If there have been two cases in which the evidence is profound, that the U.S. judiciary is solidly in support of the rich and Corporate America, they would be the punishment of lawyer Steven Donziger, defender of indigenous people and peasants in Ecuador, and the persecution of Wikileaks founder and revealer of atrocities of the U.S. government, Julian Assange.

Donziger has been punished beyond belief for a misdemeanor that, itself, was a sham, has been at home in New York City wearing an ankle bracelet, and was sentenced to a six-month jail term for his crime of refusing to hand over all of his electronic devices to the corporation that he defeated in a landmark and interminable court case in Ecuador that resulted in a judgment against Chevron Corporation in the amount of $9.5 billion for the toxic damage perpetrated against some 30,000 people of the rainforest.

Although those who have followed his case are familiar with its twists and turns, not many Americans know much, if anything, about him or the history of the toxins visited on the people of the forest, which have resulted in death and sickness of those who are not able to defend themselves against the powerful. In their quest for oil, Texaco plundered the region in question and spewed billions of gallons of toxic waste and oil onto the ground and water of the environment of people who depend on the purity of land, water, and air for their living and their lives. Texaco was bought by Chevron, which became responsible for the intentional disaster.

Not intending to become the lightning rod for corporate justice, Donziger became part of the case decades ago and won a large judgment against Chevron in Ecuadorian courts. It was reduced to $9.5 billion there, but Chevron was willing to go to any lengths to avoid responsibility and payment. In due time, the case was transferred to the U.S. and New York, which, unbelievably, tried the case against Donziger under the RICO Act, which was designed to prosecute mob activity. In other words, he and the Ecuadorians were attacked using the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for winning the case against Chevron.

By their behavior and words, two judges, both connected directly or indirectly to either Chevron or the corporatist Federalist Society (funded in part by Chevron), signaled their fealty to the powerful. The judges are Lewis A. Kaplan and Loretta Preska. Kaplan handed off the case to Preska, but not before putting the prosecutory responsibility into the hands of a law firm that is connected to Chevron. Unbelievable, but done in full view of those who would see...a private law firm as prosecutor.

Many have come to the defense of Donziger, including the United Nations Human Rights Council, which found his house arrest a violation of international human rights. Her sentence of six months follows 787 days of house arrest. Even if his appeal of the sentence is upheld by a higher court, he will likely have served the full time, by the time a decision is rendered. Another injustice.

Chris Hedges, writing in Consortium News this month, noted that Donziger’s lawyers have pointed out, “he is the first person under U.S. law charged with a “B” misdemeanor to be placed on home confinement, prior to trial, with an ankle monitor; he is the first person charged with any misdemeanor to be held under home confinement for over two years; he is the first attorney ever to be charged with criminal contempt over a discovery dispute in a civil case where the attorney went into voluntary contempt to pursue an appeal; he is the first person to be prosecuted under Rule 42 (criminal contempt) by a private prosecutor with financial ties to the entity and industry that was a litigant in the underlying civil dispute that gave rise to the orders; and he is the first person tried by a private prosecutor who had ex parte (improper contact with a party or a judge) communications with the charging judge while that judge remained (and remains) unrecused on the criminal case.” Both Kaplan and Preska found ways to rule in the case to deny Donziger a trial by jury, at any stage.

The two judges should be required to face the people in Ecuador who are suffering from the toxic effects of Chevron’s presence and tell them that they are “racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations,” as their children stand before them with the evidence of the poison on their feet and legs. Chevron executives also should be required to do the same. They have done nothing to clean up the rainforest and they will spend any amount of money to avoid paying $9.5 billion, which would only begin to clean up the destruction they have wrought.

Donziger’s case is by no means over. Suffering sickness, disease, and death, the people who have to live in the despoiled region of Ecuador deserve justice, as Donziger deserves justice, but that is, so far, not to be found in American courts.

In Julian Assange’s case, the U.S. government wants to punish him further for revealing the depths of depravity of U.S. military operations in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. His crime is publishing documents that show the darkest side of the functions of empire. The crime of all crimes is revealing the truth. Wikileaks, the publication site he founded, was the means by which he made public the trove of documents, including untold numbers of emails by government officials and agencies. His work in this has been likened to Daniel Ellsberg’s making public the Pentagon Papers, which showed essentially that wartime officials knew that the Vietnam War was not likely to be won. His release of the documents was a part of bringing that war to an end.

Ellsberg supports those around the world who know that Assange is a journalist and whistleblower and that he should never have been prosecuted or persecuted for revealing what he did and letting the American people know the depths to which an empire will go to get what it wants from anyone and everyone, no matter where or when. And his actions allowed the American people to know that all of the war-making and atrocities have been done in their name. The uncomfortable thing: If war and atrocities are done in the people’s name, the people are responsible and have to do something about it.

The espionage case and other charges against Ellsberg were dismissed by a judge in 1973. Assange’s extradition is still being pursued by the U.S. government, even though their key witness has recanted, saying he made false claims in exchange for immunity. Assange faces 175 years in prison if he is tried in an American court, despite the similarities between Wikileaks’ exposure of U.S. war crimes and the release of the Pentagon Papers. Assange already has spent years in confinement, first in the Ecuadorian embassy in the United Kingdon, and then in British prisons.

American media remain silent on Assange, even though their right to practice free speech and publication seems directly connected to both Ellsberg and Assange. There’s too much money involved in ownership of the U.S. “free press” and Donziger’s and Assange’s cases are evidence that they could not expect justice in the courts of the United States. If the people do not wake up and demand justice for these two and many others like them, their own right to free speech and free press will be doomed.

BlackCommentator.com Columnist, John Funiciello, is a former newspaper reporter and labor organizer, who lives in the Mohawk Valley of New York State. In addition to labor work, he is organizing family farmers as they struggle to stay on the land under enormous pressure from factory food producers and land developers. Contact Mr. Funiciello and BC.