Upon
Harold Martin’s arrest in 2016, an Obama administration official
said his case was being kept under wraps “to keep this guy from
becoming another NSA martyr.” The tactic seems to be have paid
dividends.
by
Whitney Webb
Part
4 - Drawing the curtains
Given
the complexity of this case as well as the fact that it is said to
have been the largest breach of U.S. government data in history, it
is shocking that Martin has received so little public attention.
A likely
explanation for the lack of media coverage is that the government
wants it that way. Indeed, after news of Martin’s arrest broke, an
Obama administration official told the press that Martin’s arrest
and the case against him was being kept under wraps to prevent him
from becoming “another NSA martyr.” Not only that, but
many in the corporate press have been openly hostile to alleged
whistleblowers of late, particularly to Reality Winner.
However,
another reason for the lack of publicity surrounding Martin’s case
is the fact that his legal defense hasn’t reached out to the press.
Kiriakou noted: “[Martin] hasn’t sought the publicity and his
attorneys haven’t sought the publicity. When Thomas Drake’s case
was going on, his attorneys reached out to 60 Minutes and The New
Yorker magazine and CNN to get the word out. They haven’t done this
in this case.”
Given
the dangerous climate for whistleblowers in the United States, it is
likely that we will never know Martin’s true intent – even if
more conclusive evidence existed to suggest that he sought to bring
information to the public eye to stop government crimes – as any
expression of an intent to whistleblow would likely only worsen his
legal situation.
The
situation for whistleblowers is so toxic that Kiriakou hypothesized
that – were his own whistleblower case taking place today – he
believes his legal defense would likely attempt to find another way
to defend his actions aside from the whistleblower defense. Kiriakou
stated: “[This is] because the precedent they [my attorneys]
would be looking at would be the case of Reality Winner […] who is
alleged to have passed document to the Intercept, […] and has been
held without bond since June of last year. I would say that the
courts right now are even tougher on whistleblowers or would-be
whistleblowers than they were five years ago.”
Regardless
of whether Martin is a whistleblower or a hoarder, his case deserves
much more attention from the press than it has received. As Kiriakou
mentioned, if Martin pilfered the documents as a result of a mental
condition, he “needs treatment, not prison” and, thus,
should be supported by mental health advocates and others who support
the more compassionate treatment of those who commit crimes owing to
an existing mental condition.
On the
other hand, if there is even the possibility that Martin could have
been trying to get information on government wrongdoing out to the
wider public, this also deserves widespread attention, especially
considering the fact that the Shadow Brokers have released
information that has exposed dangerous and unconstitutional
government practices.
Yet,
above all, Martin’s case is a troubling indication of how the U.S.
government treats its own, particularly those who risk making
government information public – regardless of intent.
***
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