Barr Hearings on Mueller Report Display the Threat to Democracy
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-03
Attorney and activist Kamau Franklin dissects the questioning of Attorney General Barr on his handling of the Mueller report…
therealnews.com/stories/barr-hearings-on-mueller-report-display-the-threat-to-democracy

Trump, Putin Discuss Nuclear Pacts, Mueller Report in Hour-Long Call
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-03
WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than an hour Friday about nuclear weapons agreements, the conflict in Venezuela, North Korea and also briefly about special counsel Robert Mueller's just completed report on Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. | "They had a very good discussion. Spoke for a little over an hour," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at the White House. "They discussed nuclear agreements, both new and extended, with the possibility of having conversations with China on that front as well." | "There was a discussi…
truthdig.com/articles/trump-putin-discuss-nuclear-pacts-mueller-report-in-hour-long-call/

House issues ultimatum to Barr to release full Mueller report
Special to People's World | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-03
peoplesworld.org/article/house-issues-ultimatum-to-barr-to-release-full-mueller-report/

The Constitution Is on the Side of Jerry Nadler, Not William Barr
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-05-03
The Constitution Is on the Side of Jerry Nadler, Not William Barr…
thenation.com/article/william-barr-jerry-nadler-constitution-mueller-report/

Barr Launches Wide-Ranging Probe Into 2016 FBI Spying on Trump
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-03
(ZH) — Attorney General William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Panel this week that he has assembled a team at the Justice Department to probe whether the spying conducted by the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016 was improper, reports Bloomberg. Barr suggested that he would focus on former senior leaders at the FBI and Justice …

Barr Launches Wide-Ranging Probe Into 2016 FBI Spying on Trump

'Worse than Watergate'? Barr opens probe into FBI's 'spying' on 2016 Trump campaign
rt.com | 2019-05-03
Attorney General William Barr has formed a team to investigate allegations the FBI and Justice Department spied on the Trump campaign in 2016, as the GOP demands a probe into the scandal they've called "worse than Watergate." | …
rt.com/usa/458318-fbi-spying-trump-papadopoulos/

SEP (Sri Lanka) May Day meeting demands freedom for Assange and Manning
wsws.org | 2019-05-03
This statement, issued by the Abbotsleigh Estate Workers Action Committee in Sri Lanka's central tea plantation district, was unanimously approved at the SEP's May Day public meeting in Colombo.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/03/slas-m03.html

Extradition of Julian Assange Threatens Us All. Veteran Intelligence Professionals
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-03
Retaliation against Julian Assange over the past decade plus replicates a pattern of ruthless political retaliation against whistleblowers, in particular those who reveal truths hidden by illegal secrecy, VIPS says. | *** | DATE: April 30, 2019 | MEMORANDUM FOR: The governments …
globalresearch.ca/extradition-julian-assange-threatens-us-all/5676330

French Yellow Vests join Assange extradition protest in London
wsws.org | 2019-05-03
WSWS reporters spoke to demonstrators outside Westminster Magistrates Court protesting plans to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the US.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/03/ints-m03.html

Protesters oppose US extradition proceedings against Julian Assange
wsws.org | 2019-05-03
The British government and the judiciary are doing everything possible to facilitate the US capture of the journalist who has been found guilty of nothing more than a bail offence.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/03/assa-m03.html

Call to free Julian Assange raised in Taiwan on Labor Day
wsws.org | 2019-05-03
The Free Assange Group explained to Taiwan workers that WikiLeaks served as a deterrent to war and was a tool for peace.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/03/taiw-m03.html

'A Massive Chill On Investigative Journalism': First Hearing In Julian Assange's Extradition Case
Kevin Gosztola | shadowproof.com | 2019-05-03
The first procedural hearing in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition case was held in the United Kingdom. It was very brief, and Assange appeared via video link from Belmarsh prison. "I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many, many awards and protected…
shadowproof.com/2019/05/02/massive-chill-investigative-journalism-hearing-assange-extradition/

Anti-War Voices on Both Sides Warn of Coming CIA Provocation to Kill Guaidó, Blame Maduro
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2019-05-03
With Guaidó rapidly losing momentum and credibility after Tuesday's failed coup, López and his U.S. backers may turn on their own if they think it will benefit or energize their cause or if it could be used to set the stage for foreign military intervention.
mintpressnews.com/anti-war-voices-warn-of-cia-provocation-to-kill-guaido-blame-maduro/258178/

My FOIA Crusade Against a Law-Breaking CIA
Staff | truthdig.com | 2019-05-03
On April 29, my attorney Dan Hardway filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review my case, Morley v. CIA. When I filed this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit 16 years ago, I sought certain files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. | The JFK story still resonates, albeit more faintly than it once did. Kennedy was a popular liberal president who, at the time of his death, was challenging the country to embrace civil rights and "a strategy of peace" to end the Cold War. Detested in the…
truthdig.com/articles/my-foia-crusade-against-a-law-breaking-cia/

Gay and trans workers may soon lose work-place protections
Michelle Zacarias | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-03
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon determine whether federal employment law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The court agreed to hear three cases involving Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which currently prevents employers from discriminating based on "sex." This decision will have a monumental impact on …
peoplesworld.org/article/gay-and-trans-workers-may-soon-lose-work-place-protections/

Venezuela: Another coup fails
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-05-03
"Interim President" Juan Guaido and right-wing opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez spearheaded an unsuccessful coup attempt in Caracas on April 30. | The thwarted uprising started in the early morning hours when renegade military and intelligence officers reportedly released Lopez from house arrest. Lopez then joined Guaido and a handful of soldiers on the Altamira overpass in east Caracas, outside the Francisco de Miranda airbase, known as La Carlota. | Lopez and Guaido released videos on social media, call…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-another-coup-fails

Warren Calls for Investigation of Surveillance at Family Separation Protests
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-05-03
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., of has called on the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General to launch an investigation into the department's alleged surveillance practices. This comes in the wake of a report that claimed a private intelligence firm had provided law enforcement officials at the agency with information on hundreds of protests against President Trump's policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. | "This most recent reporting raises questions about the government surveillance of Americans exercising their constitutional rights to organ…
truthout.org/articles/warren-calls-for-investigation-of-surveillance-at-family-separation-protests/

Pointing to Disastrous History of US Intervention, Sanders Warns Against Military Action in Venezuela
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-03
"I will do everything I can to see that U.S. troops do not get involved in a civil war in Venezuela." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/abrams_pompeo_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/05/03/pointing-disastrous-history-us-intervention-sanders-warns-against-military-action?cd-origin=rss

US attorney general refuses to testify before House Judiciary Committee
wsws.org | 2019-05-02
Barr's decision came after a contentious day-long hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee where he took questions on his handling of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/02/barr-m02.html

Has Donald Trump Committed High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-05-02
Has Donald Trump Committed High Crimes and Misdemeanors?
thenation.com/article/impeachment-trump-congress-mueller-barr/

Julian Assange Vows to Fight Charges at First US Extradition Hearing
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-02
(ZH) — During the first hearing in what's expected to be a protracted legal battle over the US's extradition request, Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange told a British judge that he wished to fight extradition, and the hearing was concluded with the next court date set for May 30. Assange, whom the US has charged with conspiring with …

Julian Assange Vows to Fight Charges at First US Extradition Hearing

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Vows To Fight Charges At First Extradition Hearing
ZeroHedge | mintpressnews.com | 2019-05-02
During the first hearing in what's expected to be a protracted legal battle over the US's extradition request, Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange told a British judge that he wished to fight extradition, and the hearing was concluded with the next court date set for May 30. | Assange, whom the US has charged with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to break into a government computer, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of 5.5 years, appeared on screen wearing a sports jacket. He wasn't handcuffed. And when asked if he would consent to surrender to the US, he replied that he did not wish to do so, according to…
mintpressnews.com/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-vows-fight-charges-first-extradition-hearing/258124/

Assange to Extradition Court: 'I Won't Surrender to the US for Doing Journalism'
consortiumnews.com | 2019-05-02
The WikiLeaks founder appeared via video link in Westminster Magistrates Court for the first hearing in what could be a lengthy process in the US request for extradition. By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News Julian Assange had his first… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/05/02/assange-to-extradition-court-i-wont-surrender-to-the-us-for-doing-journalism/

Did the CIA Orchestrate an Attack on the North Korean Embassy in Spain?
Tim Shorrock | thenation.com | 2019-05-02
Did the CIA Orchestrate an Attack on the North Korean Embassy in Spain?
thenation.com/article/did-the-cia-orchestrate-an-attack-on-the-north-korean-embassy-spain-cia/

Having Admitted to "Lying" and "Cheating" while CIA Director, Pompeo Drops Another Whopper after Failed Venezuelan Coup
Whitney Webb | mintpressnews.com | 2019-05-02
The lack of scrutiny given by the mainstream media to Bolton and Pompeo's claims is yet another troubling sign of the transformation of many mainstream media outlets into faithful government stenographers.
mintpressnews.com/pompeos-claim-that-maduro-was-set-to-flee-fits-with-lying-past-at-cia/258086/

Venezuela: Failed Coup Argues for New Approach
consortiumnews.com | 2019-05-02
The Trump administration should set aside its disinformation campaign and start looking at reality, says Fulton Armstrong. By Fulton Armstrong Special to Consortium News The Trump administration's approach to Venezuela have both policy and intelligence failure written all over them…. Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/05/01/venezuela-failed-coup-argues-for-new-approach/

SPLC: Facebook and Instagram ban far-right and extremist figures, but still have more work to do against hateful content
Keegan Hankes, Researcher, Intelligence Project | splcenter.org | 2019-05-02
Facebook and Instagram announced today that they have banned several far-right, antisemitic and extremist figures and organizations for being "dangerous," a sign that they are more aggressively enforcing their hate speech policies under pressure from civil rights organizations, including the SPLC.
splcenter.org/news/2019/05/02/splc-facebook-and-instagram-ban-far-right-and-extremist-figures-still-have-more-work-do

US Will Take Military Action in Venezuela "If That's What's Required"
Jake Johnson | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-02
(CD) — Going a step beyond the "all options are on the table" platitudes consistently parroted by Trump administration officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the U.S. is prepared to take military action in Venezuela "if that's what's required." "The president has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent–military action is possible," Pompeo said in an interview on Fox …

US Will Take Military Action in Venezuela "If That's What's Required"

VIPS: Extradition of Julian Assange Threatens Us All
consortiumnews.com | 2019-05-01
Retaliation against Julian Assange over the past decade plus replicates a pattern of ruthless political retaliation against whistleblowers, in particular those who reveal truths hidden by illegal secrecy, VIPS says. DATE: April 30, 2019 MEMORANDUM FOR: The governments and people of the… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/30/vips-extradition-of-julian-assange-threatens-us-all/

Headlines for April 30, 2019
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-30
Venezuelan Opposition Leaders Claim a Coup Is Underway, Trump to Make Asylum Seekers Pay Application Fees, Trump Organization Sues Banks in Bid to Resist Congressional Subpoenas, Pentagon Links More U.S. Military Members to Neo-Nazi Group, Christchurch, NZ Police Find Explosive Device Amid Fears of More Anti-Muslim Violence, Terror Suspect Arrested After Receiving Fake Explosives from FBI Informant, Lori Gilbert-Kaye, Killed in Synagogue Shooting, Mourned at San Diego Funeral, Trump to Designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Who Oversaw Mueller Probe, Ste…
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/30/headlines

Dear Social Media Judges: Don't Forget the Fundamentals of a Fair Trial
consortiumnews.com | 2019-04-30
Julian Assange's Australian lawyer and his EU advisor say the publisher should not be tried in social media and must be given a fair hearing in court. By Greg Barns and Lisanne Adam Special to Consortium News On Thursday… Read more ?…
consortiumnews.com/2019/04/30/dear-judges-on-social-media-dont-forget-the-fundamentals-of-a-fair-trial/

Julian Assange's father lays into Hillary Clinton and co for smearing his son as a 'Russian asset'
Bryan Wall | thecanary.co | 2019-04-30
Julian Assange's father, John Shipton, has dismissed the idea that his son is a "Russian asset". He made the comments during an interview with Tara Brown on 60 Minutes Australia on 28 April. He also attacked Hillary Clinton for blaming her 2016 presidential loss on his son. Shipton, who is 74 and last saw Assange at Christmas, said that his son now "looks as old as me". But in sp…
thecanary.co/trending/2019/04/30/julian-assanges-father-lays-into-hillary-clinton-and-co-for-smearing-his-son-as-a-russian-asset/

There's a Battle Brewing at Google Over Employee Speech. The Outcome Affects Us All
aclu.org | 2019-04-30
Retaliating against Big Tech employees who push their employers to do the right thing is a threat to us all. | The outcome of a battle heating up at Google over the limits of employee free speech will have huge consequences for all of us. Will Google shut down internal dissent and silence whistleblowers? Or will the company live up to its initial motto, "Don't be evil?" | In 2017, researchers Meredith Whittaker and Kate Crawford founded the AI Now Institute at New York University, with the goal of "produc[ing] interdisciplinary research on the social implication…
aclu.org/blog/free-speech/employee-speech-and-whistleblowers/theres-battle-brewing-google-over-employee

Elizabeth Warren Calls for Investigation Into Monitoring of Family Separation Protests
Ryan Devereaux | theintercept.com | 2019-04-30
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General to open an internal investigation following revelations that a private intelligence firm provided the law enforcement agency with information on hundreds of protests against the Trump administration's policy of family separation. | "This most recent reporting raises questions about the government surveillance of Americans exercising their constitutional rights to organize peacefully and protest a cruel and unjust policy that does not make America safer or improve our immigration system and asylu…
theintercept.com/2019/04/30/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-investigation-into-monitoring-of-family-separation-protests/

How Movement To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Prevailed Over Obstruction Of A Progressive Prosecutor
Jared Ware & Miles Quarles | shadowproof.com | 2019-04-29
A late December ruling by the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Leon Tucker re-opened pathways for long-time political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal to litigate his freedom. | "Progressive prosecutor" Larry Krasner's appeal of the ruling stood in the way until Wednesday, April 17. At issue was whether Ronald Castille–a former Philadelphia District Attorney, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice, and Krasner transition team member–had a constitutional duty to recuse himself from Mumia's appeals of…
shadowproof.com/2019/04/29/how-movement-to-free-mumia-abu-jamal-prevailed-over-obstruction-of-a-progressive-prosecutor/

Homeland Security Used a Private Intelligence Firm to Monitor Family Separation Protests
Ryan Devereaux | theintercept.com | 2019-04-29
The calls for action were mounting. It was mid-June, and the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, which saw thousands of migrant children separated from their parents, was producing waves of outrage. By the end of the month, hundreds of protests were planned in towns and cities across the country. As the plans moved forward, others took notice. | In the days leading up to the protests, a private intelligence company that works with the Department of Homeland Security was monitoring the activity on the ground. Documents shared with The Intercept by the American Immigration Council, obtained through a fr…
theintercept.com/2019/04/29/family-separation-protests-surveillance/

FBI: The greatest danger comes from Beijing
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-04-29
Recently, FBI Director Christopher Wray declared that the greatest danger to the US is from Beijing, not Moscow. Director Wray: No country poses a broader, more severe intelligence collection threat than China. China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation in any way it can, from a wide array of businesses, universities, & organizations. …
uwidata.com/3230-fbi-the-greatest-danger-comes-from-beijing/

Free Advice for Democrats
Mark Fiore | progressive.org | 2019-04-25
Now that the redacted Mueller report lays out what appears to be evidence of a president obstructing justice, it's up to Congress.
progressive.org/dispatches/free-advice-for-democrats-fiore-190425/

Unequal Justice: As the Next Census Approaches, Will the Supreme Court Side with Trump in his War on Immigrants?
Bill Blum | progressive.org | 2019-04-25
The idea for reinstating the citizenship question came from discussions including White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, both of whom have long histories as proponents of anti-immigrant policies.
progressive.org/dispatches/unequal-justice-census-supreme-court-voting-blum-190425/

A Dangerous global trend (part two)
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-04-25
The Belgian intelligence service (VSSE) had earlier warned that members of a far-right racist group, mainly based in Austria and Belgium, were "actively arming themselves." According to the VSSE, the far-right in Western Europe began to "call on their members to learn to shoot and acquire weapons both legally and illegally." This information, alongside a …
uwidata.com/3213-a-dangerous-global-trend-part-two/

An Indictment in All But Name
aclu.org | 2019-04-24
The report dispassionately lays out the facts, which are an indictment in all but name. | Special Counsel Robert Mueller's long-awaited report, released to the public in a redacted version on April 18, lays out in meticulous detail both a blatantly illegal effort by Russia to throw the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump and repeated efforts by President Trump to end, limit, or impede Mueller's investigation of Russian interference. Trump's efforts included firing or attempting to fire those overseeing the investigation, directing subordinates to lie on his behalf, cajoling witnesses not to cooperate, and…
aclu.org/blog/executive-branch/indictment-all-name

'Pod Save The World' And Their Awful Discussion Of Case Against Julian Assange
shadowproof.com | 2019-04-24
President Donald Trump's Justice Department will need the rhetorical support of liberal Democrats to succeed in prosecuting WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange. Ben Rhodes, former deputy national security advisor for strategic communications, and Tommy Vietor, former national security spokesperson and special assistant to the president, worked in President Barack Obama's administration.
shadowproof.com/2019/04/24/former-obama-official-ben-rhodes-assange-justify-trump-doj-prosecution/

Daniel Ellsberg Speaks Out on the Arrest of Julian Assange
Dennis J. Bernstein | progressive.org | 2019-04-23
"Without whistleblowers we would not have a democracy. And there have to be people to distribute work and publish it."
progressive.org/dispatches/daniel-ellsberg-on-arrest-of-julian-assange-bernstein-190423/

Supreme Court Takes Cases of People Fired for Being LGBTQ
aclu.org | 2019-04-22
The court will consider whether to take anti-discrimination protections away from LGBTQ people. | Can a business fire someone because they're LGBTQ? The Supreme Court will soon tell us. | After a funeral home outside Detroit fired Aimee Stephens because she is transgender, Aimee won a federal appeals court ruling that the firing violated the federal law barring sex discrimination in the workplace. After Don Zarda was fired from his job as a skydiving instr…
aclu.org/blog/lgbt-rights/lgbt-nondiscrimination-protections/supreme-court-takes-cases-people-fired-being

The Mueller Report Shows How Bad Trump Is. Now What?
Ruth Conniff | progressive.org | 2019-04-19
To get too caught up in Russian interference and the unfairness of the American electoral system is to overlook Trump's power, and to risk not learning the lessons of his popularity.
progressive.org/dispatches/mueller-report-conniff-190419/

VIDEO: How the Pentagon and CIA Push Venezuela Regime-Change Propaganda in Video Games
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2019-04-15
The US military and CIA launder coup propaganda through popular first-person shooter video games like Call of Duty, simulating assassinations…
thegrayzone.com/2019/04/15/video-how-the-pentagon-and-cia-push-venezuelan-regime-change-propaganda-through-first-person-shooter-games/

Sell Out: How Corruption, Voter Fraud and a Neoliberal Turn Led Ecuador's Lenin to Give Up Assange
Denis Rogatyuk | thegrayzone.com | 2019-04-14
Desperate to ingratiate his government with Washington and distract the public from his mounting scandals, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno has…
thegrayzone.com/2019/04/14/lenin-moreno-julian-assange-wikileaks-ecuador/