CovertAction Bulletin

The Trump Assassination Attempt & the Legacy of Political Violence in the US

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13th changed the political situation in the United States and especially surrounding the 2024 election in an instant. The Biden campaign canceled events and advertisements, while the Trump campaign began preparing for the Republican National Convention happening this week.

Within minutes of the shooting, the chorus from mainstream commentators and politicians effectively had one voice. Republicans and Democrats alike condemned “political violence” in the United States and for Americans to come together despite our political differences. But who is their solidarity with? Political violence continues in this country and across the world in the forms of hunger, homelessness, skyrocketing medical debt, famine, sanctions and war waged from what MLK called the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today”

To help us make sense of this quickly shifting situation, a review of the history of political violence in the United States and how the ruling class is attempting to take advantage of it, we’re joined today by Brian Becker, host of The Socialist Program.

Project 2025 and The Far Right’s Agenda

Project 2025 bills itself as a comprehensive plan to undo decades of social progress - in its own words, to “dismantle the administrative state” and “return self-governance to the American people.” Democrats have jumped into using it and its connections to the Trump agenda and former staff as a reason to rally behind Joe Biden.

Among its 922-page Mandate for Leadership, Project 2025 suggests eliminating the Department of Education, increasing the US nuclear weapon arsenal, harshly limiting access to reproductive care, rolling back LGBTQ rights and much more.

We’re joined by political strategist and movement journalist Anoa Changa to understand who’s behind Project 2025 and where it comes from.

The U.S. government is spying on your mail

The U.S. government is spying on you through your mail. The little-known program called mail covers lets law enforcement request that an investigative bureau inside the Postal Service track and report on all the mail you’re getting. And it’s done without a warrant, without any real oversight or transparency, and at the request of agencies like the IRS, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and ICE. While the USPS Office of the Inspector General hasn’t provided updates on the program in a decade, recent reporting in The Washington Post exposed more about the mail covers program.

We’re joined for this show by John Kiriakou. He’s a former CIA counterterrorism officer, a whistleblower who exposed the CIA’s torture program, and a member of the Editorial Board of CovertAction Magazine. He also has personal experience with mail covers.

Read John's article on the mail covers program and his experience at Consortium News.

Read Chris' article on the mail covers program at Liberation News.

Global Movement Frees Julian Assange

After 1,901 days in Belmarsh Prison, and many more years fighting for his freedom, Julian Assange has agreed to a plea deal with the United States and is back in Australia. There, he’ll reunite with his wife, Stella, and his children who have only seen him in jail.

The official Wikileaks account on Twitter posted: “Julian's freedom is our freedom.” 

The struggle for Julian Assange’s freedom has been a global one, involving many sectors of society - advocates, activists, whistleblowers, artists, human rights workers, doctors and so many more, and of course a brilliant team of lawyers, all working tirelessly for him.

To discuss, we’re joined by Kevin Gosztola, the editor of The Dissenter, the author of the book Guilty of Journalism: The Political Case Against Julian Assange, co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure and more.

Pentagon Anti-Vax Propaganda Targets Philippines

In 2020 and 2021, a secret Pentagon program deployed fake social media accounts to sow distrust among people in Southeast Asian countries, particularly the Philippines, around China’s Sinovac vaccination for COVID-19. Clusters of accounts identified as having ties to US Central Command (CENTCOM) made posts with the hashtag #ChinaAngVirus - or “China is the virus” in Tagalog suggested that the coronavirus is real, but China’s vaccinations were not to be trusted. 

Posts in Arabic and Russian also targeted audiences in the Middle East and Central Asia.

In an article published on June 14 by Reuters, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine said of the propaganda campaign, “I don’t think it’s defensible.”

Dr. Nina Castillo-Carandang, a former adviser to the World Health Organization and Philippines government said “Why did you do it when people were dying? We were desperate”

We’re joined by Chris Bing, an investigative reporter with Reuters who worked on the June 14th article.

 

Read the full article here: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/

Read the Stanford Internet Observatory’s “Unheard Voice” report mentioned in our conversation: https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/news/sio-aug-22-takedowns

When Biden Won’t Draw a Red Line, The People Will

Over 100,000 people surrounded the White House on Saturday, June 8th, wearing red and carrying a 2-mile long banner with the names of the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have died since the renewed Israeli assault began eight months to the day before. Through a rally, march and followed by a People’s Court of Justice on the Ellipse, the message was clear: the People’s Red Line rejected Biden’s lie that an Israeli attack on Rafah would be a so-called “red line” for him.

Though most mainstream media represented it with fearmongering reporting, both Rachel and Chris were there to bring you real on-the-ground info about what it was actually like and what June 8th means for the movement. We also discuss some of the latest developments in the situation, including June 11th’s ceasefire resolution in the United Nations Security Council, details of what actually happened during the Israeli assault on the Nuseirat refugee camp, and more.

Congo “Coup”? What’s Imperialism Got To Do With It

On May 19, forces calling themselves the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo launched what appears to be a failed coup attempt, attacking the home of the Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Vital Kamerhe, as well as the Congo’s presidential palace, Palais de la Nation. The country’s Republican Guard forces were able to put down the attack within hours. Three of the 50 people arrested were U.S. citizens, and another U.S. citizen who reportedly led the operation was killed during the attack. Christian Malanga was the founder of the DC-based United Congolese Party, which has deep ties to the west and the United States.

We talk with Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo, about the events of May 19, the history of the deadliest conflict since World War II, the role that the US and Israel play in the 3Ds: Displacement, Death and Destruction, and the resurgence of the anti-imperialist movement.

Thousands in Detroit Open Next Phase of Palestine Struggle

Over 3,500 people gathered in Detroit, Michigan for a three-day People’s Conference for Palestine on May 24, 25 and 26. Led by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the conference highlighted the work that has already been done over the last 8 months but also the historical work done over years and decades in the struggle to end Zionist occupation. Participants heard about how education, art, music, literature, labor and much more play a role in this evolving struggle. The conference celebrated and uplifted the martyrs, political prisoners and fighters in Palestine. Perhaps most importantly, it laid the groundwork for the next steps for the movement to go forward. Rachel and I were both there, and today on this special episode, we’ll be listening to a few clips from the conference and reflecting on what this historic convening means for the struggle. We want to thank our friends at BreakThrough News for livestreaming the plenary sessions, keynotes and many of the workshops, and for letting us use their audio on our program. You can check out the full video playlist from the conference on their YouTube page.

Eyewitness: Police Repression of Students for Gaza

Student encampments and street protests for Palestine have been hit with a heavy wave of police violence and repression from coast-to-coast. In some cases, it’s the same police departments whose staff and leaders get training from the Israeli Defense Forces that are attacking peaceful events calling for divestment and justice. In Salt Lake City, police viciously attacked students at the University of Utah on April 29th, and then arrested student organizers the next day before a demonstration at the President’s Circle. Some of those arrested were held for hours or days before being released, even after bail was paid. Students and community have responded in force, mobilizing multiple times, demanding the charges be dropped, all the while keeping Palestine front and center.

We’re joined by Devin Martinez, a local organizer in Salt Lake City and Deja Gaston, an alumni of the University of Utah.

Will BRICS Break the US World Order?

After their highly-watched 15th summit, the core member nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have accepted six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who will become members on January 1, 2024. More than a dozen other countries have applied for membership.

But what is BRICS? As the world trends from a unipolar hierarchy led by the United States, to a multipolar reality with nations like Russia and China playing key political and economic roles challenging the reach of the West’s sphere of influence, we investigate what this grouping is, perhaps more importantly what it isn’t, and how US empire is reacting.

We’re joined by Amanda Yee, host of Radio Free Amanda.