Who is Julian Assange?

Lisa K. Donner writes,

There is perhaps no more controversial character than Julian Assange. Labeled an international thief by some and a righteous whistle-blower by others, the WikiLeaks founder was tapped as Time magazine “Person of the Year” in 2010. However, his fall from grace has been nothing short of staggering. Now he faces 18 federal counts in connection with publishing classified documents that the US claims violated its laws.

…During Assange’s stay at the embassy, his organization managed to publish thousands of Hillary Clinton’s emails as well as those of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In 2016, a UN panel determined the Wikileaks founder had been deprived of his liberty and recommended his release. But the Brits considered that recommendation as “non-binding” and promised he would be taken into custody should he leave the Embassy of Ecuador. The UK followed through with their threat and Assange has been incarcerated there ever since.

…In the meantime, US officials have been angling to get their hands on Mr. Assange and unless an appeal by his attorney’s succeeds, he will cross the pond to American shores. The eighteen charges awaiting him here in the US including breaching the Espionage Act and conspiracy to hack government computers. If convicted, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison.

…The WikiLeaks founder is accused of aiding former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in “cracking” the password to Defense Department computers. Yet another count relates to “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion,” and another claims that by releasing classified cables, Assange put a number of American assets in Iraq, Afghanistan, China, Iran, and Syria in harm’s way.

Read more here: https://www.libertynation.com/thief-or-hero-controversial-julian-assange-headed-for-us/