Posted on 05/24/2019 5:58:48 AM PDT by Steve1999
“Any thoughts from people smarter than me on this topic?”
Most likely I am not smarter than you. However, I once held a number of secret and top secret clearances. The government took those clearances in dead earnest as did everyone I had the honor of working with. Any breach of that trust would have resulted in severe punishment. We were all honored to perform the tasks my company agreed to and I like to think we contributed to the safety and security of America.
If this man solicited and encouraged treason then both the traitor and the solicitor should be punished. What they did is no different than if it was done by Russia or China, who both benefited from their efforts. The public does not have the right to know everything the government does on their behalf. If sources were sacrificed by these men then they should experience the full force of the law up to and including execution. Their irresponsible acts may have gotten men killed.
Starting sometime in the hippy era the government went from being the good guys to being the bad guys. The government is regularly portrayed as treasonous traitors who kill baby seals for fun. The other villain, of course, is horrible corporations who destroy the environment and have people killed for fun and profit. This is a sort of self-induced propaganda against America and Capitalism. In reality, the world has experienced the longest period of peace and prosperity because of America and American power which has been a benign hegemony keeping order since 1945. Capitalism, with a capital C, has brought more people worldwide out of poverty than any other means could have. Even the poor, at least in America, are fat because of it. (Yes, Capitalism kills by hardening your arteries.)
Agreed and well put.
Imagine what we could be if we didnt have so many crooked politicians.
But I guess a certain person is usually drawn to that life.
Doesn’t matter!
Was Assange in the U.S. when these “crimes” occurred?
Is he a U.S. citizen?
What Assange did exposed a lot of government corruption. We need more of that.
Not a single charge for “Russia”. Interesting...
Assange did some very, very good, and some inexcusably very, very bad.
That’s been clear from the get-go.
I guess a jury will decide.
I personally would like to see him leave prison alive.
But if he committed traitorous activity, then it is what it is.
What country was he a citizen of before all of this?
I guess it is espionage and not treason if you are not a US citizen?
It all hinges on whether he actually got involved with cracking the encryption and giving Manning material support in stealing the information.
If they can prove he did that, then he is not just some passive recipient of the information who then published it, he is an active participant in the theft of the information, and subject to the espionage laws. If they can’t prove that, then he is a member of the press with 1st amendment protections.
Assange is Australian. Australia is a member of FVEY, an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ecuador suspended his citizenship when they “sold” him to the US. Julian is screwed.
The court his case is before has a 97% conviction rate. Look up John Kiriakou if you wish to read how whistleblowers are treated.
He’s a traitor and a thief and should be dead.
note his imprisonment is for refusing to testify not espionage
Oh boy.
Do you think he helped or just received the info?
I guess this court wont consider damaging Hillary in their decision!
Nor should they, of course.
Well, from what I have heard they have logs from chat rooms to back up the contention that Assange helped Manning with the hacking. Guess we’ll see when they make the case in court.
Interesting read from April (with input from John Kiriakou)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/04/20/debunking-all-the-assange-smears/
Interesting read from April (with input from John Kiriakou)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/04/20/debunking-all-the-assange-smears/
*** note his imprisonment is for refusing to testify not espionage ***
I am very aware he received a Commutation on his 35 year sentence after serving seven years.
I am also aware that Assange is being prosecuted based on the exact same evidence that the Obama administration had access to when it was investigating him to see if he could be prosecuted for his role in the Manning leaks.
The Obama administration ruled it was impossible to prosecute him based on that evidence because it would endanger press freedoms.
Well then he’s in a lot of trouble.
He was a grown man.
He made the choices.
I’m of the mind that Assange is being prosecuted on this charge after refusing to pursue charges because they dare not pursue him over the DNC exchanges with the MSM and Hillary campaign. But that’s the beef.
I’m not saying that Assange is a saint or inncocent of broadcast of stolen government documents. I also don’t have enough familiarity with this case to know how it is different than the theft and publication of the Pentagon Papers that went through the courts in favor of the publication.
Thank you. I shall read it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.