News Items

  • Calls to Suspend Syrian Refugee and Other Recent Anti-Muslim Statements by Government Officials

    Compiled by the Institute for Public Accuracy with Arun Kundnani and Deepa Kumar. Kundnani said: “While it’s very easy to denounce Trump’s recent repugnant, bullying statements — and much of the political class has — it’s important to keep several things in mind: First, as the compilation of statements by elected officials makes clear, he made these statements after many officials from across the country made scores of statements playing on unfounded fears against Syrian refugees and other Muslims.”

    Read more »


  • Classified Politics: A System and a Clinton in Disrepute

    It is most unlikely, however, that Hillary Clinton will fall victim to accusations that rely on improper over-­classification. The State Department and White House, including President Obama himself, sought to protect her and to minimize the effects of her behavior. The case is extremely high­-profile, Democrats in Congress would attack any borderline classification, and a host of well-­paid lawyers would rise to her defense. Improperly classified items or those deemed Sensitive but Unclassified may be redacted from publicly released documents, but it is hard to imagine that Mrs. Clinton would be falsely accused of felonies.

    Read more »


  • Video of Sterling News Conference

    Please enjoy the full video of Holly Sterling’s news conference, which was her first such appearance since her husband’s trial and imprisonment. The news conference also featured Thomas Drake, Delphine Halgand, Ray McGovern, and Jesselyn Radack.

    Read more »


  • Open Letter to President Obama from Holly Sterling

    Does the government have no shame in destroying one man’s life and wasting tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to punish a man who had the audacity to do two things: Stand up for his constitutional rights and utilize proper channels provided to him to express concern for the citizens of our country? I am deeply saddened by our lives’ events that Jeffrey and I have suffered and endured. You publicly committed to a transparent government led by your administration, yet it has been shrouded in mistruth and secrecy.

    Read more »


  • Unprecedented News Conference: Wife of Imprisoned CIA Whistleblower to Speak Out

    Jeffrey Sterling was convicted under the Espionage Act as a source for New York Times reporter James Risen’s book State of War. He began serving his three-and-a-half year prison sentence in June. His wife’s news conference will be the first time the spouse of a CIA whistleblower has made such an appearance.

    Read more »


  • Cultural Shift Needed on Police Militarization

    Police militarization is a 25 year long trend that has only grown in momentum over time. The restrictions on militaristic gear directed by the White House while important symbolically, will certainly not substantively impact this trend in and of itself. Police militarization at this point is as much a cultural problem as it is a material one, and reversing the cultural trend toward police militarization will require more far reaching efforts.

    Read more »


  • Watch the Short Documentary “The Invisible Man: CIA Whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling”

    “‘The federal courtroom in northern Virginia where Holly and Jeffrey Sterling returned for the sentencing on May 11 was the scene of a disturbing, though scantly reported, simulation of justice in late January. At the outset, covering the trial, I noted that ‘prospective jurors made routine references to ‘three-letter agencies’ and alphabet-soup categories of security clearances.’ Steeped in a local atmosphere of deference to mega-employers like the CIA and Pentagon along with numerous big contracting firms nearby, ‘the jury pool was bound to please the prosecution.’”

    Read more »


  • On Jeffrey Sterling: From the Filmmaker of “Invisible Man”

    “The most shocking element of this story it that Jeffrey Sterling seems to be punished because he ‘pulled on Superman’s cape’ first with a racial discrimination suit they were able to squash and then by reporting what he considered a dangerous CIA operation to the proper government channels for hearing such a concern.”

    Read more »


  • News Conference: Whistleblowers Weigh In on Policy

    William Binney (NSA), Thomas Drake (NSA), Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers), Raymond McGovern (CIA), Jesselyn Radack (Justice Department), Coleen Rowley (FBI) and Kirk Wiebe (NSA) spoke at this news conference, sponsored by ExposeFacts.org, a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy.

    Read more »


  • Netanyahu Victory Opens Door for One-State Solution

    Just before the election, Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu ruled out the creation of a Palestinian State, which means that he repudiated the two-state solution to the dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This has been the pronounced objective of American foreign policy since the Madrid Conference and the Middle East Peace Negotiations in 1991 held under the auspices of the United States government and with the full support of the international community.

    Read more »


  • Supreme Court California Prison Ruling

    The New York Times reports today on the Supreme Court’s ruling on California’s prison system: “Conditions in California’s overcrowded prisons are so bad that they violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, ordering the state to reduce its prison population by more than 30,000 inmates.”

  • Obama, Netanyahu and AIPAC: Professional Wrestling or Real Fight?

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress tomorrow. NOURA ERAKAT, nourae at mac.com Erakat works as an adjunct professor of international human rights law in the Middle East at Georgetown University and is the U.S.-based legal advocacy coordinator for the Badil Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights. She is…

  • Progressives Respond to Obama

    AIMEE ALLISON, aimee at rootsaction.org Co-Executive Director of RootsAction, Allison said today: “Obama will need the support of progressives in his reelection bid, but the biggest issues — from closing Guantanamo to ending war in Iraq to protecting the social safety net haven’t been addressed.” The group released a video today titled “Louder Than Words”…

  • Beyond Obama’s Speech: A “U.S.-Saudi Axis” Backing Counter-Revolution

    JOSEPH MASSAD, jam25 at columbia.edu Massad is associate professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia University. He said today that Obama’s “silence on demonstrations in monarchies (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Morocco) and the mild criticisms of Yemen stood in stark contrast with the vehemence of his criticisms of Syria and Libya. The…

  • Obama on Mideast — Chomsky: More Deceptive Rhetoric?

    The Huffington Post reports of Obama’s speech tomorrow: “Obama will outline ‘a single standard’ to apply to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other parties that seek to engage with the United States, the official said. “‘He will say we are happy to engage with any group that renounces violence as a tool for political change,’…

  • Japan Nuclear Disaster: Danger for U.S.

    A New York Times piece titled “In Japan Reactor Failings, Danger Signs for the U.S.” reports: “Emergency vents that American officials have said would prevent devastating hydrogen explosions at nuclear plants in the United States were put to the test in Japan — and failed to work, according to experts and officials with the company…

  • Egypt: Attacking Protesters and Military Convicting Over 5,000

    AP is reporting: “Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will issue an apology to the Egyptian people on-air in a bid for amnesty.” Democracy Now this morning featured a report on Egypt about the “military court system, which has been used to convict and jail more than 5,000 civilians since January 25, the first day of…

  • The New Yorker’s “Damning” Investigation of NSA Whistleblower Case

    The Government Accountability Project released a statement today: “This week, GAP client Thomas Drake is prominently featured in the May 23 issue of The New Yorker magazine, in an explosive article on widespread corruption and wrongdoing within the National Security Agency. The piece, ‘The Secret Sharer,’ highlights Drake’s legal and proper attempts to expose massive…

  • Israel Firing on Refugee Protesters

    AFP is reporting: “Thousands of bereaved Palestinians in camps in south Lebanon on Monday laid to rest victims of a cross-border Israeli shooting, as shops and schools in the camps closed for a day of mourning. “In the Al-Bass refugee camp, thousands of people gathered for the burial of 17-year-old Mohammed Salem, one of 10…

  • Social Security: Beyond the Doom-and-Gloom

    MAX RICHTMAN, PAMELA TAINTER CAUSEY, causeyp at ncpssm.org Richtman is executive vice president/acting CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security; Causey is communications director for the group. He said today: “It’s important that Americans understand the [just-released] 2011 Trustees Report confirms that Social Security and Medicare continue to fulfill their mission, providing retirement…

Mastodon