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Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

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Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#81

Post by tssva »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #38

How do plea deals work for precedent? As despite the constant claim that he was only being charged for assisting in hacking US computers, the plea deal is over violations of the Espionage Act specifically about receiving and publishing classified documents. Or basically his acts as a journalist. Can this be used to indict other journalists who receive and publish classified information? As if so, this feels like a hu…

The plea deal is for “conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information”. Having documents dropped in your lap and then publishing them is different than conspiring with someone to illegally obtain them in the first place.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#83

Post by tssva »

boomboomsubban wrote: post #60
tptacek wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't. Generally: lower court decisions don't create binding precedent. Further: Assange wasn't simply charged with "receiving and publishing classified information"; he was charged with being instrumental in that information being exfiltrated in the first place.

"Generally" is one of those somewhat troubling terms on a case that has severe First Amendment implications, but that's good to know. >Further: Assange wasn't simply charged with "receiving and publishing classified information"; he was charged with being instrumental in that information being exfiltrated in the first place. Those charges were (presumably) dropped as part of the plea, and his plea did not mention the…

The plea deal is about conspiring to obtain them which is not receiving and publishing.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#84

Post by thrance »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #78
pkaye wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He better be careful in Australia being a whistleblower. https://apnews.com/article/mcbride-whistleblower-court-priso...

[flagged]

He was morally justified in exposing war crimes.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#85

Post by llm_trw »

jjmarr wrote: post #75
boomboomsubban wrote: post #38

How do plea deals work for precedent? As despite the constant claim that he was only being charged for assisting in hacking US computers, the plea deal is over violations of the Espionage Act specifically about receiving and publishing classified documents. Or basically his acts as a journalist. Can this be used to indict other journalists who receive and publish classified information? As if so, this feels like a hu…

Journalists generally avoid asking for classified information. The belief is that (in the US) a journalist that passively receives classified information & publishes it isn't committing a crime due to the First Amendment. The actual crime itself was committed by the person leaking the information. Julian Assange actively solicited leaks of information. That's where the espionage claim comes from. There's not much pre…

The short answer: making a plea deal avoids establishing one.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#86

Post by AdamJacobMuller »

jjmarr wrote: post #75
boomboomsubban wrote: post #38

How do plea deals work for precedent? As despite the constant claim that he was only being charged for assisting in hacking US computers, the plea deal is over violations of the Espionage Act specifically about receiving and publishing classified documents. Or basically his acts as a journalist. Can this be used to indict other journalists who receive and publish classified information? As if so, this feels like a hu…

Journalists generally avoid asking for classified information. The belief is that (in the US) a journalist that passively receives classified information & publishes it isn't committing a crime due to the First Amendment. The actual crime itself was committed by the person leaking the information. Julian Assange actively solicited leaks of information. That's where the espionage claim comes from. There's not much pre…

> I wonder if the USA will informally say "we got Assange; we can get you"

I can't imagine we haven't been saying that since the day Assange set foot inside the Ecuadorian embassy.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#88

Post by worstspotgain »

I suppose this concludes the dark-comedic odyssey that began when he flew to Stockholm on 8/11/10 [1], just shy of 14 years later. In its totality it reads like something Kafka might have written as a teenager.

Whether or not his work had any worth to it, it's hard not to conclude that he was a de-facto Russian agent, IMO. The most pungent data point is probably that Rohrabacher [2] was mediating a pardon deal between him and Trump. [3]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assange_v_Swedish_Prosecution_...

[2] https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/kevin-mc...

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/feb/19/donald-trump-o...

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#90

Post by jfengel »

AdamJacobMuller wrote: post #86
jjmarr wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Journalists generally avoid asking for classified information. The belief is that (in the US) a journalist that passively receives classified information & publishes it isn't committing a crime due to the First Amendment. The actual crime itself was committed by the person leaking the information. Julian Assange actively solicited leaks of information. That's where the espionage claim comes from. There's not much pre…

> I wonder if the USA will informally say "we got Assange; we can get you" I can't imagine we haven't been saying that since the day Assange set foot inside the Ecuadorian embassy.

I sure can't imagine anyone thinking "I'll get off scot free, just like Assange".
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