(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Former U.S. intelligence analyst Daniel Hale, who blew the whistle on the Pentagon’s secret drone assassination program, was released from prison last month after serving nearly three years for violating the Espionage Act.
In his first public statement since being released from prison, Hale wrote an article Wednesday for Al Jazeera, asking why President Joe Biden hasn’t also been prosecuted under the Espionage Act for mishandling classified documents.
Hale noted that Special Counsel Robert Hur declined to prosecute Biden because of the President’s cognitive decline. Hale, for his part, leaked classified drone documents more than a decade ago because he thought the public needed to know about the program.
“According to [Hur’s] report, President Biden kept classified information outside of a secure facility at his home and office – as did I. The president later spoke with a reporter about the classified information he retained – again, as did I,” Hale said.
“Both President Biden and I expressed to our respective reporters the concerns we had about official US policy – his about the failed 2009 surge in Afghanistan (as vice president) and mine about the consequences of that policy. So why the decision to prosecute one and not the other?”
To be clear, Hale said he doesn’t support prosecuting Biden under the Espionage Act. Hale echoed civil libertarians such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in calling the Espionage Act unconstitutional.
However, Hale said he wishes he and other whistleblowers were treated the same by the Justice Department.
“I am sincerely glad President Biden was able to receive what so many others in the crosshairs of the Espionage Act have been denied – the benefit of the doubt,” he said.
“But if Joe Biden truly wishes to convey the kind of ideals that helped secure his presidency in the first place, he would utilize his power as president to pardon the whistleblowers and cease the global war on terror policy of ‘targeted’ killing.”
Among other things, the documents leaked by Hale reportedly showed that from January 2012 to February 2013, US special operations airstrikes killed over 200 people, only 35 of whom were the intended targets. During one period of five months, close to 90 percent of the victims killed were not intended targets.
Hale said he regrets participating in the drone program, and stands by his decision to expose it.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
