Scott interviews Ken Silva about some of his recent reporting. They first look into the alleged Iranian plots to assassinate President-elect Trump. Silva, who has reported on many FBI sting and entrapment schemes, believes that these plots are being advanced or even outright fabricated by the Bureau. He explains why. They then turn to the actual assassination plot that culminated in the shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, PA, of which there are still many important questions to be answered.

Discussed on the show:

“Sen. Grassley Removes ‘Sensitive’ FBI Records from Website after Bureau Complains” (Headline USA)
The Terror Factory by Trever Aaronson
“DOJ Announce Another ‘Iranian Assassination Plot’ as Trump Looks to Clean House” (Headline USA)

Ken Silva has been a reporter for more than 10 years, working in places such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the United States. Follow him on Twitter @JD_Cashless

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

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10/2/20 Nicolas Davies on America’s Culpability for the War in Yemen

Scott talks to Nicolas Davies about America’s continuing role in the war in Yemen. Although the Trump administration has ended some of the more direct involvement like mid-air refueling of Saudi bombers, Saudi Arabia still very much relies on our help to wage its war against the people of Yemen, not least because of the fact that all of their weapons and equipment come from the U.S. Scott reminds us that Trump could end this war with a single phone call. Davies also describes Congress’ efforts to stop American support for the war, all of which Trump has stymied.

Discussed on the show:

“Two Years After Khashoggi’s Brutal Murder, Why Is America Still an Accomplice to MBS’s Crimes?” (Antiwar.com Original)
“Will Michele Flournoy Be the Angel of Death for the American Empire?” (Antiwar.com Original)
The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival

Nicolas J.S. Davies is the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq. Follow him on Twitter @NicolasJSDavies.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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10/2/20 Patrick Cockburn on his Testimony in the Assange Extradition Hearing

Scott interviews the great Patrick Cockburn about his written testimony in Julian Assange’s extradition hearing. Cockburn argued, as have many other witnesses for the defense, that Assange’s activities with WikiLeaks amount to the very best kind of journalism: the exposure of government misdeeds to the people. Far more journalists, in fact, should be doing what Assange does. Cockburn also reminds us that the information Chelsea Manning leaked and Assange published was not even all that secret. It was on a server that millions of soldiers and government employees had access to, a far cry from the top secret exposure of informants that the U.S. government would have you believe. The prosecution has even had to admit on record that the leak of this information has not resulted in the endangerment of a single informant.

Discussed on the show:

“Patrick Cockburn and Andy Worthington’s Testimony in Assange Extradition Hearings” (Antiwar.com Blog)
Collateral Murder
“Iraq War Diary” (WikiLeaks)
“State Department Cables” (WikiLeaks)
“The Guantanamo Files” (WikiLeaks)
“Afghanistan War Diary” (WikiLeaks)

Patrick Cockburn is the Middle East correspondent for The Independent and the author of The Age of Jihad and Chaos & Caliphate.

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10/2/20 Kevin Gosztola: Day 17 of the Assange Extradition Hearing

Kevin Gosztola discusses two major points from the recent round of testimony in the Assange hearing. First, the defense has been trying to emphasize the deplorable conditions Assange would be likely to face in an American supermax prison. This is something a judge must consider under British extradition law. Gosztola also brings up the bizarre story of UC Global, a security firm employed by American billionaire and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson. Two former UC Global employees testified that American intelligence had tasked them with surveilling Assange in the Ecuadorean embassy—this illegal conduct prompted them to testify in Assange’s defense. Read more of Gosztola’s coverage of the hearing at shadowproof.com.

Discussed on the show:

“The War on Journalism: The Case of Julian Assange” (YouTube)
“UC Global Employees Testify On US Spying Operation Against Assange” (Shadowproof)
“US intelligence sources discussed poisoning Julian Assange, court told” (The Guardian)
“Mainstream US reporters silent about being spied on by apparent CIA contractor that targeted Assange” (The Grayzone)

Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, “Unauthorized Disclosure.” Follow him on Twitter @kgosztola.

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10/1/20 Trevor Timm on His Assange Extradition Hearing Testimony

Trevor Timm is back with an update on Julian Assange’s extradition hearing. Timm was a witness for the defense, where he argued against the idea that what Assange and WikiLeaks do is categorically different than the activity of other journalists. The prosecution has argued that Assange’s solicitation of classified documents amounts to collaboration in an illegal activity—Timm explained that this is no different whatsoever from what any mainstream journalistic outlet does. Just because some people don’t consider Assange to be a journalist, that has nothing to do with his legal status when it comes to America’s first amendment.

Discussed on the show:

“Trump’s ‘War On Journalism’ Takes Center Stage At Julian Assange’s Extradition Hearing” (Shadowproof)
The Assange Court Report

Trevor Timm is a co-founder and the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. He is a journalist, activist, and lawyer whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today, The Atlantic, and many others. Follow him on Twitter @trevortimm.

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9/28/20 Kevin Gosztola: Week Four of the Assange Extradition Hearing

Kevin Gosztola is back for another update on Julian Assange’s extradition hearing, where most recently the defense has been debunking the prosecution’s claim that Assange engaged in a hacking scheme with Chelsea Manning. Gosztola says the defense was able to establish the baselessness of this claim, based in part on the fact that WikiLeaks had already published just about everything Manning leaked to them before the supposed hacking would have taken place. Gosztola fears that despite this small victory, the prosecution will simply move on to something else, given that their entire case seems to be politically motivated rather than based on unbiased facts.

Discussed on the show:

“Password-Cracking Conspiracy Theory Against Assange Unravels At Trial” (Shadowproof)
The non linear effects of leaks on unjust systems of governance
“State Department Cables” (WikiLeaks)
Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website
“Manafort held secret talks with Assange in Ecuadorian embassy, sources say” (The Guardian)
“UK Government Caught Lying Twice at Assange Extradition” (Antiwar.com)

Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof. He also produces and co-hosts the weekly podcast, “Unauthorized Disclosure.” Follow him on Twitter @kgosztola.

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9/25/20 Gilbert Doctorow on the US Government’s Provocative Russia Policy

Gilbert Doctorow discusses the latest aggressive maneuvers being carried out by the U.S. government and its allies toward Russia. Doctorow says that the flying of planes near Russia’s border just for intelligence gathering is quite common and relatively unthreatening—but lately America has been sending bombers to those same areas, which actively engage their weapons systems in a way that Russia can detect. Doctorow says that the only possible motive for doing this is to send the message that America is still in charge, and that our NATO allies, who accompany U.S. planes on many of these flights, are united in opposing Russian interests. These maneuvers, Doctorow reminds us, are just one of the ways America has been posturing against Russia in recent years. Our government has also supported regime change in Ukraine and Belarus, helped expand NATO further eastward, pulled out of nuclear weapons treaties and encouraged a full-scale anti-Russian propaganda campaign in the form of the “Russiagate” conspiracy theory. All things considered, Russia has shown tremendous restraint—Doctorow fears that won’t always be the case.

Discussed on the show:

“Provocative US Air and Sea Maneuvers at Russia’s Borders” (Antiwar.com Original)
Rage
“Why autocrats are lining up for Donald Trump” (Financial Times)

Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst and was the European Coordinator of The American Committee for East-West Accord. He writes regularly for Consortium News. His latest book is Does the United States Have a Future?

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9/25/20 Jessica Katzenstein on the Militarization of American Police

Scott talks to Jessica Katzenstein from the Costs of War Project about her recent paper on the effects of America’s foreign wars on police militarization. She and Scott trace police militarization to the escalation of the war on drugs in the 1990s, when SWAT raids became especially prevalent. Today that trend has reached all-time highs, with Katzenstein estimating 60,000 raids per year. With so much military equipment being funneled to police departments from the military and Homeland Security, Scott describes the situation as hardly any different than a foreign army patrolling—and subjugating—an occupied country.

Discussed on the show:

“The Wars Are Here: How the United States’ Post-9/11 Wars Helped Militarize U.S. Police” (Costs of War)
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces
“War Comes Home” (ACLU)
“The Wire (TV Series 2002–2008)” (IMDb)

Jessica Katzenstein is a PhD candidate at Brown University, whose research interests include the militarization of U.S. policing, whiteness and racism and police reform. Follow her work at the Costs of War Project.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

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9/25/20 Grant Smith on the Israel Lobby, Tech Censorship and the 1619 Project

Scott talks to Grant Smith about his ongoing work on the Israel lobby and its influence in America. Scott likens the story of Israel and Palestine to the history of the U.S. government and the Native Americans—for a long time everyone learned a skewed version that obscured American government crimes, but slowly the revisionist account became the widely accepted one. Scott and Smith hope that a similar transformation is on the horizon when it comes to American perception of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians. One area where the extent of Israeli influence is particularly opaque is in state government lobbying. Smith has focused on covering an organization known as the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, which funnels state money into Israeli-owned projects, subsidizing many businesses that would otherwise fail, and which rarely provide the benefit to the Virginia economy that is usually claimed.

Discussed on the show:

IsraelLobbyCon 2021
Israel’s Armor: The Israel Lobby and the First Generation of the Palestine Conflict
How the West was Lost (miniseries)
“New York Times corrects The 1619 Project — but it’s still a giant lie” (New York Post)
“The New York Times and Nikole Hannah-Jones abandon key claims of the 1619 Project” (World Socialist Web Site)
“Zoom, Facebook and YouTube Censor SF State Palestine Class — Palestine Legal” (Palestine Legal)
“Google intensifies censorship of left-wing websites” (World Socialist Web Site)
“Expropriate, Capture & Marginalize: the Energix business model from Palestine to the US” (YouTube)