A Correct Assesment That The Arrest Of Julian Assange Is An Attack On Investigative Journalism
- Thread starter Ponca Dan
- Start date
I tend to agree, but I want to see how this all plays out. I doubt we know what the whole story is how how much of this is for show.
I completely agree. In fact, I was for Assange and Wikileaks back when only the conservatives liked him for leaking details of the Obama administration activities followed by the Clinton emails. I just find it hypocritical that for the 7 years he's been forced to live in hiding no one cared and in fact, many in the same media clamored for his arrest.
Article below is from the Times in 2011 when Wikileaks was first founded. This paragraph was page 4 of the story, aka meakly buried near the very end:
But while I do not regard Assange as a partner, and I would hesitate to describe what WikiLeaks does as journalism, it is chilling to contemplate the possible government prosecution of WikiLeaks for making secrets public, let alone the passage of new laws to punish the dissemination of classified information, as some have advocated. Taking legal recourse against a government official who violates his trust by divulging secrets he is sworn to protect is one thing. But criminalizing the publication of such secrets by someone who has no official obligation seems to me to run up against the First Amendment and the best traditions of this country. As one of my colleagues asks: If Assange were an understated professorial type rather than a character from a missing Stieg Larsson novel, and if WikiLeaks were not suffused with such glib antipathy toward the United States, would the reaction to the leaks be quite so ferocious? And would more Americans be speaking up against the threat of reprisals?
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html
I've read a dozen other dated articles from Mother Jones, Vanity Fair and CNN on Assange and WikiLeaks and none of them mentioned any concern with Assange being indicted or locked away in the Ecuador embassy. Its actually another example of the media refusing to stand against Obama (even when they should have, such as here).
Article below is from the Times in 2011 when Wikileaks was first founded. This paragraph was page 4 of the story, aka meakly buried near the very end:
But while I do not regard Assange as a partner, and I would hesitate to describe what WikiLeaks does as journalism, it is chilling to contemplate the possible government prosecution of WikiLeaks for making secrets public, let alone the passage of new laws to punish the dissemination of classified information, as some have advocated. Taking legal recourse against a government official who violates his trust by divulging secrets he is sworn to protect is one thing. But criminalizing the publication of such secrets by someone who has no official obligation seems to me to run up against the First Amendment and the best traditions of this country. As one of my colleagues asks: If Assange were an understated professorial type rather than a character from a missing Stieg Larsson novel, and if WikiLeaks were not suffused with such glib antipathy toward the United States, would the reaction to the leaks be quite so ferocious? And would more Americans be speaking up against the threat of reprisals?
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/magazine/30Wikileaks-t.html
I've read a dozen other dated articles from Mother Jones, Vanity Fair and CNN on Assange and WikiLeaks and none of them mentioned any concern with Assange being indicted or locked away in the Ecuador embassy. Its actually another example of the media refusing to stand against Obama (even when they should have, such as here).
Assange has pissed off both sides of the aisle in Washington.
If all he did was report that is one thing, if he assisted with the hacks that is out of bounds IMO.
MSM can get away with blatant obvious lies that is harmful to this country to influence policy makers and the public, Wiki in these instances posted facts. Should come down to how it was obtained.
MSM getting all upset about protecting journalists is a joke considering in this country we have zero journalists and a bunch of politically loyal editorialists.
If all he did was report that is one thing, if he assisted with the hacks that is out of bounds IMO.
MSM can get away with blatant obvious lies that is harmful to this country to influence policy makers and the public, Wiki in these instances posted facts. Should come down to how it was obtained.
MSM getting all upset about protecting journalists is a joke considering in this country we have zero journalists and a bunch of politically loyal editorialists.
This is a fact, and its why the media has zero credibility.
I disagree with much of what you have said/speculated. To begin with there is no evidence that Assange assisted in any hack. The "evidence" provided in the indictment is that he encouraged Manning to get him more information. If that is now a crime the people in this country will never again learn anything secret and illegal our government agents do in our name. To say he assisted is a prime example of fake news that is provided the MSM by the "intelligence community." That the MSM is providing the public with such lies is as concerning as the government's attack on investigative journalism itself. (So in that regard we are in agreement.) Actually there are many journalists that are doing everything in their power to provide legitimate news. A surprising number of them come from the left side of the aisle. Glenn Greenwald of theintercept.com, for example, has spent the last two-three years debunking the "Russian collusion" mantra that has consumed this country.
Obama, for all his lies and illegal maneuvers, at least did not pursue Assange, precisely because he was concerned that demanding a "show trial" would be an attack on the free press, and he did not think he could get away with it.
There are a lot of good things to say about Donald Trump's presidency. But in this instance he is weaseling out like a coward. He loved Assange when Hillary's emails were released. Now he tells us he doesn't know anything about it, that's not his "thing." None of us should let him get away with such cowardice. He should be the recipient of a million letters/emails demanding he man up and stop this.
If the "Leader of the Free World" is so afraid of the deep state our liberty, our heritage in serious jeopardy.
I said if he assisted....some are saying he assisted in hacking the servers, I have no idea if true. Like all else, innocent until proven guilty. If he is innocent then Assange should look forward to having a trial. Being a journalist should also not be free reign to hack for state secrets, that is a dangerous precedent as well.
Like the Mueller investigation, if the reason for charges is real flimsy, that needs to be answered as well.
Problem here? Assange has no friends on either side of the aisle, this is not a Prez issue, Assange exposed DNC secrets and exposed the neocons reasons for making a march to war. Both sides want him silenced, he has made all of Washington an enemy. This is one issue both sides of the aisle agree on, which is real unusual right now.
As for Trump? Since when does he play the part of the FBI and DOJ and determines if a crime was possibly committed and if it should be investigated and tried? That would be a dictatorship. Trump is smart to keep his mouth shut right now.
Let’s hope both sides of the deep state can not interfere with true justice. We need true justice in this instance and probably like you I am concerned if our justice system is blind, but that is a whole other issue.
I am neutral right now until we know all the facts. If he just published what was given to him? I say he should walk. If he truly assisted in carrying out a crime? He should pay the price and not be able to hide behind a journalistic badge.
Last edited:
If Obama was really such a good guy he could have pardoned Assange on the way out the door. The only thing that kept Obama from getting Assange was Obama's apparent respect for the sovereignty of Ecuador.
I appreciate the reply! I am neutral as well. This is not a partisan issue, as I have said several times on different occasions/threads. But it is important to understand that this is happening on Trump's watch. You know perfectly well he could put a stop to it if he had the will. He's trying to play both sides here, playing politics with Assange's future, and our constitutional protections. He needs to grow a pair and tell the establishment from both teams they can't win this one, at least while he's in charge.
The US government under the watch of both Obama and Trump has brought pressure on both England and Ecuador from the beginning. It is only recently they found a way to bribe the Ecuadorian leader enough for him to betray international law, with the UK joining in. I pray the judge throws the whole thing out in June.
Trump does everything he can to clear Assange the Dims will use this as “evidence” Trump colluded with Russia and he is trying to hide something. Trump is best to keep his mouth shut.
It is a shame we do not have more confidence in the justice system currently. Assange situation exposes 2 important issues currently: Freedom of the press and a justice system that is fair and impartial for all.
I wish the FBI, CIA, DOJ, and our court system was so respected that all politicians stayed out of the entire criminal process.
I wish we had real journalists in this country that did real and honest investigative reporting instead of the editorial political cheerleading they engage in.
The whole Assange situation touches on many things that are not exactly in the best shape that it has been in this country.
You are right. Trump can't pardon Assange thanks to his "I Love Wikileaks" quote during the campaign. The same people who are labeling Assange's arrest as censorship of the press would instead be hollaring "See, he was partnered with Wikileaks and the Russians, and this pardon proves it." That said, I wish he would pardon him as its the right thing to do.
