British Judicial Cowardice on Julian Assange by Jacob G. Hornberger!
(2021-01-05 at 02:05:03 )

British Judicial Cowardice on Julian Assange by Jacob G. Hornberger!

This morning British Judge Venessa Baraitser denied the United States governments extradition request for Julian Assange. That of course was the right thing to do. The problem though is with Ms Baraitsers reason for the denial: She says that there is a high danger that Mr. Assange will commit suicide if he is extradited. That was the justification she used for her decision.

What judicial cowardice! Ms Baraitser should have denied the extradition request for the right reason: The United States government, specifically the U.S. national-security establishment (i.e., the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency)) simply wants vengeance for Mr. Assanges disclosing the truth about the evil and immoral actions of the United States government. That is why they have been seeking Mr. Assanges extradition for years - to punish him for committing the dastardly "crime" of disclosing the truth about them.

After all, let us keep something important in mind: Mr. Assange is not accused of perjury or lying, like former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. was (and who was not charged with anything for doing so). Mr. Assanges "crime" is that he told the truth about the deep state. That is verboten in any national-security state, whether it is Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Egypt. Pakistan, Nazi Germany, or the United States.

Mr. Assange, who is not even a United States citizen, had to be taught a lesson. Moreover, he had to be used to send a message to anyone else who was contemplating disclosing the dark-side, sordid secrets of the United States national-security state. That message is a simple one: "Disclose our secrets and this is what will happen to you. We will harass you, persecute you, prosecute you, abuse you, and torture you until you want to kill yourself - that is, unless we have the opportunity to kill you first."

Some people are saying that the Julian Assange case is a threat to freedom of the press. They are saying that if Mr. Assange and his organization Wikileaks can be punished for publishing the truth about United States government actions, then any mainstream publication runs the same risk.

They are right, of course. But the Julian Assange case goes far beyond freedom of the press. Why should anyone, press or not, not be free to disclose the truth about the sordid, dark-side, secret activities of the United States military, the CIA, the NSA, the State Department, and every other part of the U.S. government? Why should the right to tell the truth be limited to people who work for the press? Why does freedom not encompass the right of everyone to tell the truth about their government?

Make no mistake about it: United States officials are going to appeal Ms Baraitsers ruling. Given the tenuous nature of her justification, there is a good chance that her ruling will be reversed, which probably would mean a remand with instructions to Ms Baraitser to consider the other, more substantial grounds that Mr. Assange is contending justify the denial of the extradition request.

That of course means many more months of delay. Ms Baraitser now should do the right thing and release Mr. Assange on bond pending the final outcome of the proceedings. Given the presumption of innocence and her finding regarding Mr. Assanges mental state, he should be entitled to wait out the months of appeals outside of prison, where he can receive proper treatment.

There is still a chance, of course, that President Donald Trump will pardon Mr. Assange, which would thereby bring an end to this evil and immoral nightmare.

I would not hold your breath, however. Given that Donald Trump pardoned the Blackwater contractors who killed Iraqi citizens or a Border Patrol agent who shot an undocumented worker in the buttock, both of whom Mr. Trump obviously considers to be "heroes," it is unlikely that he would ever consider someone like Mr. Assange to be a hero, which he most definitely is.

Moreover, It is likely that the national-security establishment will not let Donald Trump pardon Mr. Assange. Oh sure, they will let him get away with pardoning those Blackwater and Border Patrol "heroes," but the Julian Assange case, like the Edward Snowden case, is a red line for them.

Early on in his administration, it was clear that despite his campaign rhetoric, Donald Trump, for some mysterious reason, decided to defer to the supremacy and power of the national-security establishment that he once derided. That was demonstrated by his surrounding himself early on with generals and other promoters of empire and intervention, by his continuation of their forever wars, by his support of ever-increasing tax money for them, and by his surrender to the CIA on the still-secret JFK records relating to the assassination.

And no one should count on President-elect Joe Biden to issue a pardon to Mr. Assange. Who doubts that he is going to be owned by the national-security establishment, lock, stock, and barrel?

Maybe United States officials will get their wish and Mr. Assange will in fact commit suicide, much like the FBI tried to get Martin Luther King to take his own life. If that happens, U.S. officials will be satisfied, but it will be another dark day in the history of Americas national-security state.

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!