Anyone banging in the drum “Assange was never charged!” is making grossly misleading statements and should therefore be ignored.
In common-law systems like the UK and the US a suspect has a preliminary investigation followed by an indictment followed by more investigation followed by the actual trial. In Sweden there is a full investigation followed by indictment followed by immediate trial. So while Assange had not been formally charged, Sweden’s attempt to extradict him was part of the procress of formally charging and trying him; extraditions like that happen to normal people all the time.
Furtherore, in Sweden a suspect is informed of the government’s intent to charge at a questioning session, and the trial is required to start about two weeks afterward. With that criminal procedure you can see why Sweden wasn’t too keen on questioning Assange while he was in absentia, as it defeated the actual point of starting the trial process.
Did you even read the interview with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture? He has read all the court documents in their original Swedish and states quite unequivocally that Assange has been railroaded by an unjust process every step of the way. Why do you believe otherwise?
That’s not how journalism and whistleblowing work. You publish what you get. Assange has stated that he would have published info on Trump if he had gotten it, and he is on record trying to convince Donald Trump, Jr. to leak his father’s tax returns to Wikileaks.
I’m not sure why you would believe (without any evidence whatsoever) that Assange suppressed info on a candidate he described as “cholera” when he famously described the choice between Trump and Hillary as a choice between “cholera or gonorrhea.” Worth noting that Wikileaks HAS published a great deal of leaked info about Russia, contrary to those who would believe he’s some kind of Russia-coddling asset.
Because they lead with obvious lying bullshit of “Assange has NEVER been charged”? If a UN special report on meterology starts by stating the sky is orange I am not going to waste my time reading the rest if it.
Well, yeah, that’s part of the disinformation campaign he was a part of. Russia hacks the Democrats and Republicans, and only gives Assange the files on Clinton, which Assange was more than happy to publish given his personal hatred of Clinton. It strains credulity to believe that Assange, if he had any interest to do so, would be unable to obtain financial records, undisclosed NDA’s about affairs, bribes, or a hundred other topics Trump has kept buried, and yet, he didn’t. Curious, that.
Indeed, he has said a lot things about what he would have done in the hypothetical. But what did he do in reality? In reality, he insinuated that Seth Rich was his source on the DNC documents, thus fueling the worst of the worst of the conspiracy theories in order to cover up the fact that he was either a useful idiot for Russian intelligence or an active agent.
Doesn’t Assange already deny that his source for the DNC datadump was from Russians?
Yes. The Russians did it. And yes Assange already falsely denies the Russians did it. I just dont understand what “the story” is. Hasn’t Assange already “covered it up”? What more would he, or could he, be doing to get this alleged pardon?
Hey, I’ve tried to get his tax returns! I asked his son, his third grade teacher, and a pigeon that hangs out downtown in front of his accountant’s building. What else could I do!?
could care less about Assange though not comfortable with so-called democracies making him disappear forever into a hole
but far more importantly where is Chelsea Manning these days, they still have her locked up for no reason? let’s hope no-one whispers her name to Trump on fox and he has Barr make her disappear
