Recently, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to his home country of Australia after spending years fighting legal charges that initially stemmed from the release of sensitive footage on his site Wikileaks. The videos were provided to him by a former United States Army intelligence analyst, who now goes by Chelsea Manning, in 2010.

The story is similar to the case of former NSA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who publically disclosed the extent of the agency's global surveillance programs, which often involved cooperation with telecom companies.

Today, on Focal Point, an IRONCLAD Original, Andy Stumpf and Mike Glover discuss these cases, the military and intelligence communities, operational security, and the role that whistleblowers can play in holding institutions accountable.

Focal Point is an IRONCLAD Original.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices