Julian Assange is free

[farmgirl]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13565295/Julian-Assange-agrees-plea-deal-Biden-avoid-prison.html

Julian Assange agrees to plead guilty to espionage in deal with the US that will allow the WikiLeaks founder to end imprisonment in Britain and return home to Australia

[sunny225]

Good.

[ohiodreamer]

Ok? I vaguely remember the name. But don't remember the situation. Guess I better check the web to remind me of who he is and what exactly he did. Seems pleading guilty to the US making him "free" is odd. But maybe that's just because I don't remember what's up, lol.

[Ozarks Tom]

ohiodreamer, His website, Wikileaks, exposed whistleblower information that embarrassed just a whole lot of people, both politically and militarily. Sort of like Edward Snowden who's currently living in Russia to avoid prison.

The US govt has been trying to put Assange in prison for years. He first took refuge at a S American embassy in London for a few years, then was arrested by the UK police awaiting extradition to the US.

[sunny225]

jimbovard.com/blog/2024/06/26/assange-is-free-but-feds-war-on-free-speech-continues/

Assange Is Free, But Feds’ War On Free Speech Continues

Unless we presume politicians have a divine right to deceive the governed, America should honor individuals who expose federal crimes.

by James Bovard

After 1,900 days locked away in Britain’s maximum-security Belmarsh prison, Julian Assange finally escaped this week and fled back towards his Australian homeland. His breakout was enabled by a shameless legal charade that was a far better choice than life in prison.

On Wednesday, Assange is scheduled to appear before a U.S. judge in the Northern Mariana Islands to enter a formal guilty plea to one charge of conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act, “receiving and obtaining” secret documents, and “willfully communicating” them “to persons not entitled to receive them.” The Espionage Act is a World War I relic that presidents are increasingly using to suppress exposure of U.S. government crimes at home and abroad. No wonder so many press organizations championed Assange’s cause, since this guilty plea sets a precedent to target far more journalists in the future. As Trevor Timm, the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, noted, the Justice Department wanted Assange “convicted under the Espionage Act for acts of journalism, which would leave many reporters exposed to the same.”

Assange’s lawyers cut a deal to assure that he would never have to appear before a judge in the notorious federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, which is known for harshly punishing anyone accused of tarnishing the image of the U.S. government or its Deep-State agencies. The Justice Department stated in its announcement of the settlement that the Pacific Ocean–based site was chosen “in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea.” The only thing that would have been more appropriate than Assange appearing in a Northern Mariana federal courtroom is if his case was being adjudicated by the U.S. Space Force on Mars, since the rationales for prosecution are so far out of this world.

Assange has been in the federal crosshairs ever since his organization, Wikileaks, released scores of thousands of documents in 2010 exposing lies and atrocities regarding the Afghan and Iraq wars, thanks to leaks from Army Corporal Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning.

Among other heroic achievements, Assange provoked some of America’s biggest political scoundrels to show their stripes. In 2010, Vice President Joe Biden denounced Assange as a “high tech terrorist.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bizarrely claimed that the disclosures were “not just an attack on America—it’s an attack on the international community,” and the leaks “tear at the fabric” of responsible government. Clinton never forgave Assange for exposing so many of her lies on foreign policy.

Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced WikiLeaks as a “non-state hostile intelligence service” and labeled Assange a “fraud,” “coward,” and “enemy.” Pompeo declared, “To give them the space to crush us with misappropriated secrets is a perversion of what our great Constitution stands for.”

But “our great Constitution” never intended for Washington to keep endless secrets from the American people. Former Vice President Mike Pence on Monday denounced the Assange-DOJ settlement: “There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.” But what about top government officials who deceive Americans to unjustifiably send U.S. troops into foreign combat? We’re still waiting for Pence to atone for his cheerleading for Bush’s Iraq War.

The Justice Department’s settlement with Assange is an example of how the Biden administration is marginally less odious than the Trump administration—at least on some issues. The Obama administration had considered indicting Assange but recognized that the legal case was both profoundly flawed and profoundly dangerous to free speech. Those impediments were no handicap for the Trump Justice Department to indict Assange. According to Yahoo News, “Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange…. Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred ‘at the highest levels’ of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. ‘There seemed to be no boundaries.’”

The fixation on destroying Assange was no aberration for the Trump era. Trump endlessly howled about the Deep State while his appointees persecuted Assange, Edward Snowden, and Daniel Hale, who exposed the civilian carnage from Obama’s drone killing program. Trump’s Justice Department invoked state secrets to cover up Bush-era torture atrocities and to shroud CIA bankrolling of murderous Syrian terrorist groups (those mischievous “moderate” rebels).

more at link

[Ozarks Tom]

I've no problem with Assange going free, he merely exposed the government's transgressions against its own people, including the nefarious actions of the DNC. Assange wasn't the traitor. The traitors were the ones who gave him the information in the first place, like the worm Manning. Whether that information should have become public is neither here nor there, as far as Assange is concerned he broke no laws publicizing information given to him for whatever reason. The government tried to prosecute for the Pentagon Tapes, but lost.

[farmgirl]

Jun 26, 2024 21:15:17 GMT sunny225 said:

jimbovard.com/blog/2024/06/26/assange-is-free-but-feds-war-on-free-speech-continues/

Assange Is Free, But Feds’ War On Free Speech Continues

Unless we presume politicians have a divine right to deceive the governed, America should honor individuals who expose federal crimes.

by James Bovard

After 1,900 days locked away in Britain’s maximum-security Belmarsh prison, Julian Assange finally escaped this week and fled back towards his Australian homeland. His breakout was enabled by a shameless legal charade that was a far better choice than life in prison.

On Wednesday, Assange is scheduled to appear before a U.S. judge in the Northern Mariana Islands to enter a formal guilty plea to one charge of conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act, “receiving and obtaining” secret documents, and “willfully communicating” them “to persons not entitled to receive them.” The Espionage Act is a World War I relic that presidents are increasingly using to suppress exposure of U.S. government crimes at home and abroad. No wonder so many press organizations championed Assange’s cause, since this guilty plea sets a precedent to target far more journalists in the future. As Trevor Timm, the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, noted, the Justice Department wanted Assange “convicted under the Espionage Act for acts of journalism, which would leave many reporters exposed to the same.”

Assange’s lawyers cut a deal to assure that he would never have to appear before a judge in the notorious federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, which is known for harshly punishing anyone accused of tarnishing the image of the U.S. government or its Deep-State agencies. The Justice Department stated in its announcement of the settlement that the Pacific Ocean–based site was chosen “in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea.” The only thing that would have been more appropriate than Assange appearing in a Northern Mariana federal courtroom is if his case was being adjudicated by the U.S. Space Force on Mars, since the rationales for prosecution are so far out of this world.

Assange has been in the federal crosshairs ever since his organization, Wikileaks, released scores of thousands of documents in 2010 exposing lies and atrocities regarding the Afghan and Iraq wars, thanks to leaks from Army Corporal Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning.

Among other heroic achievements, Assange provoked some of America’s biggest political scoundrels to show their stripes. In 2010, Vice President Joe Biden denounced Assange as a “high tech terrorist.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bizarrely claimed that the disclosures were “not just an attack on America—it’s an attack on the international community,” and the leaks “tear at the fabric” of responsible government. Clinton never forgave Assange for exposing so many of her lies on foreign policy.

Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced WikiLeaks as a “non-state hostile intelligence service” and labeled Assange a “fraud,” “coward,” and “enemy.” Pompeo declared, “To give them the space to crush us with misappropriated secrets is a perversion of what our great Constitution stands for.”

But “our great Constitution” never intended for Washington to keep endless secrets from the American people. Former Vice President Mike Pence on Monday denounced the Assange-DOJ settlement: “There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.” But what about top government officials who deceive Americans to unjustifiably send U.S. troops into foreign combat? We’re still waiting for Pence to atone for his cheerleading for Bush’s Iraq War.

The Justice Department’s settlement with Assange is an example of how the Biden administration is marginally less odious than the Trump administration—at least on some issues. The Obama administration had considered indicting Assange but recognized that the legal case was both profoundly flawed and profoundly dangerous to free speech. Those impediments were no handicap for the Trump Justice Department to indict Assange. According to Yahoo News, “Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange…. Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred ‘at the highest levels’ of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. ‘There seemed to be no boundaries.’”

The fixation on destroying Assange was no aberration for the Trump era. Trump endlessly howled about the Deep State while his appointees persecuted Assange, Edward Snowden, and Daniel Hale, who exposed the civilian carnage from Obama’s drone killing program. Trump’s Justice Department invoked state secrets to cover up Bush-era torture atrocities and to shroud CIA bankrolling of murderous Syrian terrorist groups (those mischievous “moderate” rebels).

more at link

Does Mike Pence really think anyone cares what he thinks? The democrats hate him and most republicans don't like him either.

[sunny225]

Assange is not an American citizen. If Assange were to murder a fellow Australian citizen, he cannot be charged with murder in the US. Washington’s position is that US law applies to the entire world and everyone in it. This is obvious from Washington sanctioning citizens of other countries that fail to meet Washington’s approval. From Washington’s standpoint, its “rules based order” are the laws for the entire world.

This is from Paul Craig Roberts. Just who does the US government think it is??

[farmrbrown]

Good point. Not surprisingly, the Australian, British and other foreign governments haven't made much of an objection on that point. Only an "American" can be considered a "traitor" to America.

www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/he-s-not-a-us-citizen-and-us-can-t-try-assange-for-treason-20211214-p59h9z.html

I have seen Julian Assange portrayed as a journalist, a whistleblower and as a traitor by the US government (“In a decent society, Assange is entitled to justice”, December 14). The fact is that neither he, nor any other Australian citizen, has ever had any formal requirement or commitment of loyalty or allegiance to the US government. It would therefore be an incredible stretch to describe his actions as treasonous. For the US to claim sovereignty over the globe and seek to apply their law to anyone anywhere in the world at will is sheer arrogance. The arrogance succeeds only because of the meek complicity of governments such as ours and that of Britain. Assange released material showing US forces committing atrocities during the Afghan war. This material made the US government look bad. They didn’t like it, expressed confected and selective moral outrage and hunted Assange down. Even if the extradition fails, the US government will have succeeded in warning off any other potential whistleblowers. John Slidziunas, Woonona



The Deputy PM has said that Julian Assange should either be put on trial in Britain or brought back to Australia. However, a trial outside the US is not likely. The alleged crime was against the United States and courts do not have authority to try someone except for violation of local criminal laws. Julian Assange was indicted in June 2020 by the US Federal Grand Jury in Virginia on multiple counts of criminal conspiracy. It is simply not a crime in Britain or Australia to violate the United States Code and British courts may not try someone for violating American criminal conspiracy laws unless the activity also happens to be a crime in Britain and then the trial would be under British criminal laws. Harry Melkonian, Vaucluse

Assange embarrassed the US and is paying a high price for doing so. There is no question deals have been done to keep Assange incarcerated without any conviction. According to the present Australian Coalition government, your Australian passport is not worth the paper it is written on. David Goldstein, Balgowlah

Assange broke no law on American soil and should not be tried for a crime there. Ron McQuarrie, Budgewoi

[Ozarks Tom]

We indict, arrest and convict, Russian/Chinese/Iranian/etc. spies and hackers frequently. There's no prohibition against charging foreign citizens with breaking American laws. Should we let a Canadian bank robber go home Scot free? Sure it would be a stretch to charge Assange with treason, and I don't know that he was charged, but the government basically charged him with espionage and citizenship doesn't play into it.

That said, he never should have been charged. He didn't steal or hack any of the information he publicized.

[farmrbrown]

Jun 27, 2024 21:23:49 GMT Ozarks Tom said:

We indict, arrest and convict, Russian/Chinese/Iranian/etc. spies and hackers frequently. There's no prohibition against charging foreign citizens with breaking American laws. Should we let a Canadian bank robber go home Scot free? Sure it would be a stretch to charge Assange with treason, and I don't know that he was charged, but the government basically charged him with espionage and citizenship doesn't play into it.

That said, he never should have been charged. He didn't steal or hack any of the information he publicized.

Citizenship DOES play into it. Yes, we can charge foreigners who break American laws but how, where and what is involved in prosecution depends upon the international treaties we've signed, and I'm not referring to extradition exclusively. It's technical and varies by case but it does matter. That's why he never set foot in this country again and only agreed to come to court in one of our territories, one closest to Australia.

But your analogy is good. If a Canadian robbed a bank in America, then ran back to Canada and gave his friend the money to hold for him, we might be able to extradite and jail the robber, but I doubt we could touch his friend except to retrieve the money. It would be up to Canada to determine if he faced any charges which is probably why Assange did 5 years in a British prison and got time served in his plea deal with us.

[BrewDaddy]

I guess I might be in the minority opinion on this and think the dood should have been prosecuted and he is in the wrong by doing this.

If a foreign national serving in their military offered to give me then later delivered classified documents, regardless of what they contained, I would be complicit in that act. Assange could have just turned him down, or reported the whole matter.

He made a choice and it cost him 12 years (so far) of his life.

bd

[David!]

I don’t believe Mr Assange did anything proud or noble. I can be charged with possession of stolen goods and prosecuted even if as we know Sawmill Jim did the stealing. Mr. Assange is no hero in my book. Frankly I feel sorry for Australia.

[wildhorseluvr]

I neither think he’s a hero or that he quite deserved his sentence. 
Don’t think much of him one way or the other. But I do resent selective justice. I can think of quite a few Dems who deserve a lot worse who will never see the inside of a jail cell. 

[farmrbrown]

All that would be well and good......provided that prosecuting the criminals in the U.S. gov't that he exposed were prosecuted just as zealously.