{"id":1608984,"date":"2022-08-16T14:10:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T18:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1608984"},"modified":"2022-08-16T14:10:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T18:10:32","slug":"liberals-hated-the-espionage-act-then-the-fbi-used-it-against-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/liberals-hated-the-espionage-act-then-the-fbi-used-it-against-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberals Hated The Espionage Act. Then The FBI Used It Against Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fliberals-hated-the-espionage-act-then-the-fbi-used-it-against-trump%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1608984&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/2022-08-11T191425Z_1674043021_RC2OTV97US44_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-scaled-e1660589292196.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Prominent Democrats and left-leaning journalists have seemingly developed an appreciation for the Espionage Act \u2014 which liberal activists once criticized as unconstitutional and abusive \u2014 now that it\u2019s being used against former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/08\/09\/anthony-sabatini-florida-fbi-mar-a-lago-donald-trump-department-of-justice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FBI<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/08\/09\/donald-trump-raid-mar-a-lago-fbi-federal-bureau-of-investigations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">raided<\/a> Trump\u2019s residence at Mar-a-Lago Aug. 8 as part of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/08\/12\/search-warrant-shows-trump-under-investigation-for-potential-obstruction-of-justice-espionage-act-violations-00051507\"><span class=\"s1\">investigation<\/span><\/a> into a potential violation of the Espionage Act, which can be used to prosecute illegal spying but also leaking or mishandling classified documents. Liberals once widely opposed the law, which they viewed as an infringement on free speech and a way for the government to abuse its critics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most serious alleged crime cited in the Trump search warrant is under the Espionage Act of 1917. In the past, many leftists and civil libertarians have railed against the breadth and scope of this law, calling it repressive and unconstitutionally vague,\u201d Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School professor, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/08\/09\/the-american-people-are-not-stupid-most-believe-there-are-two-tiers-to-justice-system-poll-finds\/\">(RELATED: \u2018The American People Are Not Stupid\u2019: Most Believe There Are Two Tiers To Justice System, Poll Finds)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut now that the shoe is on the other foot\u2014 now that the same law is being deployed against a possible presidential candidate they deplore\u2014 many of these same leftists are demanding that this accordion-like law be expanded to fit Trump\u2019s alleged mishandling of classified material,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The Espionage Act has been used to crack down on journalists who leak classified government documents to the press, and was used against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged the constitutionality of applying the Espionage Act to left-wing anti-government activities and has been outspoken against the act generally, but they\u2019ve been silent about its use against a politician they dislike, Dershowitz explained.<\/p>\n<div id=\"rev-more-content\">\n<p>\u201cThe Espionage Act is fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional,\u201d the ACLU <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ACLU\/status\/884901691342163969\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote<\/a> in 2017. The ACLU has not made a public statement about the use of the Espionage Act against Trump and declined the DCNF\u2019s request for comment on this story.<\/p>\n<p>The Brennan Center for Justice came out against the use of the Espionage Act to charge Chelsea Manning \u2014 formerly known as Bradley Manning \u2014 for releasing state secrets to WikiLeaks in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2013\/jul\/31\/bradley-manning-espionage-act-civil-liberties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> to The Guardian. Convictions under the Espionage Act would have a chilling effect on public information and discourage government whistleblowers, Brennan Center spokesperson said\u00a0in 2013, adding that the government doesn\u2019t prosecute leakers who expose information that\u2019s skewed in the government\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n<p>These liberal groups have not condemned the use of the Espionage Act to justify an investigation into one of President Joe Biden\u2019s chief political <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/08\/10\/donald-trump-optimistic-fbi-raid-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rivals<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joncoopertweets\/status\/1558175639877947392:\/\/twitter.com\/joncoopertweets\/status\/1558175639877947392\"><span class=\"s1\">several<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TristanSnell\/status\/1558181324879429637\"><span class=\"s1\">prominent<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RBReich\/status\/1558192699135520768\"><span class=\"s1\">liberals<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gtconway3d\/status\/1558252621315690498\"><span class=\"s1\">appear<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/QasimRashid\/status\/1559201817938038785\"><span class=\"s1\">to<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/imillhiser\/status\/1558180026507460608\"><span class=\"s1\">view<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JRubinBlogger\/status\/1558176587253678081\"><span class=\"s1\">it<\/span><\/a> as justified and have adopted positive attitudes towards the Espionage Act despite the past opposition from liberal groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s telling when news about you pleading the Fifth over 400 times during a deposition about financial fraud is overshadowed by the FBI raiding your home during an unrelated investigation into violations of the Espionage Act,\u201d former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RBReich\/status\/1558192699135520768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2019No one is above the law\u2019\u201d is only true if we make it so. Prosecute Trump,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RBReich\/status\/1558136055517171713\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201cNo one is above the law\u201d is only true if we make it so. Prosecute Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Robert Reich (@RBReich) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RBReich\/status\/1558136055517171713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 12, 2022<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JRubinBlogger\/status\/1558176587253678081\"><span class=\"s1\">said<\/span><\/a> violations of the Espionage Act were \u201cnot technically treason but close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cFor the warrant to cover the Espionage Act, there had to be PROBABLE CAUSE of espionage,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TristanSnell\/status\/1558181324879429637\"><span class=\"s1\">wrote<\/span><\/a> Tristan Snell, an attorney and political commentator. \u201cNot just a \u2018what if Trump gave classified docs to foreign agents.\u2019 There was PROOF presented to the judge \u2014 witness testimony, video footage, other documents, something. Tangible proof.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">For the warrant to cover the Espionage Act, there had to be PROBABLE CAUSE of espionage.<\/p>\n<p>Not just a \u201cwhat if Trump gave classified docs to foreign agents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There was PROOF presented to the judge \u2014 witness testimony, video footage, other documents, something. Tangible proof.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TristanSnell\/status\/1558181324879429637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 12, 2022<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Journalist Matt Taibbi mocked liberals for celebrating the Espionage Act in a Substack article.<\/p>\n<p class=\"subtitle\">\u201cA law reviled by liberalism ten minutes ago is now Savior to All,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/taibbi.substack.com\/p\/the-espionage-act-gets-an-instant?utm_source=email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cPerhaps the most glaring manifestation of the double standard currently at work is the different approach taken to the alleged mishandling of classified material by Trump, on the one hand, and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, on the other hand,\u201d Dershowitz said. \u201cNo wide-ranging search warrants were sought for Clinton\u2019s home where private servers were apparently kept. And then FBI director James Comey announced that no criminal prosecution has ever been taken for comparable mishandling of classified material.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Brennan Center did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prominent Democrats and left-leaning journalists have seemingly developed an appreciation for the Espionage Act \u2014 which liberal activists once criticized as unconstitutional and abusive \u2014 now that it\u2019s being used<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1608984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1608984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1608984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1608984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1608984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1608984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1608984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}