Leftist Media Reverses Course, Now Supportive Of Espionage Act
There was a time when the mainstream media despised the Espionage Act for supposedly giving the federal government too much power. That, however, was before it was used as a hammer against former President Donald Trump.
Individuals who revealed state secrets such as Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden faced prosecution under the Espionage Act.
In their cases and even before, leftist journalists worried that it was being wielded to persecute those who fell out of favor with Washington. These courageous whistleblowers were unfairly targeted using this dangerous weapon.
Several mainstream sources ridiculed the Espionage Act in action, including NPR. The publicly-funded leftist mouthpiece quoted critics describing the law as “antiquated” and last amended over half a century ago.
CNN blasted its use against a leaker who gave classified information “to a news outlet rather than a foreign adversary.”
And the New York Times cited sources worried that “it was getting easier for the government to hunt down journalists’ sources using surveillance and internal monitoring systems. This raised the possibility of a “growing chill for investigative journalism.”
The Espionage Act was clearly designed to protect knowledge critical to the defense of the nation. It states that gathering information to be used “to the injury of the United States” or “to the advantage of any foreign nation” is unlawful.
Of course, none of that is close to being proven in the case of Trump.
Instead of the Presidential Records Act, which would at least have made legal sense, Biden’s Department of Justice decided to throw the book at the former president hoping that something would stick.
And in a telling move, they chose a statute that was generally held in scorn by the left. After all, when you already have contempt for your country, why would you be concerned with keeping its secrets and protecting its interests?
In so many other instances, it is easily demonstrated that the Biden White House ceded what was best for the U.S. and instead chose left-wing ideology. Now, however, his chief political rival deserves nothing less than using the Espionage Act to bring him down.
The irony is beyond striking. It showed the level of corruption that blankets weaponized Washington and the hatred Democrats have for the will of the people.
