...my participation in two threads that deal with Julian Assange indicate to me that many people see defense or scorn/condemnation of him (of what he may have done) as a partisan issue. I honestly do not see it that way...but I'd love to hear how others feel in this regard. Do YOU see the issue as partisan...and if "YES"...which side do you see as reflexively defending him...and which side as reflexively condemning him?
As I said before, it will be interesting how the media handles his trial (if he has one here). Provided he's only the messenger and not stealing information, it will be curious to see if it all rides on if his testimony gores the media's political ox, so to speak. There is legal precedence that a journalist is protected even if the information was stolen by a third party. Freedom of the press, surprisingly, is still kind of a big deal these days. The press however, has forgotten that freedom is a two way street. We still have the right to criticize them for Fake News.
Interesting comments and I agree with many, Navigator. But no answer to my question, Do you see the Assange issue to be a partisan one? If so...which side is the left on...and which the right?
I don't think that Assange has been particularly partisan. The reactions to his releases do follow roughly partisan lines. It depends on where people stand on an issue. People who cheered his release of NSA spy documents hated his release of Podesta's e-.mails, and vice-versa.
It could be..........I don't really know. Is the Trump admin influencing Assange? Is the CIA/FBI influencing Assange? Is someone covering Christopher Steele's ass in the UK? Are both the US and GB worried about what Assange might throw out there in a court of law? Beats the hell out of me. My feeling is trust no one regarding this. Coming from me, that's about as non-partisan as I can be regarding my position. We'll probably never find out. Trump could be holding Assange as a "Trump" card to silence the Deep State once and for all. I can only hope. After what they did to Trump, I'd say let Assange spill the beans and throw the Democrats, the alphabet soup agencies, the DNC operatives, AND Obama himself if implicated.......under the bus. A big FU to the Washington establishment.........and some GOP members as well.
