1) Assange is not my hero. Wikileaks did important work early on but it lost the high ground in 2015-16.
2) His imprisonment was an outrageous abuse, and he understandably took the deal.
3) The guilty plea will leave a sword hanging over ALL national security journalism going forward.
4) Maybe you don't think Biden will use this precedent to shut down vital investigations, but you can be absolutely certain that Trump would -- and so will future administration.
@dangillmor grug. Not good
@dangillmor I don't think Trump will "use this precedent", he doesn't need it. I find it hard to believe that if the Biden administration had dropped the charges against Assange it would affect Trump's future attacks on journalism in any way.
Trump is going to attack journalism irrespective of what the Biden admin does or what precedents it sets.
(Edited: realized this came off way more argumentative/confrontational than I intended, sorry)
@dangillmor @cm I do think Biden would/will use this precedent to shut down vital investigations, but Trump would do so with pleasure and a vengeance.
@dangillmor
Whistle-blowers all over the world, even in seemingly unautocratic places are being jailed for revealing the truth.
Australia complained about Assange's incarceration, while at the sane time jailing someone for revealing how it cheated Timor Leste out of billions of resource revenues (the poorest nation on earth), by illegally tapping government phone lines while self-aggrandising as the saviour, or by jailing a senior employee of the federal taxation office who disclosed corruption
@dangillmor Biden can and will. Obama started it. It's a bipartisan endeavour, really.
@dangillmor if Assange had been deported to the US he would been convicted in a show trial. If the charges had been dropped this year it could have been started again at any time. For Assange this was the best deal in town.
It was a face saving matter for the US, but you are right, this might mean the end of a free press anywhere where the Americans are concerned.
Take what you can get?
@dangillmor Assange and his hatred for Hilary Clinton is one of the primary reasons we got Trump.
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Assange and his hatred for Hilary Clinton...
I'm not sure #JulianAssange hated her (not followed him) but as a real hardcore #whistleblower on #militaryindustrialcomplex in all countries (I assume) he hated her
True, #hillaryclinton lost, but she got 3 million more (national) votes, we can say, the #electoralcollege got us #tfg
Around the 2min point #elizabethwarren says "END the US Senate #filibuster" (and imo, the Electoral College too)
@6G @dangillmor The way he gradually released the DNC emails was intended to stay in the media spotlight and damage her in the polls. Without that attention on her for what amounted to "nothing burgers", she would have likely surmounted the limitations of the Electoral College.
RE
gradually released the DNC emails was intended to stay in the media spotlight and damage her in the polls
Right, the slow burn, it's deadly, effects the polls, which effect the voters on the fence
#Trump only won by _about_ 77k votes in 2016 (from 3 States) She had about 3 million more national votes
#Biden only won by _about_ 44k votes in 2020 (from 3 States) He had about 8 million more national votes
@dangillmor Fair enough, but I rejoice for him, Stella and child. He put his neck on the line and has done enough.
@dangillmor Generally agree but I’d push further on #1. Wikileaks attacked the USA in 2016 and did enormous damage.