Last week, Daniel Hale, a drone whistleblower, pled guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act. Hale admitted in court that he gave to an investigative reporter documents detailing human rights abuses pertaining to the US’s troubling assassination program. Although this information was in the public interest, the government nonetheless indicted Hale under the Espionage Act.

This fits into a troubling pattern where those who expose official abuses of power, including war crimes and unconstitutional surveillance, are charged under the Espionage Act.

On Tuesday, April 6, DRAD Policy Director Chip Gibbons and Jesselyn Radack, the head of Whistleblower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts (and who has served as a legal advisor to Daniel Hale) led a discussion about what is happening in the Hale case and how it fits into the bipartisan outrage of Espionage Act abuse. Chip and Jesselyn were joined during the livestream by whistleblowers who have themselves faced Espionage Act charges, including Thomas Drake & Jeffrey Sterling.