Official secrecy is a scourge destructive of democracy

Responding to:

George Croner @GeorgeCroner

I'm delighted at the successful effort by DoJ in this leaks case. But, again, the prosecution stops at the transfer to the reporter. Why? It's clear from the DoJ press release that the recipient reporter's news outlet published, in whole or in part, no less than 23 of the /1

David Laufman @DavidLaufmanLaw

In a leaks prosecution under the Espionage Act, the Justice Dept. has obtained a guilty plea from a former government contractor for disclosing classified info to a journalist #doj #nationalsecurity https://t.co/mr0mBrVOJQ

Worthwhile opinion. Perhaps would be more effective if not wholly focused on Assange which neglects the widespread unauthorized initiatives to publish national security and classified information, many preceding Assange and many more following. Nor should this debate be limited to the role of journalism in aiding disclosure when a majority of the effort is done through other means. Freeing information is hardly restricted to the "free press" despite the campaign to reduce it to that self-congratulatory, commercial enterprise.

It is a good point to highlight how journalistic accounts employ methods of explication that do not do full justice to officially-controlled information, from withholding names, to redactions, to dramatization, to headlining, to shortening, to explaining, to condescending to readers, to valorizing itself, and not least slathering its business promotions with advertisements, bylines, whines about offiicial abuse, crowing about its censorship "to protect sources," featuring drop-boxes and jumping on board lawsuits or initiating them.

A second opinion by this author could examine in greater detail the very long history and current examples of unauthorized disclosures beyond the hot button Assange hootenany which comes across as self-congratulatory not unlike this critique of journalism. Sorry to note that the issue of who deserves access to official information is not just about law and journalism and national security. These three vast interest groups, all too often in cahoots, should not be above citizen scrutiny by means fair and foul if needs be.

At one time, Assange and WikiLeaks promised to provide information to the public outside law, journalism and national security cartelism, indeed, still does, along with others less stigmatized and glorified, and may they all continue and inspire others to do the same. Official secrecy is a scourge destructive of democracy, unauthorized disclosure of official secrets is a high duty of citizenship.