World Leader Makes INSANE Request For Statue Of Liberty
(UnitedVoice.com) – In 2010, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange published leaks of classified US military information about its operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. That wasn’t all. WikiLeaks also published correspondence between hundreds of US embassies. Former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked the secret military documents to Assange. A jury ultimately convicted the disgraced Army soldier of theft and espionage and sentenced her to 35 years in federal prison, though President Obama released her after 6 years of jail time.
The US government has sought to extradite Assange to the United States. The Department of Justice indicted the Wikileaks founder on 17 counts of espionage and 1 count of a computer misuse crime. On June 17, British authorities ordered Assange’s extradition to the United States. If that happens, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the US should remove the Statue of Liberty.
Mexican President Says the US Should Take Down the Statue of Liberty
López Obrador is a staunch supporter of Assange and his release of US classified information. On July 4, the Mexican president said the Wikileaks founder is the best journalist in the world, and it would be an international embarrassment if the US prosecuted him.
The Mexican leader added the international community should start a campaign to force the US to remove the Statue of Liberty. He argued it’s no longer a “symbol of freedom.” López Obrador noted if the US rejects the idea, it would be a stain on the country. It’s an issue the Mexican president said he would address with President Joe Biden in an upcoming call.
Still, López Obrador has issues of his own with journalists. Over the last six months, 11 were murdered in Mexico. For three years in a row, Reporters Without Borders said Mexico was the most dangerous country in the world for journalists.
Is Assange a Journalist?
Some believe if the US puts Assange on trial, it could set a dangerous precedent for journalists and news outlets that publish classified documents. The political refugee describes himself as a journalist who is immune from prosecution. The Wikileaks founder says if he’s guilty of anything, it’s embarrassing the United States over its war policies in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2010, Assange released 75,000 classified documents about the US war in Afghanistan and 390,000 army field reports from Iraq. In addition, Wikileaks published over 250,000 diplomatic communications from 1996 to 2010. In the process, the documents revealed insights into how 270 embassies operate around the globe.
Assange’s opponents say he’s not a journalist. He doesn’t write stories, interview individuals, or provide any context for the classified materials he releases online. Instead, Wikileaks published raw stolen American secrets. Some argue that’s journalism.
If US prosecutors put Assange on trial in the United States, a jury will decide the matter. Yet, a decision could ultimately rest with the US Supreme Court.
Still, the US prosecution of Assange may never happen because until he exhausts all legal challenges to extradition in the UK, the government won’t hand him over despite the UK green-lighting the exchange.
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