According to reports, Jeremy Hammond was given a few options for his criminal defense. He could either fight as many as a dozen counts of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and face a half century in jail, or he could plead guilty to the cyber attack on the cyber mercenary corporation Stratfor and face a maximum of a decade behind bars. In a federal courtroom in Manhattan last week, Hammond chose the latter.

One chapter ends

Anyone who’s researched Jeremy Hammond’s 28 years of life can attest to his colorful, energetic career as a political activist. It also suggests that the world hasn’t seen the last of the Electronic Robin Hood. The expected ten year sentence and $2.5 million fine is literally seven-times harsher than his co-conspirators received in UK courts for the same crime. But that only illustrates just how damaged and exposed the US federal government was when Hammond revealed for the world exactly what governments and corporations across the globe have been up to lately.

If his life were a book, which it most definitely will be some day, readers would be somewhere between chapter 5 and chapter 6 of the 25-chapter book of Jeremy Hammond’s life. That is, if the feds and corporate mercenaries he exposed don’t assassinate him first. Rather than republish the entire journey in this article, read the Whiteout Press report, ‘Anonymous Leaders are Kids facing Life in Prison’ for a more detailed account of Hammond’s past exploits.

The current criminal trial against Hammond centers on one specific attack however – the theft of data from a little-known federal contractor named Stratfor. Made up of experienced cyber terrorists and former CIA agents, the company enjoys a cozy and extremely profitable relationship as thee public-private go-to mercenary force for cyber espionage, digital spying, and even computer and internet attacks.

What did Hammond expose?

Just as with fellow whistle-blowers Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, we ask the question – is exposing treason in government an act of treason in itself? It shouldn’t be. But as those three criminal cases demonstrate, the answer is unfortunately yes. You the reader can judge for yourself. Below are just some of the revelations discovered in the millions of pages of Stratfor emails released by Jeremy Hammond into the public domain (From Rolling Stone, TruthDig.com and Whiteout Press):

• 12 members of Pakistan’s intelligence agency knew of the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden before his capture.

• Osama bin Laden’s body was not dumped at sea, but sent to an Air Force base in the United States.

• Israel gave Russia control codes for military unmanned drones Israel sold to US-allied Georgia during the 2008 Five-Day War between Russia and Georgia.

• Email between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Stratfor Vice President Fred Burton show Netanyahu threatening the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his intention to unilaterally start a war with Iran.

• 40,000 documents detailing the unsuccessful efforts of the US government to undermine and overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

• Dow Chemical employed Stratfor to spy on Indian political activists who were still targeting the chemical corporation for its deadly negligence leading to the horrific and fatal Bhopal disaster.

• Coca-Cola employed Stratfor to spy on political activists who were suspected of planning demonstrations to protest the 2010 Summer Olympics in Canada, which Coke was a major sponsor of.

• The US federal government has secretly indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

• US and UK officials believe the Swedish rape accusation against Julian Assange is political and he is innocent of the charge.

• Stratfor’s surveillance network is so vast, it can create an audio-video experience that allows users to virtually travel into the past and view the events of any spot in America from almost any angle.

• US forces have secretly entered the Mexican drug war on the side of the Sinaloa Cartel against the Zetas and a dozen other drug trafficking organizations in the hopes of ending the bloody war on the US-Mexico border.

• Stratfor spied on PETA activists on behalf of US corporations.

• The Department of Homeland Security employed Stratfor to spy on Occupy Wall Street.

Plea Deal

Last week, Jeremy Hammond pled guilty to the charge of attacking Stratfor, releasing their corporate documents, stealing thousands of credit card numbers and conspiring to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in anonymous donations to charities and social justice organizations using Stratfor employee accounts. In exchange for that plea, authorities promised to give the hacktivist immunity from a host of other cyber attacks Hammond allegedly carried out.

One of the unusual aspects of this trial is that to gain immunity from federal criminal prosecution for the additional acts, Jeremy Hammond was forced to officially admit to his role in the illegal hacking campaigns. Court watchers are undecided as to whether he may still be open to civil prosecution, or even criminal prosecution on the state level.

Among the other cyber attacks Hammond has taken responsibility for as part of his plea deal are (from Rolling Stone):

• Arizona Department of Public Safety

• FBI Academy

• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department

• Boston Police Patrolman’s Institute

• Combined Systems (tear gas manufacturer)

• Brooks Jeffreys (government contractor)

• Special Forces Gear (government contractor)

• Vanguard Defense Industries (government contractor)

Another one of the unusual circumstances involving the Jeremy Hammond criminal trial is the case’s federal judge Loretta Preska. Dozens, if not hundreds, of impartial legal groups demanded that judge Preska recuse herself from the trial due to her personal involvement in the case. It was revealed prior to the start of the trial that judge Preska’s husband was a client of Stratfor and one of the many alleged victims of Hammond’s accused crimes. Even with that documented personal connection, Preska refused to excuse herself from the case. Hammond’s supporters fear the judge will give him the maximum sentence allowed in retribution even though his co-conspirators received sentences averaging only 2 years in the UK.

Jeremy Hammond’s sentencing is scheduled for September 6, 2013. His supporters are circulating online petitions asking for a sentence of ‘time served’ rather than the full ten years in prison. For more information, visit FreeJeremy.net.

Related Whiteout Press Articles:

Anonymous Leaders are Kids facing Life in Prison

Jeremy Hammond: Government never forgiven, Swartz never forgotten

Anonymous Cell gets Careless, Infiltrated, Busted