What Role Does Revenge Play in Whistleblower Sentencing
Josh Schulte gets 40 years for Value 7. Much of it can be considered torture.
A federal judge in New York in early February sentenced CIA whistleblower Joshua Schulte to a draconian 40 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of nine felony counts of espionage for passing to Wikileaks documents that became known as “Vault 7.” Schulte, who foolishly represented himself, faced up to 80 years. He still faces a state charge for alleged possession of child pornography.
The conviction and sentence raise several important questions. First, what does the length of the sentence mean for any other whistleblower who goes to the media to expose waste, fraud, abuse, or illegality? Second, what do the sentence and conviction portend in the case of Julian Assange, who is widely expected to be extradited to the United States in late February, and whose Wikileaks was the recipient of the Vault 7 information? And third, what does this all say about the revenge factor in espionage cases?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Loud & Clear with John Kiriakou to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.