Dershowitz: ‘No Constitutional Difference’ Between WikiLeaks And New York Times
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In a column for The Hill, lawyer and legal scholar Alan Dershowitz argues that on the basis of current evidence, prosecuting WikiLeaks for the publication of Chelsea Manning’s leaks would not be constitutionally different to prosecuting The New York Times for publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971.
Dershowitz writes:
If the New York Times, in 1971, could lawfully publish the Pentagon Papers knowing they included classified documents stolen by Rand Corporation military analyst Daniel Ellsberg from our federal government, then indeed WikiLeaks was entitled, under the First Amendment, to publish classified material that Assange knew was stolen by former United States Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning from our federal government.
Dershowitz, who has been a scathing critic of the Democrat efforts to impeach Trump over bogus “Russian collusion” allegations, said the current case against Assange is “factually weak.”
It is likely, therefore, that a prosecution of Assange for merely publishing classified material would fail. Moreover, Great Britain might be unwilling to extradite Assange for such a “political” crime. That is why prosecutors have chosen to charge him with a different crime of conspiracy to help Manning break into a federal government computer to steal classified material. Such a crime, if proven beyond a reasonable doubt, would have a far weaker claim to protection under the Constitution. The courts have indeed ruled that journalists may not break the law in an effort to obtain material whose disclosure would be protected by the First Amendment.But the problem with the current effort is that, while it might be legally strong, it seems on the face of the indictment to be factually weak. It alleges that “Assange encouraged Manning to provide information and records” from federal government agencies, that “Manning provided Assange with part of a password,” and that “Assange requested more information.” It goes on to say that Assange was “trying to crack the password” but had “no luck so far.” Not the strongest set of facts here!
Dershowitz also questioned whether the case as it stands, built on what such shaky factual ground, would be sufficient for British legal authorities to grant an extradition request. Under U.K. law, those subject to extradition requests will have an opportunity to appeal the decision in U.K. courts.
Dershowitz made a similar defense of Assance on Hannity last night:
“They indicted [Assange] on a very factually questionable basis,” Dershowitz told Hannity.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
"So what’s going on here? A couple of things. First, Julian Assange embarrassed virtually everyone in power in Washington. He published documents that undermined the official story on the Iraq War and Afghanistan. He got Debbie Wasserman-Schultz fired from the DNC. He humiliated Hillary Clinton by showing that the Democratic primaries were, in fact, rigged. Pretty much everyone in Washington has reason to hate Julian Assange." TUCKER CARLSON
Tucker Carlson: Julian Assange’s ‘Real Sin’ Was Preventing Hillary Clinton Presidency
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Fox News host Tucker Carlson published an op-ed recently in which he states that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s true sin was stopping Hillary Clinton from becoming President.
In an op-ed titled “Assange’s real sin was preventing Hillary Clinton from becoming president,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson states that the true reason that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being targeted is that he prevented Hillary Clinton from becoming President of the United States. In the op-ed Carlson defends Assange’s actions and instead points to Bradley Manning as the source of U.S. security leaks.
In the op-ed, Carlson writes:
If you watched a lot of the coverage of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s arrest on television Thursday, you likely came away with the understanding that he is some kind of Russian spy who is in trouble because he stole classified documents from the U.S. government. That is not true. It’s factually incorrect, and saying so is not a defense of Assange. We’re not here to promote him or excuse any number of things he said over the years that we disagree with quite a lot.But just so it’s clear, whatever his sins, Assange did not steal documents from the United States government. He did not hack the DNC servers. He didn’t break into John Podesta’s Gmail account. There is no proof that he is working for the Russian government or ever has worked for the Russian government. Assange has never been charged with any of that and wasn’t on Thursday, no matter what they tell you.If you’re upset about the theft of classified documents from the U.S. government — and there is reason to be — we already know who did that. A 22- year-old Army private named Bradley Manning, now called Chelsea Manning. In 2013, Manning pleaded guilty to stealing secret material and got 35 years in prison for it. Shortly after that, President Obama commuted Manning’s sentence. This allowed Manning to leave jail decades early, go back on television as a commentator, and then run for political office.
Carlson asks, why make such a huge deal over Assange when many other worse criminals have faced far less scrutiny:
So what’s going on here? A couple of things. First, Julian Assange embarrassed virtually everyone in power in Washington. He published documents that undermined the official story on the Iraq War and Afghanistan. He got Debbie Wasserman-Schultz fired from the DNC. He humiliated Hillary Clinton by showing that the Democratic primaries were, in fact, rigged. Pretty much everyone in Washington has reason to hate Julian Assange.Rather than just admit that straightforwardly – that he made us look like buffoons, so now we’re sending him to prison — instead, they’re denouncing him as, you guessed it, a Russian agent. “Justice should come to Julian Assange for his role in Russian meddling in our election and the sooner the better,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.Okay, so once again, just to be totally clear, no one has ever shown that Julian Assange is a Russian agent. The indictment against him does not say that; t doesn’t mention Russia at all. But that has not stopped virtually every politician in Washington from repeating Senator Blumenthal’s line, including many Republicans. Robert Mueller nearly killed the Russia collusion hoax. Julian Assange is allowing them to keep it alive.
Carlson suggests that the reason to punished Julian Assange is Hillary Clinton:
So why all the hostility to Julian Assange? Assange’s real sin was preventing Hillary Clinton from becoming president. Former Democratic staffer and current CNN anchor Jim Sciutto explained it this way: “He is central to several cases. He is central to Russian interference in the election. The U.S. intelligence views him as a middleman, a cutout that he was in effect part of this interference. He’s central to questions about what the Trump administration or Trump campaign, I should say, knew prior to the release of those materials, right? What were the communications between Roger Stone, et cetera? It’s possible that this has something President Trump himself is not particularly excited about.”It’s remarkable to watch this. It’s bewildering, actually. There was a time, not so long ago, really, when reporters didn’t applaud the arrest of other journalists for publishing information.
Read the full op-ed by Carlson at Fox News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
Hillary Clinton on Assange Arrest: He‘s the ‘Only Foreigner’ Trump Welcomes to the U.S.
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Failed 2016 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacted on Thursday to the dramatic arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a dig at the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Appearing at the Beacon Theater in New York City, the former Secretary of State said Assange must “answer for what he has done.” Earlier Thursday, the WikiLeaks chief was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and charged by the U.S. for conspiring with convicted intelligence leaker Chelsea Manning to illegally access a classified Department of Defense computer.
Breitbart TV
The arrest occurred after Ecuador revoked the 47-year-old Australian native’s political asylum, which allowed him to reside at the embassy for nearly seven years.
“The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it has been charged,” Clinton said, before adding, “I do think it’s a little ironic that he’s the only foreigner this administration would welcome to the United States.”
In the lead up to the 2016 election, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails belonging to Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman John Podesta and the Democrat National Committee.
President Donald Trump downplayed any personal interest in Assange’s arrest, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the high-profile case was “not my thing.”
“I know nothing about Wikileaks. It’s not my thing,” the president said when pressed on his repeated praise of the organization during the election.
“I know nothing really about it – it’s not my deal in life,” he added.
While the president was none too interested in Assange, some former members of Clinton Inc. celebrated his arrest.
Former Clinton aide and Center for American Progress president reacted to Assange’s arrest by accusing him of “fascist behavior” and “undermin[ing] democracy.”
“It’s a great day!” Claude Taylor, a former Clinton staffer who now runs an anti-Trump PAC, declared.
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