CovertAction Bulletin

Was January 6 a Ruling Class Conspiracy?

The January 6 hearings and this term’s Supreme Court decisions are exposing the right-wing nature of the U.S. state and its institutions. January 6 was plotted in the open and with the apparent support of the highest levels of government, and many questions remain unanswered: why were the Capitol Police so outnumbered? Who donated the massive amounts of money required to mobilize in the days and weeks before? And more.

At the same time, the Supreme Court’s right-wing decisions overturning Roe and moving towards a removal of federal power in favor of states is being seized upon by the far right.

We are joined by anthropologist Rae Jereza, whose work focuses on social media, content moderation and the far right.

How Biden Can Step in to Protect Abortion

On today’s show, we discuss the unprecedented roll-back of women’s rights and civil liberties with the overturn of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe V. Wade. After the decision dropped thousands upon thousands of people poured into the streets in places across the country. As of now, in 7 states the abortion trigger laws, written to go into place if Roe was overturned, have gone into effect banning abortion access for millions of women and trans people. In total there are 26 states that have already or will in the coming weeks implement bans or extreme restrictions on abortion access. 11 states have abortion bans that have no exception for rape or incest.

Those states are Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. On today’s show we ask, how did we get here? What is the legislative path forward? And most pointedly - will the Democrats actually put their money where their mouth is? 

Joining the show is Jessica Mason Pieklo, Executive Editor at Rewire News Group.

Will Julian Assange Actually Be Extradited?

United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States.

Assange faces 18 charges brought against him by the US Justice Department, 17 of which fall under the Espionage Act. All the charges relate to documents WikiLeaks released in 2010 and 2011, which were provided by US Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

With diplomats hinting at action in Australia and a world-wide pressure campaign fighting for Assange’s freedom, there remains many different possibilities for the future of Julian Assange’s case.

We are joined by Kevin Gosztola, the managing editor of Shadowproof.com to discuss these developments. We are also joined by Randy Creidico host of Live on the Fly and Assange Countdown 2 Freedom on WBAI & PRN to discuss the grassroots fightback for Assange’s freedom and what the U.S. might do if extradition moves forward.

Our hosts also dive into the breaking news over the weekend of the major shift in tides in Latin America. Leftist candidates Gustavo Petro & Francia Marquez won the presidential election in Colombia, dealing a major blow to Washington. What does this mean for U.S. hegemony in Latin America? Listen to find out!

Activist Interrupts The Summit of the Americas, “Luis Almagro you have Blood on Your Hands!”

Activist and journalist Walter Smolarek interrupted General Secretary of the OAS, Luis Almagro and confronted Almagro about his role in the coup in Bolivia. We interviewed Walter the day after the interruption at the People’s Summit for Democracy which took place from June 8th through 10th in Los Angeles.

The People’s Summit wasn’t just a protest of Biden’s so-called Summit of the Americas, which was happening at the same time also in Los Angeles, but also brought together artists, activists, journalists, and revolutionaries to uplift the voices of the people and imagine a world that puts people’s democracy first. Hosts Chris and Rachel discuss Rachel’s on the ground coverage of the People’s Summit and reflect on the significance of the event. We review together the powerful speeches made by activists like Cornel West and Oscar Lopez Rivera.

Eyewitness: LA’s Secret Police Spy Network With Mike Rothmiller

On this week’s episode, we speak with Mike Rothmiller, former LAPD officer with the infamous Office of Criminal Intelligence Division (OCID), a historian and a New York Times best-selling author of many different books including the LA Secret Police: Inside the LAPD’s Elite Spy Network and Bombshell: The Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe.

Based on his own experiences and years of research, Mike shares the history and criminal behavior of the OCID, which falsified arrests, spied on politicians and and stars and sometimes acted like private intelligence for the police chief and other powerful figures throughout the late 20th century. Released in 1992, LA Secret Police provides a wealth of information on the now-defunct division.

We also discuss his more recent book, Bombshell, where Mike used the OCID files as well as years of other research and interviews, to make the case that Bobby Kennedy was responsible for the death of Marilyn Monroe nearly 60 years ago.

International Solidarity Threatens Biden’s Summit of the Americas

On today’s episode, we are joined by Claudia de la Cruz of the People’s Forum in New York City to discuss developments around President Biden’s Summit of the Americas. Scheduled for June 6-10 in Los Angeles, the legitimacy of the gathering and the role of the U.S. in Central & South American is being severely threatened by announcements from Mexico, Bolivia, Honduras and Antigua and Barbuda that they will not attend if the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited. Claudia gives us a history of the Summit of the Americas, and discusses the People’s Summit for Democracy, a grassroots event happening at the same time in Los Angeles, where people from across the Americas will come together for three days of art, music, speakers, debates, workshops, panel discussions, performances and mobilizations to uplift the voices of the people. The U.S. government is going as far as refusing visas to a 23-person delegation from Cuban civil society, including artists and academics, preventing them from participating.

 

We also discuss the dissolution of the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board of the Department of Homeland Security, following up on our story from last week. And, as Biden threatens China over Taiwan, is it really a gaffe? We review a brief history of U.S.-China relations and the real threat a war would pose to humanity and the world. Finally, we expose the New York Times’ recent multi-part series on Haiti, which serves U.S. interests not fully ignoring the recent crimes of the Clintons and others against the country.

To sign the petition demanding the Biden administration approve the visas, go to https://www.change.org/p/let-them-in-stop-the-exclusion-of-cuban-artists-academics.

Whitewashing Neo-Nazis in Ukraine & Biden’s “Disinformation Governing Board”

Biden announced last month the assembly of a team within the Department of Homeland Security given the title Disinformation Governing Board. Supposedly this team will be working to combat Russian, Iranian, and Chinese “disinformation.” We dive deeper into the contradictory history of misinformation about Ukraine in 2014 spread by the executive director of the board, Nina Jankowicz.

We are then joined by Natalia Marques, writer with People’s Dispatch to discuss the horrific racist massacre in Buffalo NY. On Saturday, May 14, white supremacist Peyton Gendron drove 200 miles from his home in Conklin, NY, to open fire in the only supermarket in the Black neighborhood of East Buffalo. Gendrons killed 10 people, injuring three. We closely examine Gendron’s manifesto detailing the racist reasons why he committed this atrocity and dive into the long history of the racist “great replacement” theory.

How Did China Eradicate Extreme Poverty?

On today’s show, we bring you the second half of our interview with Tings Chak, Researcher and art director at Tricontinental: Institute of Social Research, and a member of the Dongsheng Collective. We focus on the Chinese government’s programs to eradicate extreme poverty in the country and further discuss her work on the study “Serve the People: The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China” for Tricontinental.

We are also joined by Jane Cutter, editor of LiberationNews.org, to talk about the anti-war origins of Mother’s Day. Now a Hallmark Holiday, Mother’s Day began as a plea for peace in the face of the ravages of war. While motherhood is lionized, the reality in the U.S. for mothers today does not guarantee a chance at a healthy and supported life.

Julian Assange & the U.S. War on Whistleblowers with John Kiriakou

In this special episode of CovertAction Bulletin, we spent the entire hour with John Kiriakou. A former CIA analyst and field agent, Kiriakou became a whistleblower when he exposed the CIA’s torture program - and became the only person jailed for it. 

We discuss how the ongoing campaign against Julian Assange should inform us about how to view and support the work of other whistleblowers. While Assange remains in prison and under threat of extradition and trial in the US, the threat to journalists, publishers and activists continues to grow. We also talk about a brief history of prosecution of whistleblowers and those who speak against injustice starting with the Espionage Act.

Kiriakou also shares his own story and the stories of other whistleblowers including drone whistleblower Daniel Hale. 

On the Ground Report with Rania Khalek on the International Anti-Fascist Summit in Venezuela - and the Global South Perspective on Ukraine

On today’s show we dive into the big news that Elon Musk spent 44 billion dollars to buy twitter. He claims he will make the algorithms open source, but there’s obviously many doubts about that. What does this development mean for the platform?

We are joined by Rania Khalek, journalist and host of the show dispatches on BreakThrough News to discuss the release of Steven Donzinger after years of confinement in prison, halfway houses and on house arrest. Donzinger is a human rights attorney who was under house arrest for successfully suing Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorian Amazonian Indigenous people. What does his case mean for environmental activists pushing back against big oil?

Rania then shares her experience at the recent 3-day meeting in Caracas gathering people across the globe in the fight back against Fascism. We dive into the various perspectives present at the conference on the Ukraine conflict and how the global south is responding to the shifting geopolitics of the moment.