Scott talks to Kevin Gosztola and John Kiriakou about the trial of drone whistleblower Daniel Hale, who was just sentenced to 45 months in prison for crimes under the espionage act. Hale's case is unlike some other recent whistleblowers, in that he freely pled guilty to an espionage charge but maintained that his actions were morally justified. Kiriakou stresses that with good behavior, time served and substance abuse recovery programs, 45 months really means more like a year and a half. And while that's a long time to sit in prison, he says this is a big victory for Hale, considering what could have happened. In fact, the judge in his case seemed not to buy the prosecution's bogus case at all, namely that Hale was a petty self-aggrandizer, who leaked these documents for reasons of personal ambition. The judge dismissed four other charges that the prosecution might have tried to bring against Hale, securing a relative victory compared to what could have been.

Discussed on the show:

The Assassination Complex: Inside the Government's Secret Drone Warfare Program

"The Drone Papers: Secret documents detail the U.S. assassination program." (The Intercept)

"National Bird (2016)" (IMDb)

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

John Kiriakou is a former CIA officer and author of The Convenient Terrorist: Two Whistleblowers’ Stories of Torture, Terror, Secret Wars, and CIA Lies and Doing Time Like A Spy. He is the host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik Radio. Follow him on Twitter @JohnKiriakou.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio.

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https://youtu.be/OV3V3wFJUwY