Assange Lawyer Reveals The Pentagon Was Behind Bringing Down WikiLeaks’ Assange
In Brief
- The Facts:One of Assange's lawyers has confirmed that it was the Pentagon who was behind the smear and aggression to bring down Julian Assange, not the Obama admin.
- Reflect On:Why does our government's work so hard to protect secrets related to wrongdoing that no one supports? Why do we spend more time arguing over if Assange is right or wrong when we already know the actions of our governments are dreadful?
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Assange lawyer Geoffrey Robertson was granted a meeting with Obama administration insiders and had asked if they “really wanted” the publisher so they could access his whistleblowers and because he warned that “there are dangerous precedents here,” Robertson said they responded simply:
We don’t want him, but the Pentagon does, and the Pentagon may eventually get its way.
Robertson spoke to Obama administration
insiders after he learned of a secret grand jury they had convened
against Assange in 2010, he explained to Phillip Adams on ABC’s Radio National on Thursday.
Robertson reminded them that charging a journalist under national
security laws had serious First Amendment implications, but the Obama
team was already aware of the kind of precedent it would set. If this
goes through, journalists will essentially be silenced from exposing
government secrets – not only systemically, but through fear of life in
prison.
Interestingly, the Obama administration
charged more leakers under the Espionage Act than all previous
administrations combined, but it never sought to go after a journalist
or publisher. This is something new, and dangerous, all together. It
reveals the true nature of how far government agencies will go to
protect their secrets.
According to award-winning journalist John Pilger, the Pentagon’s campaign enacted the media to destroy Assange’s reputation as “threats of exposure [and] criminal prosecution” were used to rid the public “feeling of trust”
towards the core of WikiLeaks’ operations. In many cases, this worked.
Look how many mainstream media outlets who long profited off of
Assange’s work early on but have now turned on him. Was this at the call
of ‘higher powers?’ or are they simply following up with natural
responses to a heavy smear and disinformation campaign?
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Assange is currently in jail for 50 weeks for skipping bail after he spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was recently too ill to appear at
a hearing at Westminster magistrates court in relation to the US
request. More recently, the British home secretary Sajid Javid signed
the extradition order to send Julian Assange to the US. This now leaves
the final decision to the courts. It’s likely that the extradition
decision process will take many months to decide in court.
In late May Assange was hit with 17
criminal charges under the espionage act when a federal grand jury in
Virginia returned a brand new indictment. All are in connection with the
alleged leaks publicly released in conspiracy with Chelsea Manning. All
charges combined could land him in prison for 170 years, all for doing
what many are arguing are responsible and important acts of journalism.
WikiLeaks has never had to make a retraction on their journalistic work.
Of course, Assange’s arrest has been
controversial since it happened. Garnering opinions from many directions
including that he is a hero and that he is a villain that must be
prosecuted for revealing government secrets. Demers responded to
supporters of Assange who feel the WikiLeaks founder was being targeted
for work as a journalist. Demers stated this information put the sources
at risk, and that no “responsible” journalist would publish it.
If he is found guilty of his charges,
which is highly unlikely considering no “national security” defendant
has ever won a case in the Eastern District of Virginia court where he
will be tried, it’s also unlikely they will acquit him. Thus, Assange
facing 170 years in prison is a very real thought.
The Takeaway
Some still believe Assange is being
brought back to the US to be a witness in bringing to light the crimes
of people like Hillary Clinton and her cronies. I still do not see solid
evidence of this and instead see a situation developing that has very
serious implications on journalistic work and truth, not to mention
destroying the life of an innocent man.
Regardless, this presents an opportunity
for questioning. Why does our government’s work so hard to protect
secrets related to wrongdoing that no one supports? Why do we spend more
time arguing over if Assange is right or wrong when we already know the
actions of our governments are dreadful? Are we not simply being
distracted by them? Good ol’ bait and switch?
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