Chelsea Manning, Political Prisoner, Is Denied Freedom

Published: April 22, 2019, 10 p.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.

A federal appeals court ruled this morning that Chelsea Manning must remain in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange. Manning had argued that the Justice Department was trying to weaken her credibility as a defense witness, rather than to punish her for refusing to testify.

The U.S. government announced today that it would not be issuing any further waivers on sanctions imposed on the Iranian oil industry. In its effort to isolate Iran economically, the Trump administration may now take action against traditional U.S. allies that do not go along with the sanctions regime. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show.

People across the country and world were shocked as video surfaced of a group of far-right vigilantes holding undocumented immigrants at gunpoint along the U.S.-Mexico border. The FBI arrested Larry Hopkins, a leader of the militia, on Sunday and charged him with federal gun violations, which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of eight years in prison. Kidnapping charges are expected to be added soon. But will violent far-right groups continue to grow? Brian and John speak with Daryle Lamont Jenkins, executive director of the anti-fascist organization One People’s Project.

Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John.

Ukraine has a new president. President Petro Poroshenko conceded last night to television comedian Volodymir Zelensky, who won more than 70 percent of the vote in what was seen as a referendum on corruption and poverty. Zelensky has no political experience, but he plays a president on television. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins Brian and John.

House Democrats lined up over the weekend to announce the start of new investigations into allegations that President Trump obstructed justice during the Russia investigation, while one Fox News contributor complained that the Mueller Report was a “how-to manual for impeachment.” Some Democrats argue against impeachment, however, because the Senate is unlikely to take up the issue and because impeachment proceedings could rally Republicans. And new questions are being raised as journalists dig into the content of the report, including about the role of Joseph Mifsud and western intelligence agencies in the initiation of the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “The Plot to Control the World: How the US Spent Billions to Change the Outcome of Elections Around the World,” and Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history whose latest book is “The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce,” joins the show.

Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.