Because of this, I support Assange.
I agree with "Pentagon Papers" whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971, revealed a top-secret Pentagon study about the Vietnam War, when he asserted:
"Every journalist in the country now knows for the first time that she or he is subject to prosecution for doing their job as journalists. It cuts out the First Amendment, essentially. That eliminates the First Amendment freedom of the press, which is the cornerstone of our American democracy and of this republic. So there's an immediate focus, there should be an immediate concern not just for journalists over here and publishers, but for everyone who wants this country to remain a democratic republic."
I agree with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, Noam Chomsky, who stated:
"The Assange arrest is scandalous in several respects. WikiLeaks was producing things that people ought to know about those in power. People in power don't like that, so therefore we have to silence it. OK? This is the kind of thing, the kind of scandal, that takes place, unfortunately, over and over."
Assange's arrest is a warning to all journalists, bloggers, and even those who have a tendency to spout off political criticism on social media about what is "acceptable" to the establishment.
As Daniel Ellsberg argued:
This shows...that they're saying, well, we won't prosecute responsible journalists. But that assurance is worth nothing, aside from the question of who they'll consider responsible or not. Remember that President Trump's unprecedented charge here is that the American press, the mainstream press, is the enemy of the people...The idea that they're distinguishing that should not reassure any journalists. I'm sure it won't, actually. So they're feeling the chill right now, before the prosecution actually begins. These indictments are unprecedented. And I would say they are blatantly unconstitutional, in my opinion."
Assange's arrest and indictments mean more than just a government attempting to stifle bad press. It was the United States who ordered his arrest in the Ecuadoran embassy--sovereign territory--in London, not the United States.
Does this imply, then, that, say, the Chinese government can order a journalist arrested in the United States for publishing damning information about China?
What if the Saudi Arabian government had killed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi here on American soil instead of at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for speaking out about the oppressive Saudi regime?
Could we expect something like that to be permitted in the future?
Ellsberg added:
"I thought that Trump would hold off on declaring war on the press until the extradition matter had been settled. But no, the declaration of war came today. This is a historic day, and a very challenging one for American democracy."
But there is hope.
More than journalists are coming out defending Assange.
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