'Why? And Why Now?' Panama Papers 'John Doe' Steps Out of Shadows

Published on Friday, May 06, 2016

by Common Dreams

'Why? And Why Now?' Panama Papers 'John Doe' Steps Out of Shadows

Anonymous whistleblower says "Panama Papers are, if nothing else, a glaring symptom of our society's progressively diseased and decaying moral fabric."

by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

The anonymous source behind the Panama Papers stepped out of the shadows on Friday to offer justification for what has been called the biggest leak in history.

The whistleblower's gender and name remain secret, as does their occupation. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the leaker's initial contact, has authenticated that the statement came from the Panama Papers source.

"For the record, I do not work for any government or intelligence agency, directly or as a contractor, and I never have," wrote John Doe. "My viewpoint is entirely my own, as was my decision to share the documents with Süddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), not for any specific political purpose, but simply because I understood enough about their contents to realize the scale of the injustices they described."

A searing critique of widespread wealth and income inequality, the 1,800-word missive decries "America's broken campaign finance system" and denounces capitalism as "economic slavery."

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/06/why-and-why-now-panama-papers-john-doe-steps-out-shadows

LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141440556#post1