• Wikileaks exposed the corruption of the Democrats by publishing the DNC and Podesta emails.

• The Democrats sought payback and tried to sue WikiLeaks, however, in July 2019, US District Judge John Koeltl emphasised the “newsworthiness” of WikiLeaks’ publishing activities, describing them as “plainly of the type entitled to the strongest protection that the First Amendment offers.”

• The Clinton campaign tried to blame Assange and WikiLeaks for losing the campaign.

• The truth is that Clinton lost the election because of her own actions and the Democrats’ failed policies. The public rejected their left ideology.

• Michael Weiss says Assange “got what he deserved”.

• The Democrats don’t care about the First Amendment. They have even called for Julian Assange to be assassinated, saying he is stealing information from the US government, skipped bail, and has to answer for what he has done.

• Clinton strategist Bob Beckel called for Assange to be assassinated.

• Clinton says Russia attacked the voting system and Assange is a Russian asset.

• Former Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein called for Assange to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

• Democratic Senator Joe Manchin calls Assange “our property”.

• Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer accuses Assange of meddling in US elections.

“They’re [the Democrats are] willing to create a precedent that will criminalise the core function of investigative journalism because – even as they spent two years shrilly denouncing that most trivial “attacks on press freedom” – they don’t actually care about that value at all. They want to protect only the journalism that advances their political interests, while putting people behind bars who publish information that undermines their political interests.”

– Left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald

Julian Assange is an Australian publisher who is charged under the US Espionage Act. Assange is also charged with one count under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) for passively receiving information. He is not accused of hacking. He is the first publisher in history charged with espionage.

Julian Assange faces 175 years imprisonment – all for engaging in regular journalistic activity, and exposing the Deep State.

Julian Assange did not hack the US, nor did he assist Chelsea Manning to hack the US servers – she already had access to the documents in question.

Chelsea Manning took full responsibility for obtaining the documents in question; all Assange and WikiLeaks allegedly did was passively receive information, assist to protect Manning as a source and publish the cables, just as the New York Times, the Guardian and other media organisations did. Protecting sources is core to journalistic practice.

“Although I stopped sending documents to [WikiLeaks], no one associated with [WikiLeaks] pressured me into giving more information. The decisions I made to send documents and information to [WikiLeaks] were my own decisions and I take full responsibility for my actions.”

– Chelsea Manning

Assange went to great lengths to redact the material provided to him by Manning. At one point, Assange attempted to seek an injunction to prevent the publication of the password that would provide access to unredacted material in order to protect those named in the cables.

In July 2010, Assange and WikiLeaks took steps to notify the Obama Administration of the 15,000 redacted cables to protect people from harm. Whilst Assange took steps to protect people named in the documents, the Guardian and Der Spiegel published unredacted cables. It was only after these cables were already published by these news outlets, did WikiLeaks publish. The password was revealed in a book by David Leigh and Luke Harding.

During the trial of Manning, it was confirmed that no US personnel were put at risk or harmed due to these publications, and Captain Stephen Lim testified that the Afghan and Iraq SIGACTs did not contain sensitive information about sources.

To charge a publisher under the Espionage Act for exposing information that was embarrassing to the government poses serious threats to the First Amendment. The precedent this sets, places publishers and journalists at risk if they dare to challenge and expose authorities. What he and WikiLeaks exposed was in the public interest.

Julian Assange is currently detained in Belmarsh, a maximum-security prison in the UK as a prisoner facing extradition. The extradition hearing took place over the course of three weeks in September–October 2020. Evidence was presented by the defence team outlining the serious health concerns for Assange, the public importance of the material published, the inevitable flagrant denial of justice if he is extradited, as well as the fact that espionage is a classic political offence.  The US/UK Extradition treaty notes that, “Extradition shall not be granted if the offense for which extradition is requested is a political offense.”

The court is due to hand down its decision on January 4, 2021.

The court was tasked with deciding whether the extradition complied with UK law – not whether he broke US law. One of the key deliberations is whether espionage constitutes a political offence, as this is prohibited under the Act.

Assange and his lawyers were spied upon (see this report and this report) whilst he was detained in the Ecuadorean embassy, seriously violating basic due process rights. After his arrest, two of his manuscripts, as well as his legal papers, medical records and electronic equipment were handed to US officials by Ecuadorean embassy staff. The seizure of his belongings violates laws that protect medical and legal confidentiality. A case against UC Global, the Spanish company accused of undertaking the spying, is under way in Spain.

The prison conditions in Belmarsh have greatly impeded Assange’s ability to prepare for his defence. For example, the laptop he was provided was not fit for purpose (keys glued down, USB port epoxy filled, no text editing programs), he struggled to gain access to a sufficient amount of time with his lawyers, and due to significant time in detention, Assange is suffering numerous debilitating health issues. The case against Assange is extremely complex and required him to adequately prepare in order to defend himself.

The hearings left Assange unable to meaningfully participate in proceedings, particularly due to COVID-19. For example, when he was present in court, he was kept in the dock and unable to freely communicate with counsel without the lawyers for the US and UK hearing his comments.

On one occasion on his way to the court, he was handcuffed 11 times, strip-searched twice and his case notes were confiscated by prison authorities. On another occasion, Assange was placed in six holding cells on the way to appear via video link.

Several medical reports outline mounting concerns about his ill health due to prolonged arbitrary confinement and his medical conditions.

Highly respected psychiatrist Dr Michael Kopelman has identified Assange as a person at high risk of suicide, particularly if he is imprisoned in the US. Assange has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, and is on the autism spectrum.