Brazil Charges Glenn Greenwald with Cybercrimes
Glenn Greenwald has been charged with cybercrimes in Brazil, stemming from publishing information and documents that were embarrassing to the government. The charges are that he actively helped the people who actually did the hacking:
Citing intercepted messages between Mr. Greenwald and the hackers, prosecutors say the journalist played a “clear role in facilitating the commission of a crime.”
For instance, prosecutors contend that Mr. Greenwald encouraged the hackers to delete archives that had already been shared with The Intercept Brasil, in order to cover their tracks.
Prosecutors also say that Mr. Greenwald was communicating with the hackers while they were actively monitoring private chats on Telegram, a messaging app. The complaint charged six other individuals, including four who were detained last year in connection with the cellphone hacking.
This isn’t new, or unique to Brazil. Last year, Julian Assange was charged by the US with doing essentially the same thing with Chelsea Manning:
The indictment alleges that in March 2010, Assange engaged in a conspiracy with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a U.S. government network used for classified documents and communications. Manning, who had access to the computers in connection with her duties as an intelligence analyst, was using the computers to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures.
During the conspiracy, Manning and Assange engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission of classified records to Assange. The discussions also reflect Assange actively encouraging Manning to provide more information. During an exchange, Manning told Assange that “after this upload, that’s all I really have got left.” To which Assange replied, “curious eyes never run dry in my experience.”
Good commentary on the Assange case here.
It’s too early for any commentary on the Greenwald case. Lots of news articles are essentially saying the same thing. I’ll post more news when there is some.
EDITED TO ADD (2/12): Marcy Wheeler compares the Greenwald case with the Assange case.
Ross Snider • January 21, 2020 3:54 PM
While I’m not a lawyer, these charges seem to me as a layman as very overly broad. As a (renowned) journalist, Greenwald has not done anything that any other journalism outfit regularly does to ensure the operational security of their sources.
The real difference here is that Greenwald worked with sources and to publish information controlled by the government of Brazil because its potential damaging affects, and so the interpretation of the law has been broadened in this indictment for those reasons, and kept narrow for reporting enjoyed by Brazil’s executive arm.
In “free and democratic society” it would seem to me that the regular methodologies and practices of journalism shouldn’t be subject to varying interpretation by governments, as this becomes a “legal” but still possibly oppressive form of censorship.
Bruce, it might also be good background for readers to explain the US Justice Department’s extralegal pressure on Greenwald including the scandal around their evaluated partnership with HB Gary Federal.