I am also sure that this will not be the only charge Julian Assange faces in that court. If you think that, after pursuing and demonizing him as a "terrorist" and "hostile non-state intelligence" agent (for Russia yet!) for 9 years, the US government is going to be satisfied with a maximum five-year (out-in-three) sentence for Julian Assange, I have a bridge to sell you.
The moment he sets foot on US soil, Julian Assange will be hit with other charges--charges, probably under the Espionage Act, that carry long prison sentences. I know that, anyone who is not a child knows that, and the editors of the NYT and WaPo know that. When the editors of the NYT write that the government is: "skirting -- for now -- critical First Amendment questions," they are telling you they know that.
This is another round of that cowardly game where liberal pundits pretend to believe in the professed objectives of the government so they can claim to be abetting its actions in innocent good faith, and when it all turns to sh*t they can say: "We didn't know that was gonna happen!" and be all liberal-outraged at the danger to the un-skirted First Amendment.
The mainstream media will cover its asses on that now by parading legal analysts who point out that the extradition treaty with the UK does not allow additional charges to be added after extradition.
First of all, I'm sure Theresa May and all sorts of UK pols and pundits will be really mad and stamp their feet if the US government somehow reneges on that. So Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo wouldn't dare.
But here's how I know, and know that the NYT and WaPo know, that the government will bring more charges against Assange: The lawyer who represented the NYT in the Pentagon Papers case, whom they all know very well, and who, we know, knows what he's talking about, tells us so.
In his article entitled, "The Indictment of Assange is a Snare and a Delusion," James Goodale explains how the USG has written into the present indictment the legal justification for bringing new charges without violating the extradition treaty. The treaty--surprise, surprise--makes an exception for new charges "based on the same facts as the offense for which extradition was granted." While the indictment does not charge Assange under the Espionage Act, it does lay out a set of facts that predicate a case for conspiracy under the Act, which it mentions explicitly--per Goodale, on Page 5 of the indictment, referring to Title 18 U.S. Code, Sections 793(c) and 793(e).
As Goodale says: "The indictment is... a snare and a delusion... Once [Assange] is here, he will be hit, no doubt, with multiple charges."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
3
2
