Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) introduced H.Res.1175 last week, which calls for the U.S. deep state to give up its hostile prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The resolution intends to defend press freedom against the national security state. The prosecution of Assange could criminalize journalism as we know it if he is successfully railroaded by the feds.
“Freedom of the press is a vital function of a free democracy in which the government is accountable to the people. Julian Assange published information that exposed lies and abuses of power at the highest levels of our government. His indictment under the Espionage Act sends a chilling message to every member of the media and all Americans,” Gabbard said.
“U.S. government prosecutors now claim that any journalist or news organization that publishes classified material is liable to prosecution under the Espionage Act — which would have led to the indictment of the Washington Post for the publication of the Pentagon Papers. The Federal government’s prosecution of Julian Assange sets a dangerous precedent. All extradition efforts and charges under the Espionage Act against Julian Assange must be dropped now,” she added.
With U.S. politics becoming more polarized than perhaps ever before, Massie and Gabbard are showing how both parties can come together to promote the Bill of Rights and authentic journalism at a time when liberty is under attack like never before.
“At a time when government officials claim the right to perform warrantless surveillance upon all American citizens, there is an urgent need to zealously guard freedom of the press and to demand government transparency and accountability,” Massie said.
“The ongoing attempts to prosecute Julian Assange threaten our First Amendment rights, and should be opposed by all who wish to safeguard our constitutional rights now and in the years to come. I join my colleague, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, in calling for an immediate end to all charges against Mr. Assange,” he added.
Big League Politics has reported on the cruel and inhumane treatment that Assange has been forced to endure since his detention:
“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s legal team is outraged that they are being denied access to key evidence as they attempt to prove their client’s innocence in the British court of law.
Assange attorney Gareth Peirce also claims that she has not been able to spend adequate time with her client, who is being detained in the Belmarsh facility in Britain. He is being held there as the U.S. attempts to extradite him to the states in order to charge him with 18 felony counts.
“We have pushed Belmarsh in every way – it is a breach of a defendant’s rights,” Pierce said.
Nils Melzer, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture, has also spoken out about the treatment of Assange, who is being brutalized during his show trial. Melzer has talked of the “deliberate, concerted and sustained nature of the abuse inflicted on Mr. Assange.”
“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law. The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now,” Melzer added.
Assange’s family believes that their son will get the Epstein treatment, and he will be murdered to keep him from quiet and make an example of him.”
Libertarian Congressman Justin Amash’s name is conspicuously absent from the resolution. He was called out by journalist Cassandra Fairbanks for his unwillingness to stand up for Assange’s freedom.
Amash responded by expressing his concerns about “releasing personal information about private individuals,” such as Hillary Clinton and other war criminals who have departed government.
That’s false. Maybe you’re just misremembering or maybe you didn’t understand. I said I didn’t know a lot about the situation at the time and that releasing information about the government’s wrongdoings is good and releasing personal information about private individuals is not.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) October 7, 2020
Massie and Gabbard have established themselves as the premier defenders of the cause of liberty in Congress.
