Tony Russo was found dead in his home in Suffolk, VA this morning. May he rest in Peace. ~ Lee Boek: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tony Russo, born Anthony Joseph Russo, Jr., assisted <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ellsberg> Daniel Ellsberg, his friend and former colleague at the <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAND> RAND Corporation, in copying the <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers> Pentagon Papers. They would be charged with espionage, theft, and conspiracy. On <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_11> May 11, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973> 1973, a federal court judge dismissed all charges against them.
<http://www.nybooks.com/images/1x1-clear.gif> <http://www.nybooks.com/contents/19720504> May 4, 1972 Defending Ellsberg & Russo By <http://www.nybooks.com/authors/5579> Stanley K. Sheinbaum Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo have been indicted for conspiracy, espionage, and larceny. The government is spending millions of dollars to put Dan in jail for 115 years and Tony for 35 years. Their "crime"? Giving the American people the government's-our government's-private history of how we were eased into the longest, costliest, and most shameful foreign war in the history of this country. By their action the Pentagon Papers now belong to the citizens who paid for them with their sons and their resources. Dan Ellsberg and Tony Russo struck a blow for all of us when they gave the Pentagon Papers to the press and to the Senate: against the war in Vietnam and against new adventures in Cambodia, Laos, or elsewhere; against secrecy in government, so that it is now a hundred times more difficult for any administration to hoodwink the people, on foreign or domestic policy; and they struck a mighty blow-which reached right up to the Supreme Court-for freedom of the press, freedom of the American people to be informed of what crimes their government might be committing in their name. Only days after their brave release of the Pentagon Papers they were indicted. Then, further grand jury hearings-an unheard-of procedure in the American legal system after an indictment had been obtained. Questioning of friends, relatives, even of Dan's fifteen-year-old son. Finally, a second round of indictments, this time on fifteen counts, including conspiracy-the last and murky resort when the government is on uncertain ground. It was clear that the initial charges of theft and espionage could not be made to stick. Nothing had been stolen-and it was absurd to suggest that there had been dealings with foreign governments. Now the charge includes "conspiracy." Conspiracy against whom? The American people to whom the documents belonged in the first place? The press to whom the Pentagon Papers were given-not sold-so that they could better inform the people on how a succession of administrations had deceived them and wasted this country's lives, resources, and honor? Incidentally, you may be interested in the peculiarities of this case. No one has ever been convicted in the United States for making classified information public for the simple reason that it is not a crime to do so. "Leaks," after all, are a common Washington practice. They are used by officials to influence legislation, to propagandize, and indeed to obtain for Lyndon Johnson a million-dollar cash advance when he published some of those same Pentagon Papers in his memoirs. Dan Ellsberg and Tony Russo weren't paid a cent by anyone for making the Pentagon Papers public. They deserve the best possible defense against the vindictiveness of this Administration. The trial is scheduled to begin May 9 in Los Angeles. If they go to jail, whether for one year or 115 years, then all of us who opposed the war in Vietnam-who believe in freedom of the press and the right of the people to know-are affected. Indeed, who is to say who will be next? Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo deserve better of the American people. They have good legal counsel. Their trial will be a crucial test of the right of the people to know about illegal actions of government officials. But this will be a long and complicated trial and an estimated $250,000 is needed for their defense against the Justice Department. Dan and Tony don't have that kind of money and preparations for the trial don't leave much time for fund-raising speeches. That leaves it to us. That's the way it should be because all of us who applauded when the Pentagon Papers made headlines-who bought over a million copies of the paperbound edition of the Papers-we are on trial with them. We benefited from their courageous action. If you think that Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo should not be imprisoned for doing their duty as citizens-or simply that they deserve a full hearing in the courts-then I hope you will contribute as much as you can toward their legal expenses. Mail checks to The Pentagon Papers Fund, PO Box 1630, Grand Central Station, New York, New York 10017. Please give even more than you can afford. What we cannot afford is to abdicate our right to be informed, nor can we afford to leave the lives of our own and other people's children to the mercy of secret decisions in Washington. Stanley K. Sheinbaum Chairman The Pentagon Papers Fund New York City ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pentagon Papers The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008 Pentagon Papers government study of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara in June, 1967, the 47-volume, top secret study covered the period from World War II to May, 1968. It was written by a team of analysts who had access to classified documents, and was completed in Jan., 1969. The study revealed a considerable degree of miscalculation, bureaucratic arrogance, and deception on the part of U.S. policymakers. In particular, it found that the U.S. government had continually resisted full disclosure of increasing military involvement in Southeast Asia-air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions by U.S. marines had taken place long before the American public was informed. On June 13, 1971, the New York Times began publishing a series of articles based on the study. The Justice Dept. obtained a court injunction against further publication on national security grounds, but the Supreme Court ruled (June 30) that constitutional guarantees of a free press overrode other considerations, and allowed further publication. The government indicted (1971) Daniel Ellsberg, a former government employee who made the Pentagon Papers available to the New York Times, and Anthony J. Russo on charges of espionage, theft, and conspiracy. On May 11, 1973, a federal court judge dismissed all charges against them because of improper government conduct. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
