WikiLeaks Declares War on The Intercept
by Gideon Resnick, Daily Beast, June 5, 2017 (excerpt)
The FBI says a reporter led them to an NSA leaker. Julian Assange says that person, whom he suspects is an Intercept reporter, is a "menace" to sources, journalists, and democracy. (NOTE: The Intercept and Hawaii Civil Beat are both published by Pierre Omidyar.)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told The Daily Beast he holds reporters—not just the Trump administration—responsible for the arrest of a U.S. intelligence contractor charged with leaking classified information.
On Monday, the Justice Department said Reality Winner, a 25-year-old National Security Agency contractor, sent top secret information to a news outlet. The announcement came shortly after The Intercept published a series of NSA documents claiming that Russian hackers targeted a voting-software supplier and local election officials just prior to Election Day.
According to the affidavit, reporters for the unnamed news organization provided a copy of the printed NSA report to the agency in order to seek comment. The NSA claimed six people had printed out the report including Winner, who the agency said had been in contact with an unnamed news outlet.
“If the FBI affidavit is accurate the reporter concerned must be named, shamed and fired by whomever they work for to maintain industry standards,” Assange said via Twitter direct message through the WikiLeaks account on Tuesday.
“Source burning reporters are a menace,” he said. “They chill trust in all journalists which impedes public understanding.”
WikiLeaks offered a $10,000 reward for information “leading to the public exposure & termination” of the reporter. …
read … $10,000 Reward
KITV: How the Reality Winner case is a 'cautionary tale' for journalists
CR: Source Burned by Omidyar Media Was Bernie Sanders ‘Resist’ Activist
Civil Beat June 5, 2016: "Not all anonymous sources are created equal. Some do benefit you, and those should be protected...."
March 2017: Former Omidyar ‘Journalist’ Charged with Threats Against Jewish Centers
2014: “If you’re answering to Omidyar you’re really not independent.”
2012: Pierre Omidyar: The Secret Empire of a Resort Developer