Julian Assange Extradition Ruling

Discussion in 'Politics' started by ipatent, Dec 12, 2021.

  1. ipatent

    ipatent

    JULIAN ASSANGE’S U.S. EXTRADITION RULING STRIKES A BLOW TO PRESS FREEDOM

    Though Assange isn’t a traditional publisher, like, say, The New York Times, charging him under the Espionage Act for publishing government secrets could be a slippery slope in which more mainstream outlets are similarly prosecuted. “The U.S. government itself is endangering the ability of the media to bring to light uncomfortable truths and expose official crimes and cover-ups,” read a Friday editorial in The Guardian, one of the first outlets to publish revelations from the WikiLeaks cache. “The decision is not only a blow for his family and friends, who fear he would not survive imprisonment in the U.S.,” added Guardian editors. “It is also a blow for all those who wish to protect the freedom of the press.”
     
  2. exGOPer

    exGOPer

    “Drop the Podesta emails immediately,” Stone instructed, seeking to “balance the news cycle” after the release of the Access Hollywood tape. Thirty-two minutes later, WikiLeaks followed through.

    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/202...e-seems-like-another-trump-russia-smoking-gun
     
    Tony Stark likes this.
  3. gwb-trading

    gwb-trading

    Last edited: Apr 20, 2022
  4. Tony Stark

    Tony Stark

    Lock him up!!!!



    I was very surprised crooked Trump didn't pardon him with all the other criminals he pardoned considering Assage helped him win the election.
     
    wrbtrader likes this.
  5. wrbtrader

    wrbtrader

    Trump couldn't pardon him because Julian Assange is the key (the one with the info) about Russia's involvement in smearing Hillary Clinton...the hacking of the DNC.

    A Pardon will then allow Assange to tell all about Russia and Trump Campaign...something that both denied there wasn't anything there.

    wrbtrader
     
    Tony Stark likes this.
  6. themickey

    themickey

    Assange saga
    FBI restarts Julian Assange probe despite hopes of release
    By Matthew Knott June 1, 2023 https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...despite-hopes-of-release-20230531-p5dcoe.html

    his legal team was open to a David Hicks-style plea dealif required in order to secure his release from London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison and avoid a possible lengthy jail time in the US.

    Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said it appeared US prosecutors were trying to prepare a new indictment or a superseding indictment against Assange.

    “It shows they understand how weak the charges against Julian are and are trying to strengthen them,” he said.

    London Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism command delivered a letter to O’Hagan last week saying FBI officers in Washington, DC, wanted to speak to him.

    “The FBI would like to discuss your experiences with Assange/ WikiLeaks as referenced inThe Unauthorised Autobiography of Julian AssangeandGhosting,” the letter said, referring to the titles of the Assange autobiography and a 2014 essay by O’Hagan inTheLondon Review of Books.

    “I would not give a witness statement against a fellow journalist being pursued for telling the truth,” O’Hagan told this masthead.

    “I would happily go to jail before agreeing in any way to support the American security establishment in this cynical effort.”

    ‘I might have differences with Julian, but I utterly oppose all efforts to silence him.’

    Andrew O’Hagan, Julian Assange’s former ghostwriter
    O’Hagan said he was surprised the FBI investigation was still ongoing and he believes the attempt to interview him “shows some desperation on their part”.

    “They are using the Espionage Act to victimise an organisation that sought to hold governments to account,” he said.

    “I might have differences with Julian, but I utterly oppose all efforts to silence him.”

    A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed the letter was genuine, but said he could not comment further on the matter.

    [​IMG]
    Supporters including WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, Julian Assange’s father John Shipton and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood march in solidarity with Assange in February 2020. Westwood has since died.CREDIT:GETTY

    The letter stated that O’Hagan was being sought only as a witness and that his participation was voluntary.

    In his London Review of Booksessay, O’Hagan chronicled how he became increasingly disillusioned with Assange after being hired to ghost-write his biography, describing him as “thin-skinned, conspiratorial, untruthful, narcissistic”.

    “His pride could engulf the room in flames,” wrote O’Hagan, who has been nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize three times.

    O’Hagan spent extended time with Assange in 2011 – including 50 hours of interviews – for the first draft of an autobiography that was ultimately published against Assange’s wishes.

    [​IMG]
    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the case against Julian Assange should be brought to an end.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD

    Their conversations began only months after WikiLeaks shot to global prominence by publishing a massive cache of documents about the Iraq War and a tranche of secret US diplomatic cables, based on materials leaked by former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

    US authorities have charged Assange with 17 counts of breaching the US Espionage Act plus a separate hacking-related charge, accusing him of being a central figure in “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States”.

    Assange’s supporters have been buoyed by several recent developments, including US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy’sdecision last monthto meet with a cross-party delegation of Assange supporters to hear their concerns.

    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also changed his stance on the issue, saying it was time for the case against Assange to be brought to an end.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last month that “a solution needs to be found that brings this matter to a conclusion” and he had communicated his position to US officials.

    ”Mr Assange needs to be a part of that, of course, and so I’m hopeful that that will occur,” Albanese added, in comments that were widely interpreted as a reference to a possible plea deal between the US and Assange.

    Assange’s supporters say he is being punished for publishing embarrassing information, while prosecutors allege he “actively solicited” classified material and put lives at risk by publishing the unredacted names of people who provided information to US diplomats around the world.