In August 2010, Stephen Kim, a highly-regarded intelligence analyst in the State Department, was indicted under the Espionage Act for divulging classified information to Fox News reporter James Rosen. If convicted at trial, he faced 10 to 15 years in prison.
Kim allowed me to film his life in intimate detail from the period after his guilty plea early last year — he accepted a sentence of 13 months — until his surrender at a federal prison this past July. I watched him simultaneously disassemble the physical components of his life while he retraced the journey that brought him from speaking zero English as a young Korean immigrant, to the nation’s top universities, to the State Department and ultimately to the courtroom where he faced federal prosecution.
His pain and frustration at the powerlessness of his position as a target of the U.S. government was matched only by his profound sense of loss as he faced his shattered life, family and career. His story raises many questions about the sensitive and important relationship between journalists and their sources. But most fundamentally, it demonstrates the threats to a free press from the government’s continuing crackdown on leakers and whistleblowers.
Update:
“The Surrender” has been updated to include new footage of Stephen Kim after his release from prison in 2015.
(Stephen Maing, a documentary filmmaker, is the director of “High Tech, Low Life.”)
I read the story earlier this week, and I just now watched the film. I just wish I could figger out why, really, the USG would ruin such a valuable asset. So now this intelligent, expensively educated man will go sell wigs and lipstick for the rest of his life — after several months in prison takes a significant toll on his psyche.
What am I not understanding?
I guess this is just one more example of the way that empires in decline regularly shoot themselves in the dick.
Wow, very powerful. Thank you.
An unbelievably sad and beautiful film! You really •see• how these gov policies can effect average Americans in the heartbreaking details -the to-do list, packing up his belongings, the last visit with his sister, the pan across the darkening apartment to Kim standing on his balcony in the rain. It could be you, me, anyone being carted off to prison like that, and this really comes across powerfully with this video. I feel deeply disturbed and hope for the best for him when he gets out. I would love to see more films like this, there’s something that comes across visually here that’s hard to get just from print. Bravo and encore!
Nice work. I reality wish all the best for Mr.Kim.
Keep up the good work. Congrats from Portugal.
great flim.. it breaks my heart
I hope you get over it ???. ?????!!
This superbly done work gently and subtly captures the poignant emotional and psychospiritual dimensions of this tragic story. This ‘less is more’ holistic transmission of experience approach dignifies the subject at a time of suffering immeasurable insult, while also dignifying we viewers!
This video documentary takes TI to a new level, as being the Dietrich Bonhoeffer witness to our era. When future generations look back, this kind of work will be what they will look for, to see if anyone knew, and anyone cared about the banality of our malaise.
I only hope that you do not content to keep merely digital video archives. Partner w someone in Brasil or India to make gel films perhaps!?
p.s. like the reader above, I am also find James Rosen a perfect “Linda Tripp” casting, but when we are talking about FOX news, there are no expectations to serve as a standard, which makes the C.T. notion all the more easy to entertain.
p.s.s. more video stories like this will definitely broaden outreach
This truly breaks my heart..
Great a work, congrats.
I think you should consider adding a subtitles option, it would help your international viewers/readers.
Mr. Maing, Thank you for this short and powerful documentary. I had heard about Mr. Kim’s case but your film provided the human side that is often completely missed in the news reports.
Thanks for this terrific piece of work. Truly a gut wrenching story. My heart goes out to Mr. Kim and his family.
Thank you for this moving documentary, I know for me after watching it I wanted to do something to help Mr. Kim, in case there are others that feel the same: http://stephenkim.org/donate/
Great film… Thanks!
Great film..! Cheers!
Beautiful emotional video production. Good to see that Mr. Kim gets support from family and friends. Excellent job TI, you seem to be the only non-korean-americans who support him during a distressful difficult time.
Edward Snowden, Bradley Manning, John Kiriakou , Jeffrey Sterling ,Thomas Drake, Stephen Kim, James Hitselberger, Shami K. Leibowitz.
(Jantegesetz ) seems to be an unexplored word for majority of americans.
Tears fill my eyes after watching the film and reading the article in The Intercept about Stephen Kim.
What has happened to my country?
When was it deemed OK to destroy a person’s life in order to preserve the power of the state?
Very sad. There does not seem to be anything to do to help Stephen, so I can only wish Stephen and his family strength. They have been failed and wronged by our government. They have my deep sympathy.
A note from James Rosen to Kim is signed:
“Hugs and kisses, [James]”
This one lingers… and sickens… Am I missing something?
Thank you for the video documentary. I’m a regular viewer of TI and look forward to being a part of it’s evolution, and would be happy to someday pay for a print edition or some type of online content.
After watching this video documentary and DN!’s video today, I was wondering if anybody has checked into how far Fox reporter James Rosen’s involvement goes with Stephen Kim’s case? I’m basically getting at a possibility of James Rosen working with federal government sources to make an example of somebody in order scare future information-leakers or whistle blowers within the federal government. I understand this angle is on the verge of conspiratorial thought, but not knowing how much pressure James Rosen actually received from the federal government, the situation surrounding Stephen Kim is ridiculous. I’ve worked for several different federal agencies and there usually is training and a Human Resources support staff to provide guidance to employees when talking to reporters and the media or at least a known operating procedure. And not to mention someone from an entirely different agency setting up a meeting (an open-air meeting at that!) with a federal employee (who handles, at the minimum, classified information) with a reporter and not informing the employee’s supervisor does not make any sense.
As I so often do when watching video or reading about the victims of our justice system, I wonder how these U.S. attorneys sleep at night?
I also want to pound an Obot’s head into the cement, or at least send one to prison for 13 mos. Let them ponder all that hope and change while in the care of federal “corrections” personnel.
How long, Oh Lord, before the citizenry at large gets it thu their collective head that prison and it’s uses is a paramount moral issue?
Excellent Video, about an superb fellow Citizen. There are far too many situations taking place both here in the US and many other countries, buried under the Not News infatuation, much like what has happened to Stephen Kim. Keep up the great journalism, so important to everyone. I certainly wish Mr Kim great success, he’s extremely wise and his intellectual contribution to our future is valuable.
‘.
The following link contains a very worthwhile (about 1-hour) DN! video with Mr. Kiriakou, from February the 9th.
After listening to this soft-spoken man who seems like the type of guy anyone would want to befriend, I am even more upset about what our U.S. government did to him. My deceased brother was a CIA officer and I think he would have been proud of Mr. Kiriakou.
Exclusive: Freed CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou Says “I Would Do It All Again” to Expose Torture’
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/2/9/exclusive_freed_cia_whistleblower_john_kiriakou
.
Very nicely done. (I’m a bit surprised that there are only a few comments.)
I am not surprised that much, as I am speechless staring at the screen wondering what the hell to write. I assume others are experiencing this Kafkaesque sensation as well.
“But most fundamentally, it demonstrates the threats to a free press from the government’s continuing crackdown on leakers and whistleblowers.”
Way more fundamental is the threat to a free people of which the press is merely a subset. A very important subset without which a free society would be nearly impossible to maintain. The preamble doesn’t start with “We the Press”. The government(which used to be the people), has their own subset of privileged keepers of our burgeoning repository of classified documents. It is this classifying anything our government does or says that is supplanting our constitution as the law of the land. Secret governments with secret laws and secret rulings cannot exist in a truly free society.
Yes, thanks for your comment.
jgreen7801, well said. Of secondary importance now, is the courage and intelligence that our state department lost. Many US diplomats lost their jobs during the McCarthy ear of un-American activities, so when President Kennedy needed advise on South East Asia, what did he get? I ended up in Vietnam in 1970 at nineteen.
Very emotional and thought provoking. Sheds light on this horrible case that has been barely covered in the popular media. Hopefully The Intercept is planning to release more great videos!
As they say, stay tuned ;)
Thanks for your comment! It also surprises me that prior to Peter Maass’ piece today and this short video, his story went largely unnoticed.
extremely saddening and distressing. wishing Stephen all strength and best luck for his future. Damn the USA administration straight to hell!
I see these are played via Vimeo but there’s no way to click and watch later. I also don’t see it anywhere on Vimeo’s site. Some of us at work like to watch these at home on our TVs via YouTube or Vimeo.
Thank you for this video documentary. Others and I have suggested that TI needs more original videography to gain a greater readership. For example, although I will read the related TI article, I first viewed the video (similar to my reading the transcripts after viewing most of the Democracy Now! videos). I am pleased to see that this is a TI production with Ms. Poitras as a producer.
Thanks, we agree!
Ditto to that. This documentary is what I had hoped the venue would produce and I look forward to more such worthwhile fare.
Thank you for watching!
So Stephen Maing is an admirer of Laura Poitras?