4 ms·
Assange is in my opinion a slimeball, and not a neutral player, but I don't think he committed a crime - at least not anymore than Daniel Ellsberg did when they
by Aloha 8y ago
Assange is in my opinion a slimeball, and not a neutral player, but I don't think he committed a crime - at least not anymore than Daniel Ellsberg did when they published the Pentagon Papers, or for that matter Bob Woodward did when publishing the Watergate Leaks from the FBI - but, like I said, not a Neutral Player - he has his own agenda, which while from time to time may align with the interests of the greater good, is neither benign or uniformly positive. I dont consider the charges against Assange to be any more of a risk to journalism than the charges leveled against Ellsberg in the wake of the publication of the Pentagon Papers - and will likely not survive a trial. The assertion that he helped Manning beyond acting as a publisher/dissemination method is absurd and more or less baseless.
- erentz 8y agoThere is an important difference between Assange and Ellsberg so your comparison of the two isn’t a good one: Assange did not steal and leak the materials, he was the outside party publishing them. On the other hand Ellsberg was the person working for the government who copied and leaked all the materials and knew he might face charges for that reason. In this comparison Manning would be compared to Ellsberg. And Assange would be the reporter at The NY Times or WaPo (I’m brain farting here) who published them.
- partiallypro 8y agoThe government's position isn't that he "helped" Manning, it is that Manning acted, in part on the direction of Assange. If I remember correctly, their correspondence between each other occurred before Manning did anything. Assange basically said he would publish it if it were given to him. So imagine if a journalist did that, and told someone "if you break into this person's house, I will publish your findings. Since neither of us like this person." Would that be illegal? It would definitely be illegal.
- koboll 8y agoIt's more than that, it's that Assange actively assisted in the crime. A better analogy would be that as he was casing the joint, he called up someone, told them he was going to break in, and asked for instructions on how to pick locks. At that point, rendering such assistance makes you an accomplice. "Publishing" documents is not what Assange is being indicted for, and his defenders refuse to accept that point. It is cited as an aggravating circumstance, which is indeed arguably an overreach.
- baby 8y agoHow would that be illegal? I'm sure journalists do that all the time.