At the Sterling Trial
19th January 2015
Last week the government commenced its prosecution of former CIA official Jeffrey Sterling for violation of the Espionage Act. The government alleges that Sterling leaked the details of a program intended to undermine Iran’s nuclear program to New York Times reporter James Risen. The program was subject to a security classification indicating its extreme sensitivity.
Sterling did not publicly disclose the details of the CIA program; he laundered them through Risen (with a promise from Risen’s to protect Sterling’s identity as the source). So the government alleges.
The government subpoenaed Risen to testify in the case. Risen declined, and the government has abandoned its efforts to compel him to testify. He works for the Times, and the Times is, after all, on Obama’s team. The case therefore continues without the benefit of Risen’s testimony.
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If Sterling violated the Espionage Act, as the government alleges, it is even clearer that Risen did so too. He is subject to the same criminal liability as Sterling and other citizens for violation of the Espionage Act, but the government has confined the prosecution to Sterling and now it has also abandoned its claim to Risen’s testimony.
Selective prosecution is a hallmark of tyrannous regimes everywhere. When friends of those in power can ignore the law with impunity, then there is no justice, just a fight for power and influence, which is what we have in America today.