Staff Reports
President Joe Biden is mulling over the idea of dropping the long-running persecution of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who caused quite a stir back in 2010 with his release of classified United States Army intelligence. Assange, an Australian citizen, has been under the custody of the United Kingdom authorities, and a U.K. judge recently ruled that he couldn’t be extradited to the U.S. without assurances that he wouldn’t face the death penalty.
Biden says he's 'considering' ENDING the prosecution of Julian Assange after Australia urged U.S. to drop WikiLeaks founder's case https://t.co/kvzf1YJ6MH pic.twitter.com/k4ZZmgCxB5
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 10, 2024
During a visit from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House, President Biden was bombarded with questions from nosy reporters about the Assange case. “We’re considering it,” Biden responded to the smothering inquiries, in reference to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s plea to drop the charges against Assange.
The White House has been quite tight-lipped about the whole Assange debacle, conveniently sidestepping the conversation about the charges slapped on him, which include violations of the Espionage Act and a plot to commit computer intrusion. It’s almost as if they’re trying to keep it hush-hush, which is more secretive than your grandma’s secret apple pie recipe.
Assange made headlines in 2010 when he released footage of U.S. airstrikes in Baghdad, Iraq, as well as diplomatic cables and confidential communications from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, all courtesy of former U.S. Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning. Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012, enjoying some political amnesty until 2019 when they pulled the plug on it. Since then, he’s been twiddling his thumbs in U.K. custody, eagerly awaiting his ticket to the U.S.
In February of this year, Australian Prime Minister Albanese essentially knocked on Biden’s door and begged him to drop the case against Assange, after Australia’s Parliament passed a motion demanding that Assange be shipped back to his homeland instead of facing the music in the U.S. Albanese pleaded, “I hope this can be resolved. I hope it can be resolved amicably. It’s not up to Australia to interfere in the legal processes of other countries, but it is appropriate for us to put our very strong view that those countries need to take into account the need for this to be concluded. Regardless of where people stand, this thing cannot just go on and on and on indefinitely.”
It’s a sticky situation, folks. This Assange drama has more twists and turns than a roller coaster, and it seems like President Biden just can’t make up his mind on whether to let him off the hook. But let’s not forget the real victim here – the poor, innocent U.S. airstrikes footage and confidential communications. They never signed up for this circus! Keep your eyes peeled, patriots, because this saga’s far from over.
