As the US prepares to try to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange through extradition, the Justice Department has revealed a new series of charges against him. Assange would face 170 years in US prison if convicted.
The new allegations include 17 separate charges under the Espionage Act. According to the Justice Department, the charges are all related to leaking classified documents related to national security, which were part of the leaks from Chelsea Manning, who the US has already indefinitely jailed for refusing to testify against Assange.
This sets up a potentially very controversial case. Though also used to prosecute proper spies for foreign governments, the Espionage Act of 1917 has been used repeatedly to target journalists and those who provided information to journalists. Its use against the press has historically been deeply criticized.
The Trump Administration has tried to push a narrative in which, even though WikiLeaks behaves like a journalistic outlet, they are something distinct, almost certainly an argument that envisioned having to argue a case like this as being something other than rank censorship of the media.
If the conviction of Assange is successful, it would have a chilling effect on the American press, and indeed the international press since Assange wasn’t American nor in America during the “crimes” in question, establishing that the US government can jail journalists for reporting on their embarrassing secrets.
Swedish prison first.
Assange won’t go there, Dave R. He hasn’t committed any crimes in Sweden. Once the prosecutor has thrown out the cases in question, it’s GAME OVER!
Anybody up for a jailbreak?
The Espionage Act of 1917 was passed under Woodrow Wilson.
Wilson ran for POTUS claiming he would keep the USA out of WW 1. He was already planning to do just that when he ran for his second term.
If a citizen lies to an agency of the government it is a crime. But if the government (chief executive officer (POTUS)) lies to the citizens it’s OK???
Why is that?
Very simple; Hierarchical governments service capital growth and acquisition. Study the Yellow Vests, the Mexican war on family farms and Canadian mining industries that treat British Columbians ust as bad as Guatemalans or Hondurans.
Evolution is accelerating at an accelerating rate and humanity has figured out representative democracy is a tool capitalists use to manage national populations.
constituentassembly.org points in a new direction, try the voting link
Disgraceful.
Pontius Pilate Trump has washed his hands of this affair.
We are wasing time speculating. Assange will not live long enough for any of this to matter. He is in a possession of a damgerous secret. Who gave him the DNC e-mails. Russia story and the whole subsequent circus tarted there. If DNC had enough power to refuse FBI investigation into their servers, and subvert blatantly our entire system of proper investigation, leaving a lose end like Assange, would make no sense. After refusing investigation, DNC and their brigades unleashed a torrent of “sixteen agencies agree” story, boldly lying about supposed investigation into Russian hacking — investigation that never happened. Hillary’s friend, Dmitry Alperovuch produced an embarassing report of hacking, and CIA bashed FBI into succumbing to the narrative of “Russian” patern, without EVER laying hands on those servers. Having torpedoed the due process of investigation, and getting away with it — now only Assange can tell how the e-mails ended up in Wilileaks possession.
Regrettably, I believe you’re correct, Bianca.
But Assange is so bright and technically talented he’s probably got a vault of other information that would be released on his arrest of death.
Don’t you think?
Best,
David
I agree. But keep in mind who are we dealing with. Humans worry about their safety and safety of their loved ones. We have learned all we need to learn when DNC declared a foreign government responsible for hacking their servers and Trump of colluding, being the beneficiary — thus comitying treason. FBI — our counterintelligence bidy requests access to servers, and was refused. Twice. And testified to Congress of the fact. Then a Clinton associate, Alperovich produces a technically embarrassing report, CIA seizes upon it, declares it credible. and the myth of 16 agencies agreeing takes hold. People with this kind of power do not worry about legality. Think how Snowden paoers have been taken away by the same clique, and journalists bamboozled — now after publishing few innocuous things — publishing stopped, citing costs! As chunks of intelligence apparatus have been privatized to the likes of Bezos — thecsystem has been compromised by private interests.
I am an optimist and believe that evil will not win — as it always devours itself — i suggest it is nore dangerous then we allow ourselves to believe.
On your last two points in the last paragraph I agree wholeheartedly. Winning this battle against an entrenched and powerful enemy is never easy or short.
We are living in modern version of Caligula times.
Tulsi Gabbard and Mike Gravel are the only Democratic candidates calling for dropping all charges against Julian Assange and pardoning Edward Snowden. Sanders has been silent on Assange and previously called for punishing Ed Snowden.
Tulsi says that Assange’s arrest is a threat to “all Americans” not just the free press.
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWyFpSqxR94
See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1jWNZlTtM0
In her interview with Joe Rogan last week Gabbard said: “We have got to address why [Snowden] did things the way that he did them,” she said. “You hear the same thing from Chelsea Manning, how there is not an actual channel for whistleblowers like them to bring forward information that exposes egregious abuses of our constitutional rights and liberties, period. There was not a channel for that to happen in a real way, and that’s why they ended up taking the path that they did, and suffering the consequences.”
Gabbard told Rogan that she remembers the day she first read the details about mass surveillance in the American press. “I was shocked,” she said.
“That was something that Snowden uncovered and released, something that I don’t know that even as members of Congress we would have been aware of,” Gabbard continued. “So now that we are aware of it, we can take action to close those loopholes, to change those policies, to protect our civil liberties… Was the NSA going to disclose that information voluntarily? Absolutely not.”
See: https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-julian-assange-edward-swowden-pardon-dropped-charges-joe-rogan-1425802
Sanders is a goid party soldier. Last time he damaged Hillary. This time, he was asked to committ political suicide just before Biden announced his candidacy. He rambled sometnlhing about inmates voting, even terrorists. It is clear that this time they will not allow Sanders to mive out of line. If anyone steps outside party corporate line — this is because Party is alliwowing some well managed “diversity”.
Tulsi Gabbard may be a real thing, but she will remain in obscurity.. Media darkness.
Her party will destroy her if she takes herself seriously, and electorate responds.
Today, the big fat national insecrity pie must grow, not shrink.
Damage Hillary? Sanders ENDORCED hillary and said he would endorse whoever won this primary again! The only people to damage Hillary was Assange and Seth Rich.
I am talking of the primary battle — which as you know did pit Sanders voters bitterly against Hillary. Endorsing or not — there was nothing that could be done to make many Bernie supporters vote for Hillary. The bruises of that primary are still haunting democrats. Or I should say haunting those fossils running the party. So, the fossils decided that Bernie better say something so stupid at the beginning — to put him in the crowd of other marginals, and pave way for Biden. They are counting in their vote generating machinery to gather all agrieved minorities through their marginal candidates, and then get the middle of the road voters to support Biden.
But the fossils are not willing to accept that the world is changing, and that chaos created by Trump will be the very reason fir electing him again. Biden has a choice of saying that things are fine, and Trump irrational, or accept that there are problems — however generated — and act like he is ready to wrestle with them.
There is no place for Sanders here.
Besides Seth Rich, Assange knows the truth. Hopefully he dicumented it, and left in trusting hands for safekeeping. As if his life depended on it.
“Endorsing or not” see this is why we never get anywhere. Either he’s going to defend his own supposed positions, or not.
“The bruises of that primary are still haunting democrats.” are you 12? This is what happens EVERY GOD DAMNED PRIMARY! I’m old enough to remember Dukakis. You?
Furthermore, the reason this keeps happening is because people put party loyalty above the issues. Talking about “fossils” is quite telling. Do you really think you’re not repeating the same errors?
We need to rally around the only antiwar candidate right f-ing now or else it’s going to be Biden or some other schlub.
“We need to rally around the only antiwar candidate”
There’s no such thing as “the only antiwar candidate.”
I agree with you in principle, supporting antiwar candidate. But we will not agree in the anslysis of the political process today, which is entirely different from years ago. I have used Sanders as an example of the decay of partisan politics, and their corporate approach to voting.calculus. Sanders followers did not appreciate Sanders endorsing Hillary. Many if them probably did not vote. When I saw Sanders talk like an idiot about jailed, violent criminals having the right to vote — it all made sense. This time around corporate discipline was enforced, and Buden was not to face anyone who can attract a solid folliwing.
Both parties are corporations, and candidates audition for corporate funds. Candidate’s job is to be able to attact voters with maleable narrative, and if successful, the narrative is adjusted to party policies and politics.
Candidate like Trump was possible by taping into sentiments of alienated populace and in reaction to elitism more and more divirced from reality. But getting himself imposed upon the party, he is not forgiven.
Candidates like Tulsi Gabbard cannot be a one trick ponny. She needs to take her platform down to earth, and make it relevant to large segment of populace. Otherwise, party will ignore her. Her only hope us to get large popular following — and convince people that she can do it. That she is not their scribe.
She has a full platform already
I’ll stick with Tulsi, Mike Gravel’s too much.
An excellent litmus test for basic human decency.
Thr Espionage Act has always been an embarssing part of US history.
How can Assange be charged under the Espionage Act if he isn’t even an American citizen? The PTB are just making this shit up as they go along. Why not charge Putin while they’re at it? None of this makes any sense whatsoever.
The rule of law is done for in the USA. We’re talking full-on fascism here. 9/11 was our Reichstag Fire. Run for it while you can or stay and fight, but know what you’re dealing with. Be ready for concentration camps, torture, extrajudicial “justice”, the whole deal.
Yep, Thomas. It seems that the U.S. believes in universal jurisdiction of it’s laws.
It’d be silly were it not so serious.
Best,
David
Assange is not coming to America anytime soon. The US government is a government of mendacious despots. Assange will fight and find a way to avoid sick tyrannical grasp of Uncle Sam. Let’s hope that some kind of divine intervention steps in.
He won’t be coming to the US at any time, Jace. The US can’t charge him at all under the Espionage Act .. He’s NEVER set foot on US soil; plus, he’s an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN, not that of the US. The Brits violated their own law when they arrested him, for the same reason .. He’s NOT a British citizen either.
What he did is NOT a criminal act; it was just another part of journalism. What he did was only ask Chelsea Manning to e-mail Wikileaks photos and data on US war crimes being committed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Other journalists have done similar things and nothing has happened to them.
It’s different with Edward Snowden. Even though he’s a whistleblower, the fact that he obtained highly classified material and disseminated it constitute a crime under the Espionage Act. He’ll never return to the US as he’s safe in Russia and doesn’t want to be tortured and face solitary confinement in a Super Max prison.
“Julian Assange has] NEVER set foot on US soil”
So did he use a stunt double or something? Someone CLAIMING to be Julian Assange made a presentation at the National Press Club in Washington DC in April, 2010.
Modern day Gandhi, he leaked the truth, yet he’ll be crucified.