Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning have been named as enemies of the state again. Newly appointed CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, claimed that Assange and Snowden leak information in order to make a name for themselves. He went further to call Wikileaks a “hostile intelligence service” that works with Russia. The future does not look good for alternative media and whistleblowers like Wikileaks and Edward Snowden, and it is doubtful that they will be welcome in the U.S. anytime soon.
CIA Director, Mike Pompeo stated in a press conference on April 13th, 2017 that Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are threats to America. He stated “while we do our best to quietly collect information on those who pose a very real threats to our country, individuals such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden seek to use that information to make a name for themselves. As long as they make a splash, they care nothing about the lives they put at risk or the damage they cause to national security.”
He goes further to call Wikileaks a hostile intelligence service that is supported by Russia and shames whistleblower, Chelsea Manning “Wikileaks walks like a hostile intelligence service. Talks like a hostile intelligence service. It has encouraged its followers to find jobs at the CIA in order to obtain intelligence. It directed Chelsea Manning in her theft of specific, secret information. It is time to call out Wikileaks for what it really is—a non-state, hostile intelligence service often embedded by state actors like Russia.”
Pompeo then persisted with propaganda that Wikileaks worked with Russia to stifle the DNC, “In January of this year, our intelligence community determined that Russian Military Intelligence, the GRU, had used Wikileaks to release data of US victims that the GRU had obtained through cyber operations against the Democratic National Committee. And the report also found that Russia’s primary propaganda outlet, RT, has actively collaborated with Wikileaks.”
He then continues to challenge Assange’s character stating that “Assange claims to harbor an overwhelming admiration for both America and the idea of America, but I assure you this man knows nothing of America and our ideals.” He continues “I’m quite confident that had Assange been around in the 30s and the 40s and the 50s he would have found himself on the wrong side of history.”
It looks like the new administration hasn’t changed much from the old. With such an accusatory statement from the CIA director, it will be doubtful that whilstleblowers will feel safe to come forth with information or that transparency will be a virtue of the Trump administration.
