WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to his homeland Australia aboard a charter jet on Wednesday, hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concludes a drawn-out legal saga.
The criminal case of international intrigue, which had played out for years, came to a surprise end in a most unusual setting with Assange, 52, entering his plea in a U.S. district court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. The American commonwealth in the Pacific is relatively close to Assange’s native Australia and accommodated his desire to avoid entering the continental United States.
Assange was accused of receiving and publishing hundreds of thousands of war logs and diplomatic cables that included details of U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. His activities drew an outpouring of support from press freedom advocates, who heralded his role in bringing to light military conduct that might otherwise have been concealed from view and warned of a chilling effect on journalists. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
Assange raised his right fist as he emerged for the plane and his supporters at the Canberra airport cheered from a distance. Dressed in the same suit and tie he wore during his earlier court appearance, he embraced his wife Stella Assange and father John Shipton who were waiting on the tarmac.
*who committed espionage.
I’m sorry if this is a bit too unrelated but would you say the same about Snowden?
I’m not as well informed on Assange but I tend to find the “espionage” criticism lacking, personally, since it seems to mainly favor the generally terrible foreign policy actions of the US empire and not so much the people of the US who are for the most part against those actions but have little recourse what with the 2 party system and having a plutocratic system of government
Yes. I applaud them both for whistleblowing. They really fucked up by not redacting names. It’s reckless and dangerous. Assange should’ve known better, having been a professional journalist.
https://www.businessinsider.com/snowdens-cache-of-secrets-likely-means-life-or-death-for-several-people-2013-11
Oh weird, that was not the impression I got from the many comments you made criticizing them for their brave actions.
I would tend to blame any negative fallout on the US government, personally. If they weren’t committing atrocities regular people wouldn’t have had to take the huge risk/be put at risk.
It’s like getting upset at a victim of police brutality for not working with the police
Their actions were brave until they became clouded by fame. Then both of them made it about leverage and made crucial mistakes that lead to threatened lives. I supported them in the past, prior to their dangerous missteps. I no longer comment in support of either of them.
A good example of responsible whistleblowing would be from the recent resignations from the Department of Defense. They gave very detailed accounts of information suppression while they were tasked with collecting information on civilian casualties in Gaza. None of the information they disclosed exposed confidential informants or put lives at risk.
It’s not just possible to be a responsible whistleblower, it’s imperative.
You’re saying they should’ve just resigned? How would we have learned about PRISM without evidence?
I don’t know what you’re referring to about info suppression. Did we learn anything or just that we don’t know everything? How is that more helpful? Or, for who is it more helpful?
No, I’m saying they shouldn’t have left the names unredacted in their leaks. That put people in danger.
Assange was a journalist. He wasn’t a government official.
Do you think they could’ve done that and chose not to?
It seems like you’re saying they shouldn’t have done what they did because it wasn’t executed perfectly which feels awfully like what MLK was criticizing in his letter from a Birmingham jail, people that support things in theory but never in reality and that always seem to solely criticize the actions/methods of those fighting for justice
Absolutely. Assange especially. He is fully aware of the redaction standards in journalism.
They both started out as legitimate whistleblowers, disclosing government corruption responsibly. Once they became famous/infamous, they both went down the slippery slope of power corruption and risked people’s lives for clicks. I have no respect for it.
some might call it espionage. others might just call it journalism.
He leaked unredacted confidential information that directly led to the assassination of Afghani informants.
That’s a little more than just “sloppy journalism.”
that’s your opinion.
He pled guilty. It’s his opinion too.
do you see another way for him to go home? i don’t believe any guilty pleas, given how malicious prosecution is used as a cudgel.
That’s your prerogative, and your opinion. If he were responsible in his duties as a journalist, and redacted the names of informants and agents, I’d have a different opinion. I think his actions were reckless and irresponsible.
he isn’t being prosecuted for failing to redact names
Chelsea Manning faced trial was convicted, and has been free since 2017, and she got to cuck Elon Musk, that is a true hero. She didn’t handle leaking the information in the best way, and was given bad advice by Assange, but she didn’t get kicked out of an embassy for running an election interference campaign.
this reads like 5 non-sequiturs.
Should have thought of that before taking Putin’s side. Espionage is a messy business where the government that funds you will abandon you.
He helped a government get the candidate of their choice elected by manipulation of data dumps and spent a month before the election screaming how he had more dirt on one candidate.
I object to the supposition that Russia wanted trump to win. I believe Russia wanted Americans divided and trump was simply a means to that end.
Ok you reject it. Let me know how that goes for you.
going great, thanks!
Really? In what way? Be exact
Removed by mod
Don’t gaslight me. I remember that Russian agent in October 2016 yelling about Hillary Clinton and stuff he said he had on her. Literally every single time I heard, read, or watched the news his fucking face was there going on and on about the embassy bombing or the emails.
Sorry your boy sucks Putin off but I am willing to bet when he does the condom doesn’t mysteriously break.
it’s not gaslighting. you are making assumptions about motivations that directly contradict what he has said.
Did he or did he not repeatedly claim to have dirt on Hillary Clinton one month before the election?
No evasions, no reframing, answer the question please.
I don’t recall in particular, but even if he did, you are making a leap to claim he was working for Russia or trump
What part of yes or no question did you not understand?
I don’t recall works for politicians trying to hide their boy toys, not here.