October 7
GUEST: Jonathan Moore, senior partner in a New York law firm who has been seeking to end stop-and-frisk abuses as well as to hold the US chemical companies liable for the harm caused Vietnamese nationals by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. We talk about some of the cases he has worked on to achieve justice for clients who have been injured or harmed by the police, the FBI or the US military.
Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign
In pursuing these types of cases, lawyers like Jonathan Moore also shine a spotlight on the excesses and abuses of our military industrial complex, ever eager to profit from the suffering and exploitation of others. One wonders how long our empire is going to allow lawyers to expose its dirty little secrets. We see how the United States treats journalist Julian Assange, whose major transgression involved the release of a short video clip of US soldiers committing war crimes in Iraq. More recently we find that the CIA and top government officials discussed how to assassinate Assange, an Australian citizen. How soon will our national security state begin murdering other journalists who dare reveal the truth?
And can lawyers be far behind? I am sure that the Pentagon does not want to the public to dwell on the long term poisoning of millions during the occupation of Vietnam. The war machine wants other military campaigns, and the chemical companies stand ready to profit again by sickening another generation of US troops in the field. The prosecution of Steven Donziger is not encouraging. Donziger won a multibillion-dollar judgment against Chevron in Ecuador, only to be charged in the US with six charges of criminal contempt of court, all misdemeanors. He has spent a number of years under house arrest and faces six months in prison. It is a fate that both reporters and lawyers could soon face for spotlighting the crimes of corporate America.
