Good for him - he’s less innocent than folks like Chelsea Manning or Edward Snowden but a heavy prosecution of him would definitely have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers. Did he release things at politically convenient times? Yes. Should that be illegal? Fuck no.
2016 Assange was a very different person than who he was in 2009. The espionage charges relating to the Chelsea Manning leaks were always bogus, but his involvement with the Trump campaign solidified him as a huge asshole in my mind.
Even back then, WikiLeaks was telling trump to claim the election was rigged and stolen. These are not the actions of a whistleblower, and it’s clear he was not a whistleblower (or working with whistleblowers) during this period and likely a mouthpiece for Russia to sow division in the US.
Agreed. Assange is not the good guy in this. No one is in this.
Legendary. That’s him cleared in Sweden, UK, and the US. Apparently they’re considering letting him return to Australia (his home country) as well. Godspeed, Assange!
Thats the catch, he has to fly home in a Boeing.
A whole new meaning to defenestration.
Im just imagining him being sucked out a window like a scene from Final Destination or something.
haha oh
“Cleared” is an interesting way to describe “pleaded guilty and sentenced to 62 months in prison.” Dude just already served 5 years.
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This is a real win for Biden. Despite all of Trump’s praise for Wikileaks, he did nothing about Assange.
Of course, this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t an election year, but it’s still a win.
In my opinion, absolutely. His legal exile lasted far too long… I think most people won’t even know this happened unless the late night shows pick it up.
I wonder how many people even remember who he is without a refresher at this point. The general public’s memory is short.
If only our politicians fought as hard for things during the non-election years too.
…especially once they’re serving their* second term.
[edit] they’re, their, there
I’m glad he is finally free and I’m always thankful to anyone who exposes war crimes and whistleblowers.
This seems like a big deal.
Great seeing far more sensible comments here compared with c/technology
Always suprising to see more on a whistle blower than the guys that actually did the war crime.
If Assange wasn’t in US territory when revealed classified information, why is he being judged by the US?
Was not the US should be judging the one/s who filtered the information and not who publish it?
Anyone involved in a crime committed on US soil can be charged with the crime.
Do you suppose hacking your computer should be legal provided the hacker is in Russia?
If it’s legal in Russia, they should not extradite.
If I post this picture to VK from my home in the US, should I be extradited to Russia for it?
You can certainly be charged in Russia.
Extradition is another matter.
Assange personally hacked the alleged computer in US soil? Cos as I see it he published classified information from outside the US so my question would be, you can be judged for publish classified information of the US even if you are not a US citizen? As far as I know the person/s accountable for the crime are ones who probably right now are working for the US govt…
The US alleges that Assange was part of a conspiracy to hack computers in the US, ie he was not just a passive receiver, he was involved in planning the hack.
The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense. Specifically, the superseding indictment alleges that Assange conspired with Manning; obtained from Manning and aided and abetted her in obtaining classified information
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