Photo: Press Association
UPDATE, JUNE 26:
Just after Julian Assange returned to Australia, I spoke with ABC News about the inconclusive end to his 14-year case.
I evaluate further why there has been no resolution — amid the transformation of Assange and WikiLeaks from providers of information to purveyors of disinformation — of issues around freedom of the press, security, and the public interest.
Those people who are detractors of Julian Assange will say the WikiLeaks publication of classified Government documents was a threat to lives and security. Those who are defenders will say this was necessary to expose “war crimes”.
We have no clarity on that because the full facts were never heard —- no clarity on freedom of the press in this age of social media.
As the interviewer wonders what Assange does next, I look at WikiLeaks’ assistance to Russian campaigns and at the possibility of a pardon if Donald Trump returns to the US Presidency.
EA’s David Dunn adds further context about Assange’s release in an interview with Turkey’s TRT World:
The first and perhaps most important [factor] was the pressure from the Australian Labor Government, which has made this a national quest.
America and Australia have become closer allies, so America is happy to give Australia what it wants.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, JUNE 25: I joined Dublin NewsTalk’s Pat Kenny Show on Tuesday to analyze the deal ending the 62-month stay of Julian Assange (pictured) in a UK prison, as the WikiLeaks fought extradition to the US to stand trial over his publication of classified American documents from 2010.
I explain how Assange will plead guilty to a single charge in a court in the US territory of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean. The judge will then announce a 5-year sentence, meaning Assange — having served the time — can continue to Australia as a free man.
But this is far from a definitive conclusion. I evaluate how the failure for years to hold a trial meant there is no resolution of issues involving freedom of the press, security, and the public interest.
This question of whether Julian Assange is a martyr or a criminal will be floating around social media for the rest of our lives.
At the same time, the broader question of “When is it proper to publish government documents in the public interest?” — well, we won’t have an answer to that for some time either.
And Assange and WikiLeaks, having been a provider of information in the public interest 14 years ago, are now often disseminators of disinformation.
The WikiLeaks of 2010 is very different from WikiLeaks of 2024.
In 2010, I thought it was proper for these documents to be released. In 2024, and indeed for almost a decade, WikiLeaks has been an outlet for disinformation — notably, in the service of Russia, whether it be interference in the 2016 US elections or excusing Russia’s activities in Syria and Ukraine, including the killing of civilians.
