WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested after Ecuador withdraws asylum

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Ryan Gaydos | Fox News




Ecuador announced Thursday that it has withdrawn asylum from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for “repeatedly violating international conventions and protocol.”

Assange was subsequently arrested by British police.

Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Jose Valencia told Teleamazonas this week that living in the embassy indefinitely is bad for Assange’s "state of mind, his health,” but that Assange has a right to a fair trial and right to a defense.

London's Metropolitan Police vowed earlier this month to arrest Assange if he were freed. Assange, who has lived in the embassy for more than six years, faces possible extradition to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

Assange has been in the embassy since 2012 when British courts ordered him extradited to Sweden to face questioning in a sexual assault case. That matter has since been dropped, but Wikileaks is facing a federal grand jury investigation over its publication of American diplomatic and military secrets during the Iraq War.

Assange and his website were front and center during the 2016 presidential election, when they published thousands of Democratic National Committee emails and files from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. Democrats believe the emails were delivered to Assange by Russian operatives, but Assange has insisted they did not come from a state actor.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Trump should pardon him

[fricnjay]

Hero of the people

[Hal-9000]

This guy and story perplexes me.

The public says they want total transparency from whatever government is in power. We have evidence of past governments not being honest with the people.

Then someone finds out the government may have been playing fast and loose with the truth on a variety of subjects. Let's pick one. How the government listens in on and records our private communications and says they don't.

Half of the population thinks the person who leaked the info is a hero, the other half thinks he's a criminal for disclosing sensitive government secrets.

[DemonGeminiX]

This guy and story perplexes me.

The public says they want total transparency from whatever government is in power. We have evidence of past governments not being honest with the people.

Then someone finds out the government may have been playing fast and loose with the truth on a variety of subjects. Let's pick one. How the government listens in on and records our private communications and says they don't.

Half of the population thinks the person who leaked the info is a hero, the other half thinks he's a criminal for disclosing sensitive government secrets.

I am very torn about this. Our government should be transparent about things with us, the citizens that elected them. But then again, there are issues of national security and military strategy that should not be in the public eye at all. In fact, there's probably many things that shouldn't be in the public eye, particularly where our military's concerned.

We should hold our government accountable for their non-transparency. They are our servants, not our masters. We should have all information about what our elected officials are doing. But it shouldn't be up to this guy to insure that we or the rest of the world knows what they're doing. Frankly, even if they were completely transparent with us, that doesn't mean they need to be transparent with the rest of the world. In fact, it's probably best that they're not.

[Godfather]

What do you think the chances are that he has some kind of a 'dead man switch' of info to be released if he's arrested or extradited to the US? This could be one helluva show here.

[Goofy]

Frankly, even if they were completely transparent with us, that doesn't mean they need to be transparent with the rest of the world. In fact, it's probably best that they're not.

You can't have one without the other though.

[RBP]

I'm not torn at all. He hacked US Military servers to release combat data, methods, counter measures, and names. Fuck that guy.

[RBP]

I am very torn about this. Our government should be transparent about things with us, the citizens that elected them. But then again, there are issues of national security and military strategy that should not be in the public eye at all. In fact, there's probably many things that shouldn't be in the public eye, particularly where our military's concerned.

We should hold our government accountable for their non-transparency. They are our servants, not our masters. We should have all information about what our elected officials are doing. But it shouldn't be up to this guy to insure that we or the rest of the world knows what they're doing. Frankly, even if they were completely transparent with us, that doesn't mean they need to be transparent with the rest of the world. In fact, it's probably best that they're not.

I would like to believe that we can trust our government institutions enough to be comfortable that there are a LOT of things we shouldn't know. And that when people cross lines, other patriots will step up to expose it. In large part, that has been the case, but I am not naive enough to think there are not some huge exceptions and abuses of power.

[RBP]

Tucker Carlson's counter point. He paints Assange as no different than the Washington Post or NYT printing the Pentagon Papers. Not sure I buy this version, but it's interesting.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tuck...ming-president

[Hal-9000]

I am very torn about this. Our government should be transparent about things with us, the citizens that elected them. But then again, there are issues of national security and military strategy that should not be in the public eye at all. In fact, there's probably many things that shouldn't be in the public eye, particularly where our military's concerned.

We should hold our government accountable for their non-transparency. They are our servants, not our masters. We should have all information about what our elected officials are doing. But it shouldn't be up to this guy to insure that we or the rest of the world knows what they're doing. Frankly, even if they were completely transparent with us, that doesn't mean they need to be transparent with the rest of the world. In fact, it's probably best that they're not.

What do you think the chances are that he has some kind of a 'dead man switch' of info to be released if he's arrested or extradited to the US? This could be one helluva show here.

You can't have one without the other though.

I'm not torn at all. He hacked US Military servers to release combat data, methods, counter measures, and names. Fuck that guy.

Not talking about this guy specifically. He did leak other types of information but his case is messy comparatively.

I believe strongly in what DGX mentions saying "They are our servants, not our masters." and "We should have all information about what our elected officials are doing."

We never have that complete information and I guess the balancing act is predicated on who is releasing the info and what type of info it is.

The information can be both harmful to the government as well as harmful to the country upon release. Who decides how to parse that piece of information and how sensitive it can be? Reporters historically will release any and all info no matter how damning or revealing.

As RBP mentions, it's an issue of trust. But how can we ever trust an entity if that entity consistently holds all of the cards and censors anyone close to looking at them?

[FBD]