangerous. It has been used to target whistleblowers who alerted the American people about government lies about the Vietnam war, mass surveillance, torture, drone assassinations, and the U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. In recent years, the use of this repressive tool has prosecuted whistleblowers and journalists acting in the public interest and has expanded dramatically, producing a major chilling effect on the right to dissent in our country. In our country, war has always been used as an excuse by the powerful to take away the rights of our people.”