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In reply to the discussion: Julian Assange bids to sue Julia Gillard for defamation over WikiLeaks comments [View all]AntiFascist
(12,792 posts)there certainly is an anti-Assange crowd, both here and within government. The same group of DUers (one in particular) is constantly posting every single negative story they can get their hands on and refers to Assange by the first 3 letters of his last name (which demonstrates the level of maturity). There is a long list of Republicans who, 2 years ago, was calling for Assange's death or even assassination. AG Eric Holder made statements that the DOJ was looking into several ways to prosecute him "at the highest levels". Even the Obama Administration is "divided" on the wisdom of prosecuting Assange, which means that there are still those who want him prosecuted. All you have to do is look through some of the leaked Stratfor emails to see the intense level of vitriol some have against the man.
As I previously pointed out, the US government could gain more information to prosecute Assange from no less than Manning himself, particularly during the pre-trial period (his trial starts early next year). The government could likely gain valuable info from Assange directly, for instance other sources similar to Manning who might prove a threat to the corrupt forces left in government after the Bush years.
I could care less about "feeling bad" for Assange, and he may very well have committed a crime by helping to hack into a secret database. What concerns me much more is the attempt to sweep this all under the rug as if it doesn't matter, and the far greater injustice of ignoring the corruption.