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"Our view, however, is that confidential sources are vital in getting information to the public, and a subpoena issued more than four years after the book was published hardly seems to be important enough to outweigh the protection an author needs to have."
First brought in 2006 by Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the grand jury session expired without resolution. Holder will impanel a new one. Risen faces possible prosecution and jail time for honoring his confidentiality commitment, what no reporter should ever violate.
WikiLeaks - What It Is, How It Operates
Calling itself "the intelligence agency of the people," WikiLeaks says it's "a multi-jurisdictional public service designed to protect whistleblower, journalist and activists who have sensitive materials to communicate to the public" that has a right to know.
Only when they're told "the true plans and behavior of their governments" can they decide whether or not they deserve support, or as Jack Kennedy said on April 27, 1961:
"The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers, which are cited to justify it."
WikiLeaks believes that "Principled leaking has changed the course of history for the better; it can alter the course of history in the present; it can lead us to a better future." It can expose abuses of power by "rel(ying) upon the power of overt fact to enable and empower citizens to bring feared and corrupt governments and corporations to justice," and help make nominal democracies real ones.
Secrecy and Targeting Whistleblowers and Journalists Under Obama
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