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Margaret Ratner Kunstler

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Margaret Ratner Kunstler is a civil rights attorney who has worked with WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, and Sarah Harrison. She has also worked with Anonymous and was the attorney for Jeremy Hammond.[1][2] Kunstler graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia Law School. She was the co-chair of the February 2022 Belmarsh Tribunal organized by Progressive International in New York City. After her husband William Kunstler died, a dispute started with his former law partner, Ronald L. Kuby, over the right to use his name.[3]

2016 US Presidential election

See also: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks

See also: WikiLeaks § Secret correspondence between WikiLeaks and Donald Trump Jr.

Messages from WikiLeaks to Donald Trump Jr. identified Kunstler as a person at WikiLeaks for the Trump administration to contact with 'information for publication'. Trump Jr. said he never responded to the request, and that he never communicated directly with Assange and all of his correspondence with WikiLeaks went through "a lady that appeared to work at a law firm".[2][4]

Roger Stone, Randy Credico and WikiLeaks

See also: Roger Stone § Relations with Wikileaks and Russia before the 2016 United States elections

Kunstler, who Randy Credico said he is "best friends" with,[5] arranged for Assange to be on Credico's August 25, 2016 radio show.[2][6][7] Roger Stone suggested that Kunstler might have been a source for Credico.[7][8]

The Roger Stone indictment suggests that Kunstler may have been asked to act as an intermediary during the pre-election months.[2] At Stone's trial, Credico testified that Stone was actively trying to get Assange a preemptive pardon,[9] and that he talked to Kunstler about it.[10]

In mid-September 2016, Roger Stone sent Randy Credico an email asking him to check allegations about Hillary Clinton, and Credico forwarded the email to Kunstler. Credico said he didn't take it seriously and sent it to an old account Kunstler didn't check often. On October 1, Credico sent Stone a text message saying "Big news Wednesday...now pretend u don’t know me...Hillary’s campaign will die this week."[2][11][5]

In November 2017, Senator Dianne Feinstein sent Kunstler a letter asking Kunstler to testify and turn over communications with the Trump campaign and family, and records "of any effort to obtain or share" hacked emails from the DNC or Clinton campaign. Kunstler refused, citing attorney-client privilege.[12][13][2]

In 2017 and 2018, Roger Stone threatened to make Credico's outreach to Kunstler public, and to file a bar complaint against Kunstler.[11]

In 2019, Kunstler was a witness for the government in the case against Roger Stone, where she testified she mostly ignored Credico's email and said she didn't have insider knowledge about Assange's efforts during the 2016 campaign.[11]

Kunstler v. Central Intelligence Agency

Main article: Kunstler v. Central Intelligence Agency

Kunstler v. Central Intelligence Agency is a lawsuit filed in August 2022 by lawyers Margaret Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, and journalists Charles Glass and John Goetz against the Central Intelligence Agency, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Undercover Global S.L. (UC Global), and UC Global's owner David Morales. The lawsuit alleges that UC Global, which was providing security for the Ecuadorian embassy in London, had recorded the complainants conversations with Julian Assange and copied their phones and computers. It alleges that UC Global provided the information it copied to the CIA, which was headed by Pompeo at the time. The CIA is prohibited from targeting U.S. citizens. In an internal email, Morales told workers that UC Global was profiling Assange's visitors and aides because he had been "informed of suspicions that [Assange] is working for the Russian intelligence services".[14][15][16][17]

Personal life

Margaret Ratner Kunstler was married to William Kunstler, who died in 1995. The two had two daughters Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler, and several grandchildren.[18]

Margaret was previously married to Michael Ratner.[19]

References

  1. ^ "New York Civil Rights Attorney :: Margaret Ratner Kunstler :: Williamsburg, New York Entertainment Law Attorney". www.hrbeklaw.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kocieniewski, David (January 30, 2019). "The Civil Rights Warrior Who May Have Linked Roger Stone to WikiLeaks". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Hoffman, Jan (1996-12-15). "A Bitter Fight Rages Over Files and a Famous Name". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  4. ^ Trump Jr., Donald (September 7, 2017). "Senate Judiciary Committee testimony" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Text messages show Roger Stone and friend discussing WikiLeaks plans". NBC News. 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. ^ "Steve Bannon says Roger Stone was Trump campaign link to WikiLeaks". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. November 8, 2019. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019 – via Associated Press.
  7. ^ a b Friedman, Dan. "Roger Stone offered to assist his alleged WikiLeaks source with legal expenses". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  8. ^ Friedman, Dan. "Roger Stone keeps changing his story about WikiLeaks". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  9. ^ Friedman, Dan. "Text messages show Roger Stone was working to get a pardon for Julian Assange". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  10. ^ Friedman, Dan. "Roger Stone wants a pardon. He previously tried to get one for Assange". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  11. ^ a b c "WikiLeaks, dog threats and a fake death notice: Roger Stone's odd friendship with Randy Credico". POLITICO. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  12. ^ Friedman, Dan. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein presses insiders on Trump-Russia dealings". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  13. ^ "Letter from Senator Feinstein to Kunstler, November 15, 2017" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Singh, Kanishka (2022-08-15). "CIA sued over alleged spying on lawyers, journalists who met Assange". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  15. ^ "Julian Assange: US lawyers sue CIA for allegedly spying on WikiLeaks founder". uk.news.yahoo.com. 16 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  16. ^ "Julian Assange lawyers sue CIA over alleged spying". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2022-08-16. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  17. ^ Irujo, José María (2019-11-08). "The US trail of the man whose security firm spied on Julian Assange". EL PAÍS English Edition. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  18. ^ Stout, David (1995-09-05). "William Kunstler, 76, Dies; Lawyer for Social Outcasts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  19. ^ Roberts, Sam (2016-05-11). "Michael Ratner, Lawyer Who Won Rights for Guantánamo Prisoners, Dies at 72". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
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