Julian Assange: Finally Free, But Guilty of Practicing Journalism
by Pepe Escobar
The implacable and all-powerful US Intel apparatus will not make exceptions and will not make prisoners to punish anyone, anywhere, who dares to expose imperial crimes.
The US Government – under the guise of the “rule-based international order” – has effectively declared Julian Assange guilty of practicing journalism.
Edward Snowden had already observed that “when exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are being governed by criminals.”
Criminals like Mike “We lie, cheat, steal” Pompeo, former Trump Secretary of State, who planned to kidnap and kill Julian when he was CIA chief.
Indomitable Jennifer Robinson and Julian’s American lawyer, Barry Pollack, summarize it all: the United States “pursued journalism as a crime.”
Julian was forced to suffer an indescribably cruel crucifixion because he dared to expose the war crimes of the US government; the internal workings of the US military in its strident “War on Terror” in Afghanistan and Iraq; and – Holy of Holies – dared to reveal emails showing that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) conspired with the notorious bellicose Harpy Hillary Clinton.
Julian was subjected to merciless psychological torture and almost crucified for publishing facts that should remain forever invisible to public opinion. This is what high-level journalism is all about.
The whole drama teaches the entire planet everything it needs to know about the absolute control of the Hegemon over the pathetic United Kingdom and the EU.
And this leads us to the kabuki that may – and the key word is “may” – conclude the case. Title of the distorted moral play: “Declare yourself guilty or die in prison.”
The final twist in the play is this: the group behind the corpse in the White House realized that torturing a journalist and editor in an Australian prison in the United States in an election year was not exactly good for business.
At the same time, the British establishment was imploring to be excluded from the conspiracy – since its “justice” system was forced by the Hegemon to keep an innocent man and father of a family as a hostage for 5 years, in abysmal conditions, in the name of protecting Anglo-American intelligence secrets.
In the end, the British establishment silently applied all the pressure it could muster to run towards the exit – with full knowledge of what the Americans were planning for Julian.
Life in prison was “just and reasonable.”
Leave it to the kabuki on Wednesday in Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a non-incorporated territory in the Pacific administered by the Hegemon.
Finally free – perhaps, but with conditions that remain quite obscure.
Julian was ordered by this US Pacific Tribunal to instruct WikiLeaks to destroy information as a condition of the agreement.
Julian had to tell Judge Ramona Manglona that he was not bribed or coerced into pleading guilty to the crucial charge of “conspiring to obtain and disclose illegally classified national defense information.”
Well, his lawyers said he should follow the script of “Declare yourself guilty or die in prison.” Otherwise, no deal.
Judge Manglona – in a surprising departure from those 5 years of psychological torture – said: “It seems that your 62 months of imprisonment were just, reasonable, and proportionate.”
Therefore, now the – ah, so benign and “just” – US Government will take the necessary measures to immediately dismiss the remaining charges against Julian in the notoriously severe Eastern District of Virginia.
Julian has always been inflexible: he repeatedly emphasized that he would never plead guilty to a espionage charge. He didn’t do that; he pleaded guilty to a nebulous crime/conspiracy charge; received his sentence; was released; and that’s a wrap.
Or is it?
Australia is a vassal state of the Hegemon, including intelligence, and has zero capacity to protect its civilian population.
Moving from the UK to Australia may not exactly be an upgrade – even with freedom included. A real upgrade would be a change to a True Sovereign. Like Russia. However, Julian will need US permission to travel and leave Australia. Moscow will inevitably be a forbidden and sanctioned destination.
No doubt Julian will be back in command of WikiLeaks. Whistleblowers may even be lining up while we chat to tell their stories – backed by official documents.
However, the hard and sinister message remains fully imprinted on the collective unconscious: the implacable and all-powerful US Intel apparatus will not make exceptions and will not make prisoners to punish anyone, anywhere, who dares to expose imperial crimes. A new global epic begins now: The Battle against Criminalized Journalism.
Pepe Escobar – Independent geopolitical analyst, writer, and journalist
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