Julian Assange

• PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s administration is pledging to strike a new tone when it comes to dealing with the press. But we should be more concerned with substance than tone.

Donald Trump’s war on journalism was about more than mean tweets and dismissing criticism as “fake news.” It was an attack on the foundations of press freedom.

Look no further than the indictment of Julian Assange. Trump’s justice department hit Assange with charges that could lead to up to 175 years in prison, even though the Barack Obama-Joe Biden administration had determined that prosecuting Assange would set a dangerous precedent.

If the United States can extradite foreign journalists for newsgathering and publishing behaviour that traditional media outlets engage in every day, it would kill investigative journalism as we know it. That’s why the Obama-Biden administration wouldn’t cross that line.

The current Biden administration needs to do more than just smile for reporters. Civility matters, but not as much as substance.

The Assange case is the biggest threat to press freedom in generations. If Biden truly wants to set a new tone, he’ll have to undo Trump’s war on journalism and drop the Assange case.

ASSANGE DEFENCE TEAM
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