Julian Assange Is Finally Free – But Should Not Have Been Prosecuted in the First Place

The US’s pursuit of Assange under the Espionage Act created a dangerous precedent that threatens journalistic practices

Julian Assange’s lengthy detention has finally ended, but the danger that his prosecution poses to the rights of journalists remains. As is widely known, the US government’s pursuit of Assange under the Espionage Act threatens to criminalize common journalistic practices. Sadly, Assange’s guilty plea and release from custody have done nothing to ease that threat.

That Assange was indicted under the Espionage Act, a US law designed to punish spies and traitors, should not be considered the normal course of business. Barack Obama’s justice department never charged Assange because it couldn’t distinguish what he had done from ordinary journalism. The espionage charges were filed by the justice department of Donald Trump. Joe Biden could have reverted to the Obama position and withdrawn the charges but never did.

The 18-count indictment filed under Trump accused Assange of having solicited secret US government information and encouraged Chelsea Manning to provide it. Manning committed a crime when she delivered that information because she was a government employee who had pledged to safeguard confidential information on pain of punishment. But Assange’s alleged solicitation of that information, and the steps he was said to have taken to ensure that it could be transferred anonymously, are common procedure for many journalists who report on national security issues. If these practices were to be criminalized, our ability to monitor government conduct would be seriously compromised.

To make matters worse, someone accused under the Espionage Act is not allowed to argue to a jury that disclosures were made in the public interest. The unauthorized disclosure of secret information deemed prejudicial to national security is sufficient for conviction regardless of motive.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Guardian

7/2 - We recently talked to political activist and Libertarian funny man, Spike Cohen about Julian Assange's recent release and the chilling effect his plea deal means for the future of journalism.

6/25 — 📣 Files disappear from the phone of the former Spanish soldier who spied on Julian Assange for the CIA

6/25 — ❗️ Julian Assange was ordered to instruct WikiLeaks to destroy information as a condition of the deal, The Guardian reported

6/24 — 🚨BREAKING: Assange Released From Prison After Agreeing To Plead Guilty To Espionage Act Violation

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🚨🇺🇸🇺🇦 An American Patriot air defense missile, fired by Ukraine, hit a Kiev children’s hospital this morning.

Of course, they’re blaming Russia… again.

https://x.com/jacksonhinklle/status/1810294806066626762

🇨🇳🇭🇺🇷🇺🇺🇦 Orban informed Xi Jinping about his visits to Moscow and Kyiv, the Chinese leader highly appreciated the efforts of the Hungarian prime minister to promote a settlement

Xi Jinping said that an early ceasefire in Ukraine and the search for a political solution are in the interests of all parties.

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🇩🇪🇭🇺🇺🇦🇷🇺

"I'm helping Europe."

— Orban

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🇪🇺🇨🇳 - Orban arrives in Beijing for Ukraine peace talks with China.

Report Confirms Israel Ordered ‘Hannibal Directive’ During October 7 Response

The directive means the Israeli military could use any means to prevent Israelis from being taken captive even if it puts their life in danger

A report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday confirmed that the Israeli military implemented a secretive procedure known as the “Hannibal directive” during the response to the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

The directive allows Israeli forces to prevent Israelis from being taken hostage, even if that means putting their lives in danger. The directive had historically only applied to soldiers, but it was also used on Israeli civilians during the October 7 response.

A “very senior” source in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed to Haaretz that the Hannibal directive was ordered on October 7. The report also cited documents and testimonies from soldiers and officers and found that the order was given multiple times throughout the day.

One of the orders came at 11:22 am, hours into the Hamas attack, which said, “Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza.” The report said that at this point in the attack, “the IDF was not aware of the extent of kidnapping along the Gaza border, but it did know that many people were involved. Thus, it was entirely clear what that message meant and what the fate of some of the kidnapped people would be.”

There has been other evidence of Israeli forces implementing the Hannibal directive on October 7, including a January report from the Israeli news site Ynet. The report said that about 70 vehicles were destroyed by the Israeli military as they were on their way back to Gaza. Many of the cars were likely carrying Israeli captives.

The Ynet report said the IDF “instructed all its fighting units to perform the Hannibal directive in practice, although it did so without stating that name explicitly.” But the Haaretz report said the Hannibal directive was explicitly ordered in some cases, including when the IDF learned someone was kidnapped near the Erez border crossing

....The “very senior” IDF source who told Haaretz about the Hannibal directive did not say who gave the initial order on October 7, but it likely came from very far up the chain of command. The Haaretz report reads: “Who did give the order? This, said the source, will perhaps be established by post-war investigations.”.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ Antiwar.com

Related: 7/7 — IDF Ordered Hannibal Directive on October 7 to Prevent Hamas Taking Soldiers Captive — Haaretz

6/24 — IDF Report Found Multiple Cases of Friendly Fire Deaths on Oct 7

6/20 — Israeli Channel N12 News — Multiple Bilateral Shootings, and Disarray in Power Distribution: New Revelations on October 7 Investigation

6/17 — JPOST: IDF Knew of Hamas’s Plan To Kidnap 250 Before October 7 Attack - Report

6/14 — UN Finds at Least 14 Israelis Likely Intentionally Killed by Own Army on 7 October [Hannibal Directive]

6/6 - Was October 7th Allowed to Happen To Further The Greater Israel Agenda? Did The Hannibal Directive Ever End? [X] — Part 4 of TheMcgwire's Oct 7th Series

12/3 — Part 3: Blueprints Possessed by Israel Year Before Attack - MORE Evidence Oct. 7th Was an Intelligence Stand-Down

11/28 — Part 2: More Israeli Military Personnel, Witnesses Speak Out, Substantiating Oct. 7 "Conspiracy Theories" That IDF Killed Israeli Civilians and Israeli Leadership Ignored Intelligence Prior to Attack

11/14 — Part 1: Oct. 7... Convenient to a Pre-Existing Depopulation Agenda
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🇷🇺🇺🇦‼️🚨 Footage of the missile that hit the children’s hospital in Kiev!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s not a cruise missile?

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