Slugger O'Toole, PJ, and Assange
I recently had a chance to be published on the popular Slugger O'Toole website in Northern Ireland.
The piece, previously published on this blog, talks about the ironically inflammatory nature of the term "peace." The 44 comments following my column are especially interesting. Several ask my opinion about Julian Assange. Here is my response:
I have no connection to Julian Assange, and don’t know any more about his status than the rest of you. My opinion about him is unsurprisingly mixed.
Many organizations like the Knight Center, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Amnesty International have come to his defense. Typical of pro-Assange statements is this one from Reporters Without Borders: ““Targeting Assange after nearly nine years because of Wikileaks’ provision of information to journalists that was in the public interest (such as the leaked US diplomatic cables) would be a purely punitive measure and would set a dangerous precedent for journalists, whistleblowers, and other journalistic sources that the US may wish to pursue in the future. “
While I agree with this assessment, I also believe Assange crossed the line that separates journalists from political hacks with his partisan pro-Trump, anti-Hillary leaks in 2016. The Washington Post noted, “Assange, who once spoke of uniting the world’s majority against its elite, began to sound and act like a simple partisan. He gave an interview to Trump-friendly Fox News host Sean Hannity, who had him promise viewers that he was not working with the Russian government. Assange appeared to suggest that a Democratic National Committee employee who had recently died in a botched robbery — Seth Rich — had been his source for the 2016 leaks, fueling right-wing conspiracy theories that Democrats had Rich murdered in retaliation.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-julian-assange-went-from-first-amendment-hero-to-partisan-figure-in-the-eyes-of-the-public/2019/04/12/15ce9362-5c8e-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html)
In 2017, Vox wrote, “WikiLeaks, an organization purportedly devoted to transparency, is at a minimum okay with helping out the world’s most aggressively authoritarian leader (Putin)” (https://www.vox.com/world/2017/1/6/14179240/wikileaks-russia-ties)
So while I value the work of WikiLeaks, I condemn its partisan hijacking by Assange.
I recently had a chance to be published on the popular Slugger O'Toole website in Northern Ireland.
I have no connection to Julian Assange, and don’t know any more about his status than the rest of you. My opinion about him is unsurprisingly mixed.
Many organizations like the Knight Center, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Amnesty International have come to his defense. Typical of pro-Assange statements is this one from Reporters Without Borders: ““Targeting Assange after nearly nine years because of Wikileaks’ provision of information to journalists that was in the public interest (such as the leaked US diplomatic cables) would be a purely punitive measure and would set a dangerous precedent for journalists, whistleblowers, and other journalistic sources that the US may wish to pursue in the future. “
While I agree with this assessment, I also believe Assange crossed the line that separates journalists from political hacks with his partisan pro-Trump, anti-Hillary leaks in 2016. The Washington Post noted, “Assange, who once spoke of uniting the world’s majority against its elite, began to sound and act like a simple partisan. He gave an interview to Trump-friendly Fox News host Sean Hannity, who had him promise viewers that he was not working with the Russian government. Assange appeared to suggest that a Democratic National Committee employee who had recently died in a botched robbery — Seth Rich — had been his source for the 2016 leaks, fueling right-wing conspiracy theories that Democrats had Rich murdered in retaliation.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-julian-assange-went-from-first-amendment-hero-to-partisan-figure-in-the-eyes-of-the-public/2019/04/12/15ce9362-5c8e-11e9-a00e-050dc7b82693_story.html)
In 2017, Vox wrote, “WikiLeaks, an organization purportedly devoted to transparency, is at a minimum okay with helping out the world’s most aggressively authoritarian leader (Putin)” (https://www.vox.com/world/2017/1/6/14179240/wikileaks-russia-ties)
So while I value the work of WikiLeaks, I condemn its partisan hijacking by Assange.
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