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> “he’s a world famous journalist with prior work” That’s a claim not a fact. It’s also possible he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service posing as a

> “he’s a world famous journalist with prior work” That’s a claim not a fact. It’s also possible he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service posing as a journalist. I’m not normally one to side with Mike Pompeo, but I agree with his assessment on this one: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/us/politics/mike-pompeo-cia-wikileaks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/us/politics/mike-pompeo-c... “‘WikiLeaks walks like a hostile intelligence service and talks like a hostile intelligence service,’ Mr. Pompeo said.”

gausswho 5y ago
You agree also with the use of 'hostile'? If not, do you agree the US is in the right to extradite non-US intelligence operators?
- vntok 5y ago
  Yes I agree. He himself declared numerous times that his intention was to be hostile to the US (and going as far as naming the Clintons explicitely as a target of his campaign).
  - gausswho 5y ago
    Can you cite some of those declarations?
harry8 5y ago
It's a fact he's world famous. We've heard of him. It's a fact he's a journalist. We've all read his journalism or at least know of its existence. [1] It's a claim that "he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service" and one with zero evidence to back it up. Everything Assange has done the New York Times has also done. Every single thing he has been charged with in this case. That's also a fact. [1] https://www.newstatesman.com/author/julian-assange https://www.newstatesman.com/author/julian-assange Pompeo walks and talks like a traitor. There, that's a claim, you might find the evidence a little more compelling.
- Ma8ee 5y ago
  Just to nitpick on your logic a little. Your first two statements might be true without the statement that he is a world famous journalist is. Trump is world famous, and he's a golfer. But he's not a world famous golfer, at least not in the usual sense of the word.
  - harry8 5y ago
    Just to nitpick right back at you, if Assange had not published his journalism and its source materials you'd never had heard of him and he would not qualify as famous. So that makes him a world famous journalist. The idea that Trump is famous for playing golf is risible is your point but it does not apply here. There is nothing else that gained Assange fame other than publishing more scoops than any other journalist ever has. by orders of magnitude. Your nitpick is like trying to claim Tiger Woods is world famous for being the victim of domestic violence who also happens to play golf.
    - selectodude 5y ago
      Half-assed document dumps aren't journalism. He's a leaker, he didn't put any of the documents in context.
      - harry8 5y ago
        He leaked /nothing/. No really. Absolutely nothing. He published documents leaked by others as supporting evidence for his journalism and to allow other journalists to use the source material. The documents were redacted in partnership with the Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, El Pais, Le Monde and various others who also linked the source documents. As soon as you have a standard for what doesn't qualify as journalism because you don't like it you have state controlled media. The sheer quantity of lies about what he did or didn't do is really quite mind-boggling - it's so easy to check.
        nostrebored 5y ago
pera 5y ago
Do you think siding with Pompeo on this issue is more sensible than "siding" with NGOs like ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders?
tiahura 5y ago
What difference does it make if he’s a journalist, an astronaut, or a haberdasher? Shouldn’t the law apply equally regardless of your profession and level of celebrity?
revolvingocelot 5y ago
Pre-Trump, I used to joke that American foreign policy was determined by oil companies and defense contractors. Then Mike Pompeo became Secretary of State, and it wasn't funny anymore. Well, it hadn't been funny since Trump; Pompeo took over, of course, from former ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson, who headed the Department of State for the first Trump year. Given Pompeo's business history, I think it's fair to understand everything he says with the knowledge that he's an avatar of the American military-industrial complex [0]. With that lens in place, of course WikiLeaks is "hostile", have you seen Collateral Murder?! [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Early_career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Early_career
michael1999 5y ago
What exactly is the bright line between a good newspaper and an intelligence service that broadcasts information? News is that which someone doesn't what known.
fallingknife 5y ago
First they said he was a rapist. Then that fell apart. Now they say he's part of a foreign intelligence service. I don't buy that either.
93po 5y ago
> It’s also possible he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service posing as a journalist. Also possible he's the flying spaghetti monster. There's equal evidence for both (none) Mike Pompeo sounds extremely salty about negative press coverage. Of course they're going to do their best to discredit Assange after he embarrassed them so thoroughly.
choward 5y ago
Did you just quote pompeo as evidence? You can't be serious.

gausswho 5y ago

You agree also with the use of 'hostile'? If not, do you agree the US is in the right to extradite non-US intelligence operators?

vntok 5y ago
Yes I agree. He himself declared numerous times that his intention was to be hostile to the US (and going as far as naming the Clintons explicitely as a target of his campaign).
- gausswho 5y ago
  Can you cite some of those declarations?

harry8 5y ago

It's a fact he's world famous. We've heard of him. It's a fact he's a journalist. We've all read his journalism or at least know of its existence. [1] It's a claim that "he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service" and one with zero evidence to back it up. Everything Assange has done the New York Times has also done. Every single thing he has been charged with in this case. That's also a fact. [1] https://www.newstatesman.com/author/julian-assange https://www.newstatesman.com/author/julian-assange Pompeo walks and talks like a traitor. There, that's a claim, you might find the evidence a little more compelling.

Ma8ee 5y ago
Just to nitpick on your logic a little. Your first two statements might be true without the statement that he is a world famous journalist is. Trump is world famous, and he's a golfer. But he's not a world famous golfer, at least not in the usual sense of the word.
- harry8 5y ago
  Just to nitpick right back at you, if Assange had not published his journalism and its source materials you'd never had heard of him and he would not qualify as famous. So that makes him a world famous journalist. The idea that Trump is famous for playing golf is risible is your point but it does not apply here. There is nothing else that gained Assange fame other than publishing more scoops than any other journalist ever has. by orders of magnitude. Your nitpick is like trying to claim Tiger Woods is world famous for being the victim of domestic violence who also happens to play golf.
  - selectodude 5y ago
    Half-assed document dumps aren't journalism. He's a leaker, he didn't put any of the documents in context.
    - harry8 5y ago
      He leaked /nothing/. No really. Absolutely nothing. He published documents leaked by others as supporting evidence for his journalism and to allow other journalists to use the source material. The documents were redacted in partnership with the Guardian, New York Times, Washington Post, El Pais, Le Monde and various others who also linked the source documents. As soon as you have a standard for what doesn't qualify as journalism because you don't like it you have state controlled media. The sheer quantity of lies about what he did or didn't do is really quite mind-boggling - it's so easy to check.
      - nostrebored 5y ago

pera 5y ago

Do you think siding with Pompeo on this issue is more sensible than "siding" with NGOs like ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders?

tiahura 5y ago

What difference does it make if he’s a journalist, an astronaut, or a haberdasher? Shouldn’t the law apply equally regardless of your profession and level of celebrity?

revolvingocelot 5y ago

Pre-Trump, I used to joke that American foreign policy was determined by oil companies and defense contractors. Then Mike Pompeo became Secretary of State, and it wasn't funny anymore. Well, it hadn't been funny since Trump; Pompeo took over, of course, from former ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson, who headed the Department of State for the first Trump year. Given Pompeo's business history, I think it's fair to understand everything he says with the knowledge that he's an avatar of the American military-industrial complex [0]. With that lens in place, of course WikiLeaks is "hostile", have you seen Collateral Murder?! [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Early_career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo#Early_career

michael1999 5y ago

What exactly is the bright line between a good newspaper and an intelligence service that broadcasts information? News is that which someone doesn't what known.

fallingknife 5y ago

First they said he was a rapist. Then that fell apart. Now they say he's part of a foreign intelligence service. I don't buy that either.

93po 5y ago

> It’s also possible he was an asset for a hostile intelligence service posing as a journalist. Also possible he's the flying spaghetti monster. There's equal evidence for both (none) Mike Pompeo sounds extremely salty about negative press coverage. Of course they're going to do their best to discredit Assange after he embarrassed them so thoroughly.

choward 5y ago

Did you just quote pompeo as evidence? You can't be serious.