Secrecy is violation of first amendment and unconstitutional. Democracy and secrecy are incompatible.
Russia investigation reveals out of control Intelligence
Community that poses main threat to Democracy. Society must
make a choice to be bent under the rule of new aristocracy
admitted to secrets or declassify everything.
Dogma in politics lasts until not.
Intelligence community is for protecting democracy. It is dogma, indisputable fact of political religion. Alternative fact is that mature intelligence community replaces democracy with police state. When transition from protector of democracy to its successor happens is easy recognize retrospectively, in historic prospective, analyzing why this society failed miserably. One can find contemporary sign of the metamorphose when he feels that it is completely useless to challenge the status quo dogma. If everybody outside secret service is too scared or ignorant or indifferent about what was told him without any material prove, democracy is no more.
There are many areas of government activity concerning security of nation these are not only perfectly legitimate but noble and necessary: law enforcement and information gathering are poster items for them. What wrong is secrecy.
Secrets are unconstitutional.
The First Amendment of USA Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.Extract the statement matter of our interest: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
Legal meaning of the word abridge is "to reduce the effect of a law, privilege or power".
So in simple English Constitution says that:
All laws passed by Congress these limits freedom of speech are unconstitutional.
Making revealing any information as crime is limitation on freedom of speech. It means that all laws about protection of secrets must be revised in following sense: if law includes any punishment for revelation of any information by anybody this part of law is unconstitutional.
For example the law used as pretext for witch hunt in CIA leak scandal - Intelligence Identities Protection Act is unconstitutional because it limits freedom of speech. It is not important that person who is accused in crime underling by this law did it by notorious reason or promise not to do. No matter why he or she decided to reveal secret information it is his business. The congress has no constitutional right to limit the right of any person for free speech about anything. Period. If society don't like Constitution - change it. Society can prohibit alcohol consumption and create mafia. Then in short order people can change mind and like to be drunk legally. It is more convenient and as benefit people left mafia in place as seed for expansion of FBI. It is democracy. People is sovereign and can do any idiotic staff. People can change any law including Constitution but until it is at place it is the law.
Federal crime about making false statements to federal agent, Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, is outrageously unconstitutional. Is any statement true or false is impossible to determine with full confidence. Just now one cannot be sure about actor in movie was alive or not during production of the movie due digital manipulation or stunt double. Everybody has his own reality that dies together with the person. Lie cannot be a crime. Lie is the form of the speech. Federal agent is public servant, as they proudly called themselves. If master, tax-payer, says anything to his employee, federal agent, it cannot in any way to be interpreted as a crime. Thus Section 1001 of Title 18 is unconstitutional.
Essence of democracy is concept of self-governance of society where every member has equal weight in decision making process. It is abstract. On practice maybe only Switzerland implements this idea almost literally in broad usage of referendums to establish laws. Such direct democracy like this is subject for admiration. In USA democracy is representative. People delegate power to elected representatives. It can works if everybody knows what their representative does. If everybody has ability to see whole picture. If there are no secrets.
At present historical moment society is divided on two major groups. First group is ordinary law abiding citizens and members of other group have right to know secrets. Secrets are not necessary truth. Secret can be contrary to truth, for example that official statement of the government is lie or mistake like was before Iraq War. Let me not to start right now, to pile samples of lies about lies it is too enormous. Secrets are also about hiding public, not classified facts, by censoring them in press. Do you know that 9/11 was in 1973? It was fascist coup in Chili. Try to find this fact in press after 2001. Good luck to learn it in any of numerous newspaper articles speculating about significance of the date itself. It was anniversary of arguable largest win of the West in Cold War. It is too uncomfortable information for ordinary citizens to think about. It is secret by omission. Special group of our society, intelligence community, decide this fact is irrelevant to you to know. Vote for Bush without knowing that his closest relative was ambassador to UN during 9/11 1973. You don't need to know. Is it democracy, even representative one? I don't think so.
As soon intelligence community became a conglomerate of bureaucratic organizations according to Parkinson's law it has expanding with or no purpose exponentially with rate 5% per year. If as after surrender of Soviet Union to free market principals main adversary became ideological ally logical step for intelligence community would be redirect resources and efforts toward others by religion, culture or whatever to protect society against antagonistic forces: radical Islam, irresponsible culture of unlimited procreation, pollution of everything and illegal invasion from side of south border. These are difficult tasks, not spy games with emphasis on the word games. Here intelligence community could be helpful and would need no secrecy to operate. When goals and methods are noble there are no need to hide them behind secrecy cartoon.
Unfortunately war against radical Islam had happen to be too politically incorrect for Democratic Party that adopts idiotic principle that diversity of everything is the highest virtue because it makes easy to coral voting block of major minorities. Stronger together or in words of Mussolini, strength through unity, is their motto. Irony is that they adopt rephrased fascist motto and throwing accusation to be fascist 360 degrees around. No shame, progress will indulge any moral defects. So in search of best foe forever intelligence community, reminiscent of Communist Party, both words came from French Commune, cannot find the better choice like Russian. It doesn't matter for them that Russians are Christians, whites the same as majority of Americans, they love life; they have largest country by land so no needs for them to expand. Russia has comparable to USA strategic nuclear forces so there cannot be winner in case of war between. Just end of humanity and probable life at planet Earth. Russia is natural good neighbor. Russians are not angels but nobody are except angels at heaven themselves.
Intelligence Community loves to bite Russia because it is more or less safe and self promoting bully movement to ask for yummy slice of budget pie against big bear. Bear is sleeping in den and reacts grumbling only on poking with coward stick. But salary must go on, rent paid and risk to blow everything can be ignored. All of these could be not big deal until the possibility that adrenaline addictive agents could take the game too far too serious and provoke real response like it was after coup in Kiev in 2012-2103. Then move by opposite move on word chess board can reach irreversible consequences... What for? Do you, ordinary citizen, know the situation in all complexity to bless next orgasmic resolution of fight for taxpayers money made in secret under flag of security and resulted in killing you completely unnecessary? Is it democracy? I don't think so.
The racist Russia probe about attack by Russians against 2016 Presidential Elections starts most possible at July 27, 2016 with sarcastic statement by Trump about finding Hillary Clinton missed e-mails these nobody in lazy USA Obama government either cannot or don't want to present. If you cannot, maybe Russians can! Hillary then was in deep shit hole so changing the topic of conversation was more than welcomed for Obama and his press-court. Trump was accused in treason, counterintelligence investigation initiated or intensified from dormant hobby to full speed witch hunt. The rest is a history. Would Trump lose election as everybody thought that had be an end of story. There were nothing criminal there. If some Russian firm posted advertisement about value of black life - so what? Freedom of speech obviously must protect them. If they indicted it means they are under USA jurisdiction thus under protection of Constitution and freedom of speech. What the racist notion that Russians must shut up?! Even on Word Wide Web?!!
Stop discrimination of Russians by nationality. Please. I name of you own security.
The only positive outcome from this situation is complete transparency. Just declassify everything. If from point of view global competition it can be considered as unify disarmament - do it multinational. The same as Chemical Weapons were prohibited - nations for sake of Democracy must outlaw any secrets.
Let spies re-qualify into researchers, make this occupation completely legal and open. Let them write reports and publish findings in open press for benefit of whole humanity and trust between nations. Name them journalists, that is even better. Idealistic? Other choice is global cabal of new aristocracy admitted to secrets. And if you are not - you will be second class citizen, like me.
Discrimination is the favorite American sin!
May. 21, 2018; 18:08 EST