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The ink of freedom: 'Defiant Ones' and the story of Phillis Wheatley

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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower of Camp VI detention facility is seen on April 17, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The U.S. has transferred Guantanamo detainee Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush back to his home country of Algeria citing that his continued detention was no longer necessary, the Department of Defense announced Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Guantanamo Bay detainee sent to Algeria, leaving just 30 prisoners at site

The Pentagon said Thursday that an Algerian prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility will be transferred back to his home country, leaving 30 prisoners at a site that once held hundreds of alleged jihadis rounded up in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

April 20, 2023
This image made from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira, in T-shirt and shorts, being taken into custody by armed tactical agents on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Mass. (WCVB-TV via AP)

Low-level National Guard Airman arrested over sensational intel leaks

The FBI on Thursday arrested 21-year-old National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira in connection with a massive leak of highly classified U.S. intelligence documents, while suspicions deepened that the leak might have become intertwined with a disinformation and influence operation run by a foreign adversary of the United States.

April 13, 2023
President Joe Biden talks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Biden is traveling the United Kingdom and Ireland in part to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Biden administration in full-blown damage control mode as leak scandal grows

Key lawmakers demanded answers Tuesday as outrage grew over a major leak of highly classified government documents, with U.S. allies left fuming by apparent American spying efforts and foes openly gloating over a deeply embarrassing scandal that has caught the Biden administration off guard.

April 11, 2023
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony to commemorate South Korean soldiers killed in three major clashes with North Korea in the West Sea in past years, at the national cemetery in Daejeon, South Korea, Friday, March 24, 2023. Leaders of the U.S. Congress have invited Yoon to address a joint meeting during a visit to Washington later this month. (Im Hun-jung/Yonhap via AP, File)

After leak of secret documents, South Korea to raise spying allegations with U.S.

South Korean officials said Sunday they will "come up with our response accordingly" after revelations that the U.S. reportedly spied on its close ally and gathered signals intelligence related to South Korea's internal debate over weapons sales to the U.S., and Seoul's fears that those weapons would ultimately end up in Ukraine.

April 9, 2023
The shadow of Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, are cast on a large representation of the Yemeni flag as they attend a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, April 16, 2015. Rare protests have erupted against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Thursday, March 24, 2023, following the funeral of a popular critic found dead after he was detained by the group. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) **FILE**

Yemen crisis resists resolution despite Iran-Saudi thaw

The recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran brought with it renewed hope that a comprehensive, lasting peace deal may be on the horizon in Yemen, home to a near decade-long civil war that has fueled one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet.

April 6, 2023
In this image released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, a U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the United States on Feb. 3, 2023. (Department of Defense via AP) ** FILE **

Balloon collected secret intel for China; revelation counters Biden assurances

China's suspected spy balloon gathered intelligence from sensitive American military sites as it flew across the U.S. in late January and early February, according to new reports Monday, fueling questions about why President Biden allowed the craft to travel across the country before it was shot down by U.S. military fighter jets off the South Carolina coast.

April 3, 2023
The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich is shown in this undated photo. Russia's security service arrested the American reporter for The Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent has been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War, the Federal Security Service, known by the acronym FSB, said Thursday, March 30, 2023. The newspaper denied the allegations and demanded his release. (The Wall Street Journal via AP)

Russian spy charges for U.S. reporter spark outrage

Russian authorities arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter Thursday on allegations of espionage, sparking a furious reaction in Washington, adding fresh tension to already icy U.S.-Russian relations and stoking fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin has fully embraced a new strategy as retaliation for Western opposition to his war in Ukraine.

March 30, 2023
An undated photo provided by the Department of Energy shows crude oil pipes at the Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas. (Department of Energy via AP, File)

Kremlin energy leverage in Europe evaporates as war grinds on

The U.S. has overtaken Russia as the top crude oil supplier to Europe, new data show, capping a remarkable 12-month period that saw Moscow's plan to use its position as an energy superpower as a weapon against Europe collapse amid strong Western opposition to the war in Ukraine.

March 29, 2023