Source: CounterPunch
by Binoy Kampmark
“While Assange’s conviction delighted those scribbling defenders of the national security state, the toadies, the paid-up worthies, and anyone from the CIA to CBS (‘Assange: hacker, thief and exposer of confidential sources!’ came the shrill voice of approval), his prosecution and ultimate conviction on a single charge of the Espionage Act served only one purpose: pouring oil on obtaining, using and discussing material about the crimes and vices of national security, notably the sort supplied by whistleblowers. One way of diminishing the sinister implications of that thuggish legacy is to persuade Freedom Land’s highest, doddering magistrate to show a skerrick of good sense – whatever is left of it.” (12/19/24)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/12/19/last-acts-time-for-biden-to-pardon-assange/