This is the launch of the Wikileaks Files i am the director and we have been working on this project with Julian Assange and wikileak for about four years and this is a culmination of a collaborative editorial and political work that were very proud of them thrilled to publish this in cooperation with Julian Assange and wikileaks you should all get a copy if he didnt get one under way and then get one on your way out. In it there is an amazing roundtable discussion of what we can really learn from this huge, huge diplomatic issue and from the u. S. Umpire and foreign policy. Im extremely proud to introduce jeremy who will lead the conversation with Julian Assange. I am sure you know, he has agreed to most of our time the author of blackwater and of the film dirty wars. [cheers and applause] and i should add it to carry on the grey work of wikileaks from Edward Snowden. It is great to be here progress live to this neighborhood never imagined i would beat on the stage they ask me if i wanted done use 60 and i thought there were going to ask me to sing [laughter] i am honored to be here to help launch this incredibly important book because we are gathered here at a time when there is a war in this country not only against journalists but journalism. A war against people of conscience within the United States government to dare to speak out without permission and to uncover extrabudgetary judicial killing unconstitutional activities done in our name with taxpayer dollars and a clear realization of independent journalism in this country that has manifested and prosecuting whistleblowers and this administration, the Obama Administration headed by a constitutional lawyer by trading has indicted more people under the espionage act than all of his predecessors combined. The message it has sent by going after journalist all records and presiding over the trial of Chelsea Manning that is spending decades in prison and continuing to be harassed while in Government Military custody. Over the lives of people like thomas dray, one of the original nsa whistleblowers by throwing the man into prison while speaking out about torture while allowing the people who created the torture program jose rodriguez, Donald Rumsfeld to be a accepted as legitimate members of society was something to say on the leaked talk shows on sunday you can tell lot about where our morals reside in this country by looking at what war criminals are on book tour in whistleblowers are in prison. Now our special guest tonight is not able to be with us in person because of a Campaign Similar to those that i described against these whistleblowers. Julian assange, no there is a lot written about him in the press, his personal life is debated every day across the world in some publication. Spearheading the project have made it possible for a brief whistleblower on multiple occasions of whistleblowers to provide concrete primary source material on secret government programs, extra judicial murders cover journalist and civilians and provide the people of this country and the world with an incredible map into a secret bureaucracy that we should all have a chance to understand and today. I was struck it feels like a piece of writing from a different era. A philosophical writing because it takes account of history. Not written for the short attention pan society but to delve into the history of the ming dynasty to have messengers cross mountains in the effort to map out the geography of empire and what he says looking at individual cables with a particular country or the u. S. , we are casting aside the empire to look at the forest for the trees analogy. Please join me to welcome founder and publisher, Julian Assange. [applause] good to see you again. The last time i saw you you were enjoying a whiskey. That was about a yearandahalf ago. There is a lot to do a talk about and i dont want to forget were talking a moment when Chelsea Manning is still in the cross hairs of the government, Edward Snowden is in exile and other whistleblowers not yet taken by the government are quite possibly facing persecution in the future but the latest on your Current Situation there is speculation that you would leave the embassy statute of limitations had run out in sweden but i want to give you much chance to address the crowd. What is going on with you . When your thoughts in the coming months . It is going to be fantastically boring. I am sick to death as you can imagine but i have been detained now five years without charge in prison and house arrest in the embassy. No publicly revealed charged with there is a possibility that there is a sealed indictment to the United States we have one dozen different legal cases around the world from the United States, sweden and the cavuto cases we have taken for my slant and sweden and germany and austria and saudi arabia. So those civil cases that is being constructed from bankamerica western union. That coming up to the present moment the status of the United States is pending prosecution for espionage and conspiracy to commit espionage Computer Fraud and abuse that is part of the espionage act, the conversion which is stealing Government Property and we dont know how many charges of each type but just know that i. Because the u. S. Government to a variety of service providers. There are some gag orders but they have been overturned as a result six of our journalist in the United States has said that. Interestingly there was a case in u. S. Federal Court Earlier this year in march and with the Privacy Center were trying to understand if the government had been illegally surveiling in the United States. But with the doj and fbi the judge ruth found the wikileaks case is a state secret but as the u. S. Government argues a single word of the pages of the doj would be to harm social security. So it is restricted the further another 500 by the lawyers and other journalist lawyers and other journalist are held back it is like the hoover dam to block off under the excuse so we may have shot ourselves in the flat but if the cases dropped then suddenly the dam breaks open with 100,000 documents so politically they have to keep the case going. With visual logic to exit the embassy i will challenge all of this from the United States and swedish and . I understand they do have legal repercussions three answer this but certainly you have not been shy that prominent politicians to say you could be they from strike you are a threat to u. S. National security by powerful officials. What is stopping you from stepping outside to say i will face all of this headon if you want to put me on trial in United States it is the trial of the century i will have the best lawyers said you are wrong. I am right. I have thought about it. Presently the u. K. Refuses to say if they have already received as it was already in a formal talk. And if we can be convinced. The u. S. Government that is the hotbed and. One thing said amazes me about your reality led people writeoff wikileaks get your hands on more documents. The bounty on the tpp n. Duke could effect that debate while the founder is staffed again a room inside of an embassy in lending in flood dash london without divulging resources, how you see that ongoing relevancy in the current era. Even though you were stuck talking on a video screen and limited in your movements . How are you get documents . There is a frown on my face because it sounds like you are digitized and placed under water on mars. If that is possible. Dick cheney is in the room. Can you hear me clearly . I can hear you perfectly. A will try to fix your audio. I did not get the gist of your correction question. I can make a dedication while were waiting. I would like to dedicate this book and its launch to michael the center for constitutional rights. [applause] a very dear friend of mine and to some degree this book would not be written without him. Providing a legal cover so we wish you were here and felt by a number of other people. Just so you know, if you dont know michael is one of the greatest Freedom Fighters in modern history to litigate the first challenges to the of guantanamo prison but actually thousands and thousands of haitians are taken to guantanamo and then stigmatized as dangerous to america for the potential of hiv aids. To be an incredible fighter for freedom of round of world. At present he is in battle for his life. I saw him the of the day his spirits are very high. V definitely wanted to be here and it would mean more so he is important to so many causes around the world basically i was asking how you have managed to stay relevant despite the fact you are stuck in a few rooms. And with that debate and it seems people say wikileaks just iraq and afghanistan somehow he managed to pop up with new documents. Not to divulge any sources are math is but how do you do that given where you are right now . I can divulge my method quite easily. On one hand it is interesting but their ruby seven Uniformed Police with a covert action Surveillance Team that operates. Interestingly to be very Famous Department store here. But not including those we have but good to us very but it is the one area to have political attraction here in the u. K. From someone who has not even been charged. Remember how ridiculous it was when i came to see you, police on the steps and they barely just gave your but then and again there is the vague and. Is that actual and real. But then there is the of public component and then they park about your position of the ecuadorean government. I am wondering if youre confident in your relationship with their president and the foreign minister of ecuador and though no the veracity but. Is in i. I dont know of people saw this but it got a lot of traffic and i think he should have the opportunity to address it there were news reports that basically portrayed the internal staff to be in conflict with you and you were there because of the president. Sari it isnt a matter of political will. Obviously the government needs political will. It is of matter of lot. On one condition other refugees and is activated when i when the asylum case. To have a legally binding obligation is also a matter of National Concern ecuador would be remiss does that mean there are factions outside the governments from inside the government . Yes. It does. Have to keep an eye on the mystic politics. Would it mean they would violate the condition . There is more in terms how much support. For a moment i want to get back to his airplane would you accept the post if offered . If i said i would accept it now maybe it would not be open. [laughter] very neff. Wherein science it does not change. But in politics and Human Society it changes because of your comments. But wikileaks and recently but you were very much involved with the strident tone dash strategizing for snowden to get on a plane with other for of documentation. But we all remember when the reports you merged with the president of bolivia who was a fierce critic of the United States and his airplane while traveling three European Aerospace was forced to land on direct orders from the United States. Kid you explain, and you were directly involved at the time the reality on the ground, would issue understanding of what happened with the plane . Because they thought Edward Snowden may be on the plane was the reasoning. He was a difficult position in hong kong and how were we able to do that but then to go through the cases and observe closely i care for it too much about the espionage act or how the Refugee Convention works. Bone close relationship with china is very much a commuters relationship. But things would strictly run read the book the rebate have to maintain. Therefore we thought snowden could leave to go somewhere you is more likely to the to a the variety of situations to i could cure him. En sova day circle round each other when they deal with large institutions. But now once the heat started you could say that i will except that it has become too close to the organization and is meant to be scrutinizing but i think it was mostly fear with a very intense reaction coming there for somebody needed to be the fall guy. So they directed that incoming fire to us and me personally. And to make life very difficult to attack us to distance ourselves to save our own skin they were horrified they explicitly requested they not be called that because one partnership is said doj conspiracy to go back and forth was very similar and the New York Times was petrified to have enough strength to create a fall guy and to keep the distance so with a mini trial. But they chose not to cover the maning trial but Chelsea Manning, forget loyalty that was the single most important freespeech journalism related trial in the last 50 years without a doubt. Also the largest ever military trial. In relation to the civil war. Not by needed by the prosecutor. Is said the aming metaphor the most powerful media institutions and the country colluding with the government to shroud the entire thing with utter secrecy with a handful of independent journalist who are now working for many that just refuse to let silence when touche showed the power of the independent voices who work harder than the corporate counterparts. In particular to be that way throughout the whole process. We have people here to ask some questions. Hello. And as all of this points out journalism was created as a way to check government is powerful so in the ideal world what gsa should be the role of the u. S. Government and the state department and embassies . As long as there are human beings there will never be the ideal world but i am under no illusion russia expanded their military bases that would be a nice empire for the chinese and maybe theyre more conservative and other respects. The problem is that the empire has grown too big and there isnt effective Bargaining Power by other states. In many different areas of the world. To play of support by a china very few states can do that. If there is no accountability. Even marriages are kept on this by people and organizations involved. Now the structure of the u. S. Empire is such it has us very corrosive effect leading to an extremely large military a state within the state more than 5. One and another 20 or 30 Million People to have that distorting effect of the United States. You can see that when you look at the fruits and methods of occupation in afghanistan and iraq virtually at centers and so on. So my answer is, a smaller empires. You have to have a balance. Within a country but keeps them honest between the commercial sector and government sector and the media. People have places to go ahead as it keeps the country honest the ability to transfer. The very last part between fucked around we lost to. [laughter] what keeps society is decent regard this of monarchies or capitalism or the electoral democracy is the ability to transfer support and legions from one power to another when you get fucked around. Now weve understand. [laughter] i am a history teacher in new york coming from my students in tenth grade it is similar to what you just answered but less idealistic they want to know your ideal form of government because looking al low voter turnout in democracies in the way voters vote in and what you have to say about that. That could be a good thing. Why is there a low voter turnout . It doesnt make any difference. Right . More or less compared to what youd do with a time when you spend voting. [laughter] i was involved in an election in australia im a and a polling booth and it does make a difference. Just very rarely. You are breaking up. Youre just trying to dissuade all young people from voting. [laughter] but they become disengaged i would spend that time doing something else. Most people can do something that is more productive than to spend their Time Floating caribbean interesting debate in somebodys history class tomorrow. [laughter] q advised Edward Snowden to go to latin america from russia. More specifically when they offer asylum what is your criteria for choosing which country gets the refugee or which are the best friends . It depends on the person or the country. I built the foundation called the of Courage Foundation there runs a number of Peoples Defense funds we are involved to get somebody out of asylum with israel and the United States and russia he ended that being transported it ended up happening like we had helped. And other technical problem. You were just saying something about that case. There are other people trapped in embassies around the world. Ethiopians, a senior political people and in the Italian Embassy and the azerbaijani and media activist more or less was trapped until very recently and eventually he can mount but during the Opening Ceremony of the european games. He came out on a flight on the swiss foreign minister jet and stood up for himself. Rick just depends on the political situation that who will stand up for asylum how much they invested and what the physical threats are if they could be physically protected in that country. So once you have complied with those constraints it isnt a situation musically is very rare. My question is you acknowledge the victories that come from the documents from corruption and activity but have you ever been contacted or it knowledge those negative repercussions in terms of people who had died whether military assets or intelligence assets or how you knowledge that considering what your doing as some people see that as lifethreatening. On glad you brought up that question because it is complete pochette bullshit. [laughter] under oath they could not find a Single Person who had come under physical harm as a result of any alleged chelsea banning related publications and has not been alleged as far as i am aware but it is a rhetorical technique to divert attention away prove with u. S. Governments involvement and we produce dividends with a person by person basis in the death or maiming to be up 200,000 people now what that showed is the pentagon and the Political Class and in some instances involving war crimes and torture. The response to that is along the similar lines documented 200,000 to be hurt or killed. People are very sensitive so there is a critique in one area bin back in the same direction but rhetorically with great effect from these 50 years that i am aware of but i dont know a single case, there may be one but i dont know that everyones publications meeting to direct reprisal now that has happened many times but not in relation to intelligence information. Is interesting we have procedures in place to give the government a chance to respond en stories that we are publishing classified documents. I have started to advocate a position we should not even ask them because they dont am ask a question they always pushed for more time always give you the same statements but in a recent conversation with a representative this person said if you publish it you will have blood on your hands is a ridiculous notion but it is there default i am so fed up to hear this over and over your hands are already drenched in blood to kick me under the table. [applause] but it is remarkable is printed that wikileaks caused people to die in i think anyone who says that should be required to provide an actual case. But i am glad they ask because it often comes up bin with that we will take the next question. Hello. Thank you both for your time and voices in relentless courage, what can an average person do beyond by the book to help encourage journalism and others to come for word what can we really do to encourage and support . It is very boring but gives money. The government is interfering with your financial appeal they are scrambling your plea. [laughter] fuck those guys. [laughter] if you have a comparative of vantage if you are a Plastic Surgeon then send those resources to others so their comparative vintages to do the job most efficiently is a boring answer otherwise to defend the right of people to do this is quite important not to create paranoia it is simply an expectation with their Reasonable Society to keep eyes and ears open for organizations like us if you hear something say something. If you find something get something and encourage others going the same direction. I suppose you dont want them to report suspicious bags . [laughter] i remember when these companies would start to shut off the wikileaks access to donations then target the activist including paypal the thunder of the intercept one of the founders of the bay has never publicly commented and i think he should comment on the discussion were having now the next m. A. C. Him because people do deserve to have an answer to that question from the executive at the time that i people ran to the defense of wikileaks to figure out ways to circumvent that financial censorship there is a lot of opportunity for people to use their own innovation when they see whistleblowers under attack and many times people with their own initiative will step up to do something far more creative even though we have journalistic resources to do it. There is a unique role that in the best era where Freedom Fighters said at that computer all day long. The way to bolster amplified support to those organizations that are taking risks. I am a student at the new school at the beginning of the u. S. Election and the Public Opinion of whistleblowers and how uc it to advancing . In the context of the election . The bookmakers for most of then you cannot even bet on Hillary Clinton any more not because she is guaranteed to lose but the marginal cost is more than that paid off meeting it is pretty certain that she will win. But anything can happen in politics. Hillary is likely to win she is a much more hawkish figure than barack obama were seeing more people prosecuted under the espionage act in fact, more than twice as many. Were having technical problems. There are rumors i will be held maris worst nightmare. I am somewhat sympathetic to hillary over the emails scandal because it is a ridiculous over classification. To be swept up because that correct defense but it is still bullshit that is a moment where the president will land somewhere but were talking about emails better several years old. It is interesting to think what could still be genuinely classified in those emails . Nothing. Nothing could be genuinely classified. A disgraceful effort by United States to subvert libya and syria to overthrow the government to the rise of the Islamic State it should be diplomatically very embarrassing and like that is genuinely classified according to what is in though lot. With the significant traction. If there is a whistleblower out there and has access to those current cables i am sure wikileaks would be happy to publish those at the intercept and i agree. But were not even scratch seen the tip of the iceberg not because of what it reveals reveals but to show the potential to have a more rounded date but the moral stance of the country and what National Security means and what is the definition of the terrorist ted begin on or off the kill list short of being killed in a draw on strike. We have multiple administrations constitutional lawyers and imbeciles 2m to embrace the idea of the executive branch is effectively a dictatorship when it comes to dictating who lives and dies around the world. We only have five minutes left before people are in line so quickly ask your question then we will give him a chance to wrap up for a few moments. What do see the role of wikileaks in the functioning democracy and is it them manner of which to be an interlocutor . Thanks in the advance for answering. With the whistleblowers coming forward how does that work in American History calling for standards the bernstein was a floor with watergate with the demand for transparency but there is no outcry now the media has cannibalized itself for those you do try to instill transparency. But in all the cables you have read what you find the most surprising . Thanks to both of you challenging power i want to echo the of questions about your ideal sense of power as the big supporter of the revolution and i slammed but it is also in scandinavia and social welfare state is as something you would support . There is a lot there but i am trusting you can whip through that. Of course, you cannot teleport icelandic societies 320,000 you cannot transport that to a country with a population 100 times the size. The you can certainly grabbed some ideas. Talk about taking action a lot of the work is on the financial industry and with journalism more broadly and to interact with us directly the majority here something very interesting. And then to come from india it is people searching people who are reaching beijing for Many Foreign Service departments outside the United States what people inside the United States has bought one ambassador or another. We take the view that the stories are advertising which is a Historical Archive though library of how it works. But in all the cables you have read some of it the most important one, generally answer the most surprising thing is not a cable but what this book is about. It is the grand sweep of metal. How that all comes together with that present circumstances in the United Kingdom to be reelected this year. One of the principal figures in this conservative government and David Cameron who is the Prime Minister and the treasurer. To send the cable back from london and the Prime Minister coming to the embassy. He said that David Cameron to say whoever enters 10 downing street as Prime Minister learns of the essential nature of the relationship with america. So the current governmengovernmen t im dealing with with the Surveillance Task force under the most disgusting and vulgar and embarrassing u. S. Stocks imaginable. And wonder if he is genuine or not. But either way it is quite bad. Of his genuine are machiavellian. The other cable that i think is the richest it is so rich with censorship violation of separation of powers in the Scandinavian States and hal the head of nato got his job and barack obama that is all one cable. But to exist as an ethnic group in the Border Regions of turkey and iraq and syria. So to have a tv station the largest kurdish language broadcasts. And the head of nato the former Prime Minister of denmark. Now denmark has packed your connection. Packed into your connection justin the past year trying to increase tension with United States and russia that he wanted to become head of nato so rooted obama. The turks are happy with him being ahead of nato but the way it works is each country has veto power but the turks want to destroy the kurdish language tv station and though largest for broadcaster. But denmark is where it is headquartered. Going on in a variety of ways it took the case is domestically in denmark with a perfectly normal tv channel but in the cable with the danish attorney general and going to the u. S. Embassy of how they will fuck up the tv and the u. S. Embassy says the problem is we cannot find these connections to the pkk on tax grounds to look at the content to see if we come up with a creative solution. But to say the kurdish language broadcaster too much from that kurdish perspective that was happening in those kurdish speaking regions as a result of the conspiracy now the case is before the European Court of human rights even though they have taken the danes to court but anyway that brought obama has sealed the deal but with the entire people in the entire Language Group including what you think is the role to democracies. It is in there but a more sophisticated television. All of that justin in one cable it gives you an idea of the wealth of information on the wikileaks site. I want to thank Julian Assange for joining us in the middle of that i. We were happy to see you. [applause] and if he paved the way like the wizard of oz remember as we leave Chelsea Manning is behind bars and Edward Snowden is in exile and Julian Assange is added and the sea and other whistleblowers and had their lives ruined and targeted going through tremendous pressure right now major you tell your friends then get the book can talk about on social media and get another copy to give to someone the be in public when the cross hairs are aimed at any journalist or whistle blower. Thank you. [cheers and applause] [inaudible conversations] id think we can begin. A Research Fellow here at the root Hoover Institution i am pleased to welcome you to this conversation between a historian and a history maker. Our history and is Robert Service senior fellow them Professor Emeritus at oxford and a known for his biographies of lenin and stalin and trotsky his latest book is the nd