13th Dec 2022

New York Times urges U.S. to drop charges against Assange

If we allow the US to declare war on those who tell the truth, we have only ourselves to blame.

By Dylan Stableford

The New York Times and four European news organizations are calling on the U.S. Justice Department to drop its charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for obtaining and publishing classified diplomatic and military secrets.

“The U.S. government should end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets,” the editors of the Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El Pais wrote in a joint letter published Monday.

The prosecution of Assange under the Espionage Act, they said, “sets a dangerous precedent and threatens to undermine America’s First Amendment and the freedom of the press.”

In 2010, the same news outlets published a series of revelations stemming from WikiLeaks’ publication of a trove of classified military and diplomatic cables about U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In 2012, Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape allegations he denied. He remained inside the embassy until his eviction in 2019 and was arrested on a U.S. warrant. He is now being held in a British prison.

Assange is facing extradition to the United States and a sentence of up to 175 years in prison on charges of conspiring to help former U.S. Army analyst Chelsea Manning break into a classified Pentagon computer network to obtain and publish classified documents, an alleged violation of the Espionage Act of 1917.

In their letter, the news outlets noted that the World War I-era law has never been used to prosecute a publisher or broadcaster.

“Some of us are concerned about the allegations in the indictment that he attempted to aid in computer intrusion of a classified database,” the letter continued. “But we come together now to express our grave concerns about the continued prosecution of Julian Assange for obtaining and publishing classified materials.”

Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison after a court-martial trial in 2013. Then-President Barack Obama commuted most of her remaining sentence shortly before leaving office.

“Holding governments accountable is part of the core mission of a free press in a democracy,” the news outlets’ letter added. “Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists. If that work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker.”

He disclosed the war crimes of the US military to the world and the US wants to punish him for that. Any alleged hacking or stealing of documents is dwarfed in magnitude compared to the war crimes that were committed. This man needs to be freed now.

Please read more. He did not actively aid Chelsea Manning. This is a lie. 

Assange needs to be freed. He was doing his duty as a citizen and revealing unconstitutional and corrupt activity by the US government and others. That is what you call a free press. They are supposed to hold governments accountable. If he is imprisoned, then that makes us less free and our government unaccountable. Remember they are there with the CONSENT of the governed.  

I do remember Trump's consistent praise for Wikileaks throughout the '16 campaign. This all changed when Assange was taken into custody. He then claimed he didn't know much about Wikileaks. "It's just not my thing."

The USA (and some other western "democracies") abuse "Free Speech" as it's convenient for their governments, and this is an absolute example of it. They brag about it as proof of being a "democracy", then turn around and prosecute those who spill the beans. It's much more about WHO, than about WHAT... Trump showed us that no matter WHAT you do or say, it doesn't matter because of the WHO... In this specific case, he exposed the war crimes that USA was committing, hidden from USA citizens (and the world). Yes, EVERY CRIMINAL will try to keep his deeds secret.

Anybody remember Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers? The Espionage Act was abused 8 times by the Obama Administration on whistleblowers with politically embarrassing information - and the DNC led MSM sat back and cheered. Assange is no different than Ellsberg - a whistleblower that embarrassed a hyper sensitive, rogue administration.

The truth will set you free.

Reading through the comments, it's clear that there are a lot of folks from the FBI, CIA and Homeland Security posting in the comment section. Either that, or the overwhelming majority of my fellow citizens are 100% cool with the government violating our rights, and having their actions covered up with an array of confidential/top secret stamps.

He broke the law by pointing out how the US government was breaking the law. He is a hero, not a criminal. This behavior should absolutely be encouraged and repeated.

How about holding politicians accountable for THEIR actions for a change? They lie, break promises and enrich themselves in office with total impunity. Those are the real criminals that should be prosecuted...

Assange was just the whistleblower that denounced and exposed the crimes that they committed or were complicit to.

“Holding governments accountable is part of the core mission of a free press in a democracy,” the news outlets’ letter added. “Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists. If that work is criminalized, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker.”

The New York Times set the precedent by publishing the Pentagon Papers received from whistleblower Daniel Ellsburg. The courts ruled they had that right as journalists. What Julian Assange did was no different than what the New York Times did and had the backing of the legal precedence. previously set.

Come on Biden, no sanctioning anyone for jailing journalists? Forgot, it's us and different rules apply to us. This jailed guy pointed out how my own government was doing absolutely illegal things against our Constitution (surveilling all of us within our borders), and instead of making this guy the hero of the century, we are imprisoning him in broad daylight. By the way, I haven't heard of anyone in the government being thrown in prison yet. This is how one loses moral high ground and the world stops looking at one as a leader. Not good for US.

Assange and Snowden are both just handy Scapegoats, my biggest problem with both of these is NONE of what they revealed lead to any charges being brought against any of the Government Officials who were exposed for violating numerous LAWS.

Yes the information that came to him was leaked, just like the Gulf of Tonkin, Pentagon Papers, and a dozen other stories all published by the main stream media, INCLUDING the story he's being accused of releasing, that was printed in the NY Times. This is a warning shot at the free press and the 1st amendment. If Assange is found guilty, how long before freedom of speech itself is found guilty?

Politicians in general and select supporters are all but immune from being prosecuted.

Amen. It is time that Assange is recognized trying to keep America and her citizens informed and free. READ MORE: Julian Assange Gave Us Evidence the U.S. Commits War Crimes

Do yourself a favor. Think for yourself. Be your own person. Question everything. Stand for principle. Champion individual liberty and self-ownership where you can. Develop a strong moral code. Be kind to others. Do no harm, unless that harm is warranted. Pretty obvious stuff...but people who hold these things in their hearts seem to be disappearing from the earth at an accelerated rate. Stay safe, my friends. Thanks for being here.

READ MORE:

Thank you for stopping by. PLEASE scroll down to post to social media.