Links to today’s show transcripts:
A New McCarthyism: Julian Assange Accuses Democrats of Blaming Russia & WikiLeaks for Clinton Loss
As Donald Trump’s presidency concludes its first 100 days, Trump and his campaign are facing multiple investigations over whether the campaign colluded with Russian officials to influence the 2016 presidential election. This Democracy Now! exclusive features a man who has been at the center of much discussion of Russian election meddling: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
Just before the Democratic National Convention last July, WikiLeaks published 20,000 internal emails from the Democratic National Committee. Then, between October 7 and Election Day, WikiLeaks would go on to publish 20,000 of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta’s emails, generating a rash of negative stories about the Clinton campaign. Intelligence agencies have pinned the email hacking on Russians. WikiLeaks maintains Russia was not the source of the documents.
Exclusive: Julian Assange on WikiLeaks’ Release of the Largest Leak of Secret CIA Documents
In March, WikiLeaks published what it says is the largest leak of secret CIA documents in history. The thousands of documents, dubbed “Vault 7,” describe CIA programs and tools that are capable of hacking into both Apple and Android cellphones. The documents also outline a CIA and British intelligence program called “Weeping Angel,” through which the spy agency can hack into a Samsung smart television and turn it into a surveillance device that records audio conversations, even when it appears to be off.
Julian Assange vs. Allan Nairn: Did WikiLeaks Inform Voters or Aid Trump’s Right-Wing Revolution?
In releasing the trove of DNC and Podesta emails during the 2016 campaign, was WikiLeaks staying true to its radical transparency mission by refusing to engage in partisan politics? Or was WikiLeaks recklessly bolstering Trump and the Republicans? For more, Democracy Now! interviews activist and journalist Allan Nairn and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
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