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Assange Is Free, But Feds’ War On Free Speech Continues
by Jim on June 26, 2024 1American Conservative, June 26, 2024
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
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Assange Is Free, But Feds’ War On Free Speech Continues - James Bovard
Assange is finally out of prison but the federal government war on free speech continues
jimbovard.com
Pizza gate came outta wiki leaks ...the msn went nuts over it for a reason and called anyone who even mentioned it a conspiracy nut.....YEP
