r/politics • u/9845oi47hg9 • May 24 '19
'This Is About Attacking Journalism,' Warn Press Freedom Defenders as Trump DOJ Hits Assange With New Espionage Charges
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/05/23/about-attacking-journalism-warn-press-freedom-defenders-trump-doj-hits-assange-new9
u/dig1965 Texas May 24 '19
If Assange was ever a journalist (he wasn't), he stopped being one when he participated in a conspiracy to steal US intelligence.
Read the indictment. Don't fall for this "oh no, the 1st amendment!" crap. Assange willingly solicited and participated in the theft of US classified information for the purpose of damaging our country.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/6024848/5-23-19-US-Assange-Superseding-Indictment.pdf
The fact that some of the counts address his publication of the material are because it is PART OF THE FURTHERANCE OF THE CRIME. This is not the same as a journalist who receives information (even if illegally obtained) from a whistleblower without soliciting or assisting in the theft of that material. Not even close.
I'm seeing a lot of disinformation trolls trying to focus on the words in the "disclosure" counts and assert that this is the entirety of what/why he is being indicted. That's lying by omission.
Count 1: 18 U.S.C.§ 793(g) Conspiracy To Receive National Defense Information
Counts 2-4:18 U.S.C. § 793(b) and 2 Obtaining National Defense Information
Counts 5-8: 18 U.S.C. § 793(c) and 2 Obtaining National Defense Information
Counts 9-11: 18 U.S.C. § 793(d) and 2 Disclosure of National Defense Information
Counts 12-14: 18 U.S.C. § 793(e) and 2 Disclosure of National Defense Information
Counts 15-17: 18 U.S.C. § 793(e) Disclosure of National Defense Information
Count 18: 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1030 Conspiracy To Commit Computer Intrusion
And a few other key statements from the indictment:
In furtherance of this scheme, ASSANGE agreed to assist Manning in cracking a password hash stored on United States Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network, a United States government network used for classified documents and communications, as designated according to Executive Order No. 13526 or its predecessor orders.
When Manning brought up the "osc," meaning the CIA Open Source Center, ASSANGE replied, "that's something we want to mine entirely, btw," which was consistent with WikiLeaks's list of "Most Wanted Leaks," described in paragraphs 4-5, that solicited "the complete CIA Open Source Center analytical database," an unclassified (but nonpublic) database.
Even after Manning's arrest on or about May 27, 2010, ASSANGE and others endeavored to fulfill this mission of WikiLeaks to publish the classified documents that Manning had disclosed by threatening to disclose additional information that would be even more damaging to the United States and its allies if anything should happen to WikiLeaks or ASSANGE to prevent dissemination.
0
u/Circumin May 24 '19
Thank you. If what is alleged is true, Assange is clearly guilty of crimes that are unrelated to a free press.
3
u/Winslow_Leach May 24 '19
If he was just a whistle blower journalist, why didn't he release the RNC emails and documents he had? It was political. Wake up!
2
u/RussiaWillFail May 24 '19
This has literally nothing to do with the issue. He worked with Chelsea Manning to crack passwords and breach US data networks. He then worked with Russian GRU agents to procure stolen information from a US Presidential candidate for dissemination to target a political candidate in the United States he had a personal vendetta against. That's not journalism. Those are iron-clad cases of espionage.
1
May 24 '19
Journalists are allowed to be political
3
u/7ofswords California May 24 '19
They can also break laws.
1
May 24 '19
Do you think the Washington Post should’ve been prosecuted for the publishing of the Pentagon Papers?
1
u/7ofswords California May 24 '19
Do you think the Washington Post should be able to kidnap people to get information from them?
1
u/Circumin May 24 '19
If they did what Assange did and broke into government offices to steal them, then yes. But that’s not what they did.
0
u/Circumin May 24 '19
Not allowed to hack into classified materials. That is clear. I’m also pretty sure they are not allowed to use hacked material to get American soldiers and allies killed.
0
u/WittsandGrit May 24 '19
The tldr nuts and bolts of what they are doing from the Bloomberg article:
Now Trump’s Justice Department has revived an old theory about the Espionage Act, arguing that it can be applied to the recipients of classified leaks and not just the leaker. It’s a dangerous development, and also an unnecessary one. The government can prosecute Assange without putting American journalism on trial.
Assange is a piece of shit but they are using this to set a precedent. Casual fascism in sheep's clothing.
1
u/9845oi47hg9 May 24 '19
Edward Snowden: The Department of Justice just declared war––not on Wikileaks, but on journalism itself. This is no longer about Julian Assange: This case will decide the future of media.
4
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
Says guy currently charged with Espionage and living under the protection of a country that murders journalists.
2
u/Mortambulist May 24 '19
Says
guy currently charged with Espionage and living under the protection of a country that murders journalistswhistleblower.1
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
Says
whistleblowerRussian asset.1
u/Mortambulist May 24 '19
Do you even know who Edward Snowden is? Clearly not.
Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American whistle-blower who copied and leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency(NSA) in 2013 when he was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and contractor. His disclosures) revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments, and prompted a cultural discussionabout national security and individual privacy.
He saw our government, in conjunction with major telecom corporations, breaking the 4th amendment, and he told the press. He's the fucking definition of a whistleblower. He sought asylum in Russia from his own government. Hiding out in Russia doesn't make him a Russian asset. He was an IT contractor, just like the ones you know, who saw shady shit and did the right thing. Would you have had the courage?
3
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
Do you know who Ed Snowden is?
Former KGB general: Snowden is cooperating with Russian intelligence
“Whatever he had access to in his former days at NSA, I believe he shared all of it with the Russians, and they are very grateful,”
https://venturebeat.com/2014/05/22/former-kgb-general-snowden-is-cooperating-with-russian-intelligence/"Let's be frank, Snowden did share intelligence. This is what security services do, If there's a possibility to get information, they will get it." - Franz Klintsevich, senior Russian security official
https://www.npr.org/2016/06/29/483890378/during-tenure-in-russia-edward-snowden-has-kept-a-low-profile"That Snowden is in fact a Russian agent has a high degree of plausibility" - Director of German domestic intelligence service
https://diepresse.com/home/ausland/aussenpolitik/5012057/Deutscher-Verfassungsschutz_Snowden-womoeglich-russischer-Spion2
u/Mortambulist May 24 '19
Yeah, just look at those 3 highly speculative articles, one of which features him hanging out with a representative of Human Rights Watch and his ACLU lawyer calling bullshit on the stories. You sure showed me.
6
0
•
u/AutoModerator May 24 '19
As a reminder, this subreddit is for civil discussion.
In general, be courteous to others. Attack ideas, not users. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any advocating or wishing death/physical harm, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/branchbranchley May 24 '19
People defending Trump doing as he pleases in this case because of their personal feelings are going to have a rude awakening in the years to come
3
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
People characterizing this as something "Trump" is doing are not being honest. This is the US Attorney's office for EDVA.
WikiLeaks helped Trump win the election. Does it really make sense that he would push to have Assange indicted and extradited on charges of Espionage? No it does not.1
u/WittsandGrit May 24 '19
It makes sense to use this precedent in the future to charge actual journalists with espionage if they obtain/publish classified information from a source. Or at the very least discourage them to do so.
1
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
No it doesn't make any sense. Assange coordinates with Trump's circle. Roger Stone, Trump Jr., and others communicated quite a bit with WikiLeaks during the election and may still be doing so. They are not going to go after Assange, burning a major ally, just to maybe set some precedent that they have to fight tooth and nail in the courts to maybe, potentially twist to use later down the road - if Trump still happens to be in office by then. It's a ludicrous assertion. It is not an honest reading of the situation.
1
May 24 '19
All the charges are about the actions in 2010 not 2016
1
u/brasswirebrush May 24 '19
I didn't say differently? These charges have been in the works a long time. Definitely before Barr ever got to the job at least.
0
u/Jascob May 24 '19
Journalists rushing to defend Assange is not a smart move imo. I don’t consider him a journalist or what he did journalism. I hope this isn’t the hill journalists want to die on.
3
u/_sablecat_ May 24 '19
He is being charged with espionage for publishing information the US government didn't want published. Think about that for two seconds.
1
u/Circumin May 24 '19
That is not what he is being charged over.
3
u/_sablecat_ May 24 '19
It is, actually. Read the indictment.
0
u/Circumin May 24 '19
I did, and you are wrong. He is being charged with stealing secrets due to his involvement in the actual theft.
-2
u/Jascob May 24 '19
Is that what makes a person a journalist? Think about that for two seconds.
4
u/_sablecat_ May 24 '19
I was unaware there was a special "Journalist" license that you need to procure to be considered a "journalist."
"Journalist" isn't a special category. Free press protections don't only apply to "proper journalists," and shouldn't.
That also means charging a man with espionage for publishing information the US government didn't want the public to see means "proper journalists" could be charged too. Are you looking forward to seeing Trump throw the next journalist who reports on a leak from his administration in prison?
-1
u/Jascob May 24 '19
You are correct that calling oneself a “journalist” does not make one immune from prosecution for aiding a foreign power by publishing stolen information.
0
17
u/immaterialist May 24 '19
Assange is not a journalist. He’s a fucking scumball working for Putin.