Primary Sources Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:52:10 -0500 https://primarysourcespodcast.org en-us © 2026 Defending Rights & Dissent yes Support this Podcast 8d2f79ec-ca09-5a0b-b912-0abf5dd773f8 Defending Rights & Dissent episodic false Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) whistleblowers, federal government, FBI, espionage act, government secrets Defending Rights & Dissent https://storage.buzzsprout.com/h6ntsay5muixlcz7krz716qg13i4?.jpg Primary Sources https://primarysourcespodcast.org Chip Gibbons The Voices of the Belmarsh Tribunal featuring Margaret Kunstler, Srecko Horvat, Chip Gibbons, Jeffrey Sterling, Deborah Hrbek, Nancy Hollander & Mohamed Ould Slahi The Voices of the Belmarsh Tribunal featuring Margaret Kunstler, Srecko Horvat, Chip Gibbons, Jeffrey Sterling, Deborah Hrbek, Nancy Hollander & Mohamed Ould Slahi When whistleblowers have been tried under the Espionage Act, the US government has successfully barred them telling the jury about what it is they are on trial for exposing. It’s clear the US government is afraid of juries hearing about the realities of drone strikes, mass surveillance, torture, and other abuses of power. 

When war crimes are exposed, the government puts the truth teller in jail. The Belmarsh Tribunal, named for the notorious British prison where Julian Assange is being held, puts the real criminals on the docket. 

On February 25, 2022,  the latest session of the Belmarsh Tribunal was held in New York City and featured Primary Sources host & DRAD policy director, Chip Gibbons, as well as Margaret Kunstler, Srecko Horvat, Jeffrey Sterling, Deborah Hrbek, Nancy Hollander & Mohamed Ould Slahi as speakers, among others. The event was sponsored by Defending Rights & Dissent, Progressive International, the Courage Foundation, The Intercept, and other organizations.

In this bonus episode of the Primary Sources Podcast, hear the powerful voices of the Belmarsh Tribunal. To learn more about the Belmarsh Tribunal, visit https://progressive.international

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]]> When whistleblowers have been tried under the Espionage Act, the US government has successfully barred them telling the jury about what it is they are on trial for exposing. It’s clear the US government is afraid of juries hearing about the realities of drone strikes, mass surveillance, torture, and other abuses of power. 

When war crimes are exposed, the government puts the truth teller in jail. The Belmarsh Tribunal, named for the notorious British prison where Julian Assange is being held, puts the real criminals on the docket. 

On February 25, 2022,  the latest session of the Belmarsh Tribunal was held in New York City and featured Primary Sources host & DRAD policy director, Chip Gibbons, as well as Margaret Kunstler, Srecko Horvat, Jeffrey Sterling, Deborah Hrbek, Nancy Hollander & Mohamed Ould Slahi as speakers, among others. The event was sponsored by Defending Rights & Dissent, Progressive International, the Courage Foundation, The Intercept, and other organizations.

In this bonus episode of the Primary Sources Podcast, hear the powerful voices of the Belmarsh Tribunal. To learn more about the Belmarsh Tribunal, visit https://progressive.international

Support the show

]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-10299483 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 18:00:00 -0400 3549 1 13 bonus false The Persecution of Julian Assange featuring Nils Melzer The Persecution of Julian Assange featuring Nils Melzer "A prosecution is when you use court proceedings to prosecute a crime. When you misuse judicial institutions to persecute, to silence a dissident who has committed no crime  and you're using the judicial machinery to silence him and to punish him, that's persecution."

This is how UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer describes to host Chip Gibbons the legal proceedings against Assange. Melzer was initially skeptical and reluctant to become involved in the Assange case. Yet, after he led a medical team to visit Assange in Belmarsh Prison he concluded Assange was a victim of psychological torture. As he continued to investigate the actions of multiple governments against Assange, his own initially negative views of the WikiLeaks publisher were dramatically altered.

As Melzer warns in his book The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution, "We must not allow Assange's persecutors to dictate his story, for those who suppress their own crimes and misconduct are unlikely to tell us the truth about a man who lifted the veil and exposed their corruption."

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]]> "A prosecution is when you use court proceedings to prosecute a crime. When you misuse judicial institutions to persecute, to silence a dissident who has committed no crime  and you're using the judicial machinery to silence him and to punish him, that's persecution."

This is how UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer describes to host Chip Gibbons the legal proceedings against Assange. Melzer was initially skeptical and reluctant to become involved in the Assange case. Yet, after he led a medical team to visit Assange in Belmarsh Prison he concluded Assange was a victim of psychological torture. As he continued to investigate the actions of multiple governments against Assange, his own initially negative views of the WikiLeaks publisher were dramatically altered.

As Melzer warns in his book The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution, "We must not allow Assange's persecutors to dictate his story, for those who suppress their own crimes and misconduct are unlikely to tell us the truth about a man who lifted the veil and exposed their corruption."

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-9956564 Wed, 26 Jan 2022 11:00:00 -0500 3338 1 12 full false The War on WikiLeaks featuring Kevin Gosztola The War on WikiLeaks featuring Kevin Gosztola This is the story of one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history, leaks which exposed US war crimes and other abuses of power. From 2010 to 2011, WikiLeaks worked with media the world over, to publish the Collateral Murder Video, Iraq and Afghan War Logs, State Department Cables, and Guantanamo Bay Detainee Assessments.

 It is also the story of the US national security state's ruthless relation against those involved, including the source, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, and the publisher, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Journalist Kevin Gosztola, who covered both the Chelsea Manning court martial and Julian Assange extradition trial joins host Chip Gibbons to recount the legal and extra legal war on WikiLeaks.

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]]> This is the story of one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history, leaks which exposed US war crimes and other abuses of power. From 2010 to 2011, WikiLeaks worked with media the world over, to publish the Collateral Murder Video, Iraq and Afghan War Logs, State Department Cables, and Guantanamo Bay Detainee Assessments.

 It is also the story of the US national security state's ruthless relation against those involved, including the source, whistleblower Chelsea Manning, and the publisher, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Journalist Kevin Gosztola, who covered both the Chelsea Manning court martial and Julian Assange extradition trial joins host Chip Gibbons to recount the legal and extra legal war on WikiLeaks.

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]]> Buzzsprout-9778050 Wed, 22 Dec 2021 23:00:00 -0500 5026 1 11 full false Wikileaks & The Guantanamo Files feat. Andy Worthington & Clive Stafford Smith Wikileaks & The Guantanamo Files feat. Andy Worthington & Clive Stafford Smith The prosecution of Julian Assange marks the first time a publisher of truthful information has been indicted under the Espionage Act. In the first of a series of episodes exploring what WikiLeaks exposed and the lengths the US government went to silence them, Primary Sources looks at WikiLeaks' role in exposing human rights abuses at the notorious US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nearly ⅓ of the charges against WikiLeaks publisher Assange pertain to Guantanamo Bay Detainee Assessment files released by WikiLeaks. Yet these files remain under discussed by the media.

To help understand what they are and why they matter, host Chip Gibbons is joined by Andy Worthington, a leading expert on Guantanamo Bay who worked with Wikileaks on the release of the Guantanamo Files, and Clive Stafford Smith, a pioneering human rights attorney who, in the aftermath of 9/11, was one of the first lawyers willing to represent detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Both men testified on behalf of Assange at his extradition hearing.

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]]> The prosecution of Julian Assange marks the first time a publisher of truthful information has been indicted under the Espionage Act. In the first of a series of episodes exploring what WikiLeaks exposed and the lengths the US government went to silence them, Primary Sources looks at WikiLeaks' role in exposing human rights abuses at the notorious US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nearly ⅓ of the charges against WikiLeaks publisher Assange pertain to Guantanamo Bay Detainee Assessment files released by WikiLeaks. Yet these files remain under discussed by the media.

To help understand what they are and why they matter, host Chip Gibbons is joined by Andy Worthington, a leading expert on Guantanamo Bay who worked with Wikileaks on the release of the Guantanamo Files, and Clive Stafford Smith, a pioneering human rights attorney who, in the aftermath of 9/11, was one of the first lawyers willing to represent detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Both men testified on behalf of Assange at his extradition hearing.

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-9568520 Wed, 17 Nov 2021 21:00:00 -0500 4199 1 10 full false The Drone Whistleblowers feat. Lisa Ling, Cian Westmoreland, Keagan Miller & Christopher Aaron The Drone Whistleblowers feat. Lisa Ling, Cian Westmoreland, Keagan Miller & Christopher Aaron Those in the drone program have witnessed first hand the serious human costs of the US's global assassinations program. For years, veterans of the drone program have worked to alert the public to the realities of the drone warfare.

The Kabul Strike, which killed 10 civilians, including 7 children, shocks the conscience of all thinking people. But as drone whistleblowers, have tried to warn, it was hardly an unusual event.

Host Chip Gibbons is joined by drone whistleblowers Lisa Ling, Keagan Miller, Cian Westmoreland, and Christopher Aaron for a timely and troubling conversation. 

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]]> Those in the drone program have witnessed first hand the serious human costs of the US's global assassinations program. For years, veterans of the drone program have worked to alert the public to the realities of the drone warfare.

The Kabul Strike, which killed 10 civilians, including 7 children, shocks the conscience of all thinking people. But as drone whistleblowers, have tried to warn, it was hardly an unusual event.

Host Chip Gibbons is joined by drone whistleblowers Lisa Ling, Keagan Miller, Cian Westmoreland, and Christopher Aaron for a timely and troubling conversation. 

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-9445204 Wed, 27 Oct 2021 15:00:00 -0400 5016 1 9 full false Empire of Lies feat. Matthew Hoh Empire of Lies feat. Matthew Hoh "There's been one systemic process of lying throughout the Afghan War. From the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration it has just been systemic lying from the American government about the war."

This is what Matthew Hoh says about the US war in Afghanistan during this episode of Primary Sources. Hoh would know. After already completing two assignments in Iraq, Hoh joined the US State Department in Afghanistan. In 2009, he made headlines when he resigned in protest of President Obama's plans to escalate the Afghan War. Hoh joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss the four decade history of US intervention in Afghanistan, his own journey as a whistleblower, and how the Pentagon hired a PR firm to discredit him when he spoke out against the war.  

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]]> "There's been one systemic process of lying throughout the Afghan War. From the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration to the Trump Administration it has just been systemic lying from the American government about the war."

This is what Matthew Hoh says about the US war in Afghanistan during this episode of Primary Sources. Hoh would know. After already completing two assignments in Iraq, Hoh joined the US State Department in Afghanistan. In 2009, he made headlines when he resigned in protest of President Obama's plans to escalate the Afghan War. Hoh joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss the four decade history of US intervention in Afghanistan, his own journey as a whistleblower, and how the Pentagon hired a PR firm to discredit him when he spoke out against the war.  

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-9332150 Thu, 07 Oct 2021 22:00:00 -0400 5548 1 8 full false Jailing the Messenger: The CIA's Torture Whistleblower feat. John Kiriakou Jailing the Messenger: The CIA's Torture Whistleblower feat. John Kiriakou After September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency, with the approval of President George W. Bush, began a highly classified program of renditions and torture. While torture violates both US and international law, President Obama declined to hold any one accountable for the program, saying he was looking forwards, not backwards.

That policy, however, did not apply to whistleblowers. The Obama Administration prosecuted former CIA analyst and case officer John Kiriakou for revealing information about the US torture program. Kiriakou first confirmed the CIA had used waterboarding while Bush was still in office. In spite of the CIA filing a crimes report, they declined prosecution. But the Obama Administration, at the request of CIA Director John Brennan, revived the case and sent Kiriakou to prison.

To date, he remains the only person to be held accountable in connection to the torture program.

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]]> After September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency, with the approval of President George W. Bush, began a highly classified program of renditions and torture. While torture violates both US and international law, President Obama declined to hold any one accountable for the program, saying he was looking forwards, not backwards.

That policy, however, did not apply to whistleblowers. The Obama Administration prosecuted former CIA analyst and case officer John Kiriakou for revealing information about the US torture program. Kiriakou first confirmed the CIA had used waterboarding while Bush was still in office. In spite of the CIA filing a crimes report, they declined prosecution. But the Obama Administration, at the request of CIA Director John Brennan, revived the case and sent Kiriakou to prison.

To date, he remains the only person to be held accountable in connection to the torture program.

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-9155620 Wed, 08 Sep 2021 03:00:00 -0400 4433 1 7 full true The Whistleblower and the Wrath of the NSA feat. Thomas Drake The Whistleblower and the Wrath of the NSA feat. Thomas Drake Thomas Drake swore an oath to defend the US Constitution on multiple occasions. His fidelity to that oath put him on a collision course with his employer, the National Security Agency. Drake assisted in an inspector general complaint concerning a costly intelligence boondoggle and aided Congressional investigations into intelligence failures in the lead-up to 9/11. 

And as the national security state expanded post 9/11, Drake's oath forbade him to remain silent when the government undertook surveillance that violated the rights of Americans. Drake's good deeds put a target on his back. As a result, he became the signature Espionage Act case in an emerging War on Whistleblowers.

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]]> Thomas Drake swore an oath to defend the US Constitution on multiple occasions. His fidelity to that oath put him on a collision course with his employer, the National Security Agency. Drake assisted in an inspector general complaint concerning a costly intelligence boondoggle and aided Congressional investigations into intelligence failures in the lead-up to 9/11. 

And as the national security state expanded post 9/11, Drake's oath forbade him to remain silent when the government undertook surveillance that violated the rights of Americans. Drake's good deeds put a target on his back. As a result, he became the signature Espionage Act case in an emerging War on Whistleblowers.

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]]> Buzzsprout-9090009 Thu, 26 Aug 2021 05:00:00 -0400 6252 1 6 full false The CIA v. The Unwanted Spy feat. Jeffrey Sterling The CIA v. The Unwanted Spy feat. Jeffrey Sterling Jeffrey Sterling has described himself as an unwanted spy. 

In the early 2000s, he attempted to take the CIA on over its racial discrimination against him. Citing the state secrets doctrine, his case was never considered on its merits. Later, he would go to the Senate Intelligence Committee to alert them about Operation Merlin, a plan to give Iran faulty nuclear plans. After being fired from the CIA, Sterling thought his ordeal was over. Then in 2006, the FBI raided his home and in 2011 brought an indictment against him under the Espionage Act. 

Sterling joins host Chip Gibbons to talk about life inside the CIA, his controversial trial, and his path to becoming a whistleblower.

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]]> Jeffrey Sterling has described himself as an unwanted spy. 

In the early 2000s, he attempted to take the CIA on over its racial discrimination against him. Citing the state secrets doctrine, his case was never considered on its merits. Later, he would go to the Senate Intelligence Committee to alert them about Operation Merlin, a plan to give Iran faulty nuclear plans. After being fired from the CIA, Sterling thought his ordeal was over. Then in 2006, the FBI raided his home and in 2011 brought an indictment against him under the Espionage Act. 

Sterling joins host Chip Gibbons to talk about life inside the CIA, his controversial trial, and his path to becoming a whistleblower.

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]]> Buzzsprout-9010791 Wed, 11 Aug 2021 11:00:00 -0400 3027 1 5 full false The Whistleblower Who Takes On Espionage Act Prosecutions feat. Jesselyn Radack The Whistleblower Who Takes On Espionage Act Prosecutions feat. Jesselyn Radack Attorney Jesselyn Radack has been at the forefront of opposing the government's War on Whistleblowers. She has represented numerous clients indicted under the Espionage Act, including Edward Snowden, Daniel Hale, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou. Jesselyn knows first hand the perils of being a whistleblower. 

Before becoming one of the leading attorneys defending the rights of national security whistleblowers, she was a Department of Justice employee who blew the whistle on FBI ethics violations during the interrogation of so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh. Jesselyn joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss her journey and what it's like being on the front lines of the War on Whistleblowers

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]]> Attorney Jesselyn Radack has been at the forefront of opposing the government's War on Whistleblowers. She has represented numerous clients indicted under the Espionage Act, including Edward Snowden, Daniel Hale, Thomas Drake, and John Kiriakou. Jesselyn knows first hand the perils of being a whistleblower. 

Before becoming one of the leading attorneys defending the rights of national security whistleblowers, she was a Department of Justice employee who blew the whistle on FBI ethics violations during the interrogation of so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh. Jesselyn joins host Chip Gibbons to discuss her journey and what it's like being on the front lines of the War on Whistleblowers

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-8936178 Wed, 28 Jul 2021 02:00:00 -0400 3186 1 4 full false Secrecy, Repression, and The Espionage Act Century feat. Carey Shenkman Secrecy, Repression, and The Espionage Act Century feat. Carey Shenkman Passed during World War I, the Espionage Act was President Woodrow Wilson's "firm hand of repression" that he used to silence antiwar voices.

Touted as a law against spies and saboteurs, the Espionage Act has in fact been a tool to control the flow of information and suppress dissent. Over the interceding years, the Espionage Act became a way to retaliate against those who publish "official secrets." Today it is the government's go to weapon against national security whistleblowers and even journalists who uncover abuses of power.

Host Chip Gibbons is joined by human rights attorney Carey Shenkman to learn more about the ignoble history of the Espionage Act and its century of silencing those who dissent on US national security policy.

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]]> Passed during World War I, the Espionage Act was President Woodrow Wilson's "firm hand of repression" that he used to silence antiwar voices.

Touted as a law against spies and saboteurs, the Espionage Act has in fact been a tool to control the flow of information and suppress dissent. Over the interceding years, the Espionage Act became a way to retaliate against those who publish "official secrets." Today it is the government's go to weapon against national security whistleblowers and even journalists who uncover abuses of power.

Host Chip Gibbons is joined by human rights attorney Carey Shenkman to learn more about the ignoble history of the Espionage Act and its century of silencing those who dissent on US national security policy.

Support the show

]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-8863609 Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:00:00 -0400 4245 1 3 full false Defending Rights & Dissent Presents... The Primary Sources Podcast, hosted by Chip Gibbons Defending Rights & Dissent Presents... The Primary Sources Podcast, hosted by Chip Gibbons Truthtelling can be an act of resistance. Join Defending Rights & Dissent policy director Chip Gibbons as he brings you the stories of whistleblowers and other truthtellers who expose civil liberties and human rights abuses committed under the guise of national security and the attempts to silence them.

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]]> Truthtelling can be an act of resistance. Join Defending Rights & Dissent policy director Chip Gibbons as he brings you the stories of whistleblowers and other truthtellers who expose civil liberties and human rights abuses committed under the guise of national security and the attempts to silence them.

Support the show

]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-8789729 Wed, 30 Jun 2021 12:00:00 -0400 39 trailer false The New York Times, the Pentagon Papers, and the Secret Weapon of the First Amendment The New York Times, the Pentagon Papers, and the Secret Weapon of the First Amendment When The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers it sparked one of the greatest battles for press freedom in US history. In an unprecedented move, the Nixon administration sought to bar The New York Times from publishing further. The Times's outside counsel had told them they would not defend them if they chose to publish the top-secret history of the Vietnam War.

But their General Counsel, James Goodale, argued that The New York Times had the right to publish. As Goodale explains to host Chip Gibbons, while the First Amendment is today a cornerstone of press freedom cases, in those days it was a "secret weapon." And one he was prepared to use. 

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]]> When The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers it sparked one of the greatest battles for press freedom in US history. In an unprecedented move, the Nixon administration sought to bar The New York Times from publishing further. The Times's outside counsel had told them they would not defend them if they chose to publish the top-secret history of the Vietnam War.

But their General Counsel, James Goodale, argued that The New York Times had the right to publish. As Goodale explains to host Chip Gibbons, while the First Amendment is today a cornerstone of press freedom cases, in those days it was a "secret weapon." And one he was prepared to use. 

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]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-8777971 Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 -0400 1481 1 2 full false From the Pentagon Papers to the Doomsday Machine feat. Daniel Ellsberg From the Pentagon Papers to the Doomsday Machine feat. Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg is the most iconic whistleblower in US history. 

On our inaugural episode, he joins host Chip Gibbons for an in-depth conversation. On the 50th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers release, Ellsberg explains how the top secret history of the Vietnam War led him to believe the war was not merely a mistake, but a crime. Ellsberg explains what was in the Pentagon Papers, why he chose to release them, and what he hoped to accomplish.

The Pentagon Papers whistleblower also talks about his current work to alert the public to the dangers of nuclear war and how in doing so he may be putting himself yet again in the crosshairs of the Espionage Act. 

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]]> Daniel Ellsberg is the most iconic whistleblower in US history. 

On our inaugural episode, he joins host Chip Gibbons for an in-depth conversation. On the 50th anniversary of the Pentagon Papers release, Ellsberg explains how the top secret history of the Vietnam War led him to believe the war was not merely a mistake, but a crime. Ellsberg explains what was in the Pentagon Papers, why he chose to release them, and what he hoped to accomplish.

The Pentagon Papers whistleblower also talks about his current work to alert the public to the dangers of nuclear war and how in doing so he may be putting himself yet again in the crosshairs of the Espionage Act. 

Support the show

]]> Defending Rights & Dissent Buzzsprout-8683702 Sun, 13 Jun 2021 02:00:00 -0400 4075 1 1 full false