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You are here: Home / Archives for Julian Assange

Assange Fights Back Tears In Court

October 21, 2019 at 12:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Wikileaks founder Julian Assange struggled to say his own name as he appeared in the dock facing extradition to the US,” the Evening Standard reports.

“The 48-year-old is wanted in the United States over claims that he was involved in the hacking and leak of a mass of classified documents in 2010 through the Wikileaks website. But Assange says he is the victim of a politically-driven campaign by the Trump administration against journalists and whistleblowers, and claims his privileged discussions with lawyers have been spied on by the US.”

Fighting back tears, Assange said he has been denied access to a computer behind bars and is “in fear of my life.” He called the case “not equitable” and added: “I can’t think properly.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: Julian Assange

Assange Indicted Under Espionage Act

May 23, 2019 at 4:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks leader, has been indicted on 17 new counts of violating the Espionage Act for his role in publishing classified military and diplomatic documents in 2010, the Justice Department announced on Thursday — a novel case that raises profound First Amendment issues,” the New York Times reports.

“The new charges were part of a superseding indictment obtained by the Trump administration that significantly expanded the legal case against Mr. Assange, who is already fighting extradition proceedings in London based on an earlier hacking-related count brought by federal prosecutors in Northern Virginia.”

The Daily Beast called it a “stunning escalation of the Trump administration’s war on the press.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: Julian Assange

Sweden Requests Detention Order for Julian Assange

May 20, 2019 at 1:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The development sets up a possible future tug-of-war between Sweden and the United States over any extradition of Assange from Britain,” the AP reports.

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Gabbard Would Drop Charges Against Assange

May 16, 2019 at 11:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tusli Gabbard (D-HI) said she would drop criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden if elected, Newsweek reports.

Filed Under: 2020 Campaign Tagged With: Julian Assange, Tulsi Gabbard

Sweden Reopens Rape Case Against Assange

May 13, 2019 at 6:58 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Swedish authorities announced on Monday that they would reopen an investigation into a rape allegation against Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, who is serving a prison term in Britain for jumping bail as the United States seeks his extradition for his role in a huge breach of classified data,” the New York Times reports.

“The United States has already begun trying to extradite Mr. Assange, an effort that was expected to be prolonged and complex even before the announcement in Stockholm on Monday, and it could be further complicated by Sweden’s wish to reinstate its investigation.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange, Sweden

Julian Assange Sentenced In Britain

May 1, 2019 at 6:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A British court sentenced Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, to 50 weeks in jail on Wednesday for jumping bail when he took refuge in Ecuador’s Embassy in London seven years ago,” the New York Times reports.

“His complex legal travails are far from over: The United States is seeking Mr. Assange’s extradition for prosecution there, and officials in Sweden have left open the possibility that he could face criminal charges in that country, as well.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Worst House Guest Ever?

April 12, 2019 at 8:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

BBC: “More details emerged later, when Foreign Minister José Valencia told Congress that Assange had been using a mobile phone not registered with the embassy, repeatedly insulted the mission’s workers – reportedly calling them US spies – and damaged the facilities by riding his skateboard and playing football, despite being told not to do so.”

“Cleaning staff, Mr Valencia said, had described ‘improper hygienic conduct’ throughout Assange’s stay, an issue that a lawyer had attributed to ‘stomach problems’. One unnamed senior Ecuadorean official told AP news agency that other issues included ‘weeks without a shower’ and a ‘dental problem born of poor hygiene.'”

“Interior Minister María Paula Romo then complained that Assange had been allowed to do things like ‘put faeces on the walls of the embassy and other behaviours of that nature.'”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Why Ecuador Finally Got Sick of Julian Assange

April 11, 2019 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Daily Beast: “His dramatic expulsion from the embassy follows a year of ratcheting tension between Assange and his Ecuadorian hosts, culminating in Wikileaks publicizing a leak of hundreds of thousands of hacked emails mysteriously stolen from the inboxes of Ecuador’s president and first lady.

“It was this last move that finally set Ecuador’s government firmly against Assange, who was by then already being treated less like a political refugee than an inmate—albeit one who was free to leave at any time.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Only Russian Media Outlet Had Video of Assange Arrest

April 11, 2019 at 11:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hadn’t been seen in public for many months before he was arrested and hauled out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday,” CNN reports.

“It was a moment that global news organizations were desperate to show their audiences. Yet it wasn’t captured by leading UK broadcasters like the BBC, Sky News or Independent Television News… Instead, the only media organization with video of the controversial moment was an obscure outfit called Ruptly.”

“Ruptly, which has carved out a niche for itself by recording events around the world and selling the footage to other broadcasters, is a subsidiary of Russian state-backed media outlet RT.”

Filed Under: Media Buzz Tagged With: Julian Assange

U.S. Indictment Unsealed Against Julian Assange

April 11, 2019 at 9:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia unsealed a conspiracy charge against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was arrested by British police Thursday in Ecuador’s London embassy with the permission of Ecuadoran authorities,” the Washington Post reports.

“The case accuses Assange of conspiring to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer when working with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, who released hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and war logs in 2010.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: Julian Assange

Julian Assange’s Health Is Deteriorating

February 1, 2019 at 9:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Australian diplomats have reportedly visited Julian Assange in Ecuador’s embassy in London to hear firsthand about his health, the Sydney Morning Herald Reports.

Assange’s attorney “said he and his colleagues will now directly appeal to Foreign Minister Marise Payne to petition the UK government to let Assange leave the embassy for urgent medical care without being arrested.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Manafort Tried to Broker Deal to Hand Assange to U.S.

December 3, 2018 at 8:51 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In mid-May 2017, Paul Manafort, facing intensifying pressure to settle debts and pay mounting legal bills, flew to Ecuador to offer his services to a potentially lucrative new client — the country’s incoming president, Lenín Moreno,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Manafort made the trip mainly to see if he could broker a deal under which China would invest in Ecuador’s power system, possibly yielding a fat commission for Mr. Manafort.”

“But the talks turned to a diplomatic sticking point between the United States and Ecuador: the fate of the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.”

Filed Under: Political Consultants Tagged With: Julian Assange, Paul Manafort

Mueller Probes Manafort’s Meeting with Ecuadorian Leader

November 27, 2018 at 4:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has been investigating a meeting between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno in Quito in 2017 and has specifically asked if WikiLeaks or its founder, Julian Assange, were discussed in the meeting, CNN reports.

Earlier Tuesday, The Guardian reported that Manafort secretly met several times with Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Manafort denies the meetings ever happened.

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Ecuador, Julian Assange, Paul Manafort

Manafort Denies Ever Meeting Julian Assange

November 27, 2018 at 3:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort told the National Review that he has never met privately with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and threatened to sue the Guardian for reporting that he has.

Said Manafort: “This story is totally false and deliberately libelous. I have never met Julian Assange or anyone connected to him. I have never been contacted by anyone connected to Wikileaks, either directly or indirectly. I have never reached out to Assange or Wikileaks on any matter. We are considering all legal options against the Guardian who proceeded with this story even after being notified by my representatives that it was false.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Julian Assange, Paul Manafort

Manafort Held Secret Talks with Julian Assange

November 27, 2018 at 9:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and visited around the time he joined Trump’s campaign,” The Guardian reports.

“Sources have said Manafort went to see Assange in 2013, 2015 and in spring 2016 – during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.”

“It is unclear why Manafort wanted to see Assange and what was discussed. But the last meeting is likely to come under scrutiny and could interest Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who is investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: Julian Assange, Paul Manafort

Roger Stone Sought Pardon for Julian Asange

October 25, 2018 at 11:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mother Jones: “In early January, Roger Stone, the longtime Republican operative and adviser to Donald Trump, sent a text message to an associate stating that he was actively seeking a presidential pardon for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange—and felt optimistic about his chances.“

“The recipient of the messages was Randy Credico, a New York-based comedian and left-leaning political activist who Stone has identified as his backchannel to WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign—a claim Credico strongly denies.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Julian Assange, Roger Stone

Inside the Plan to Move Julian Assange to Russia

September 28, 2018 at 6:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Documents reviewed and authenticated by ABC News in Quito show that the Ecuadorian government gave Assange diplomatic credentials and diplomatic immunity in order to allow him to leave their London embassy without fear of arrest by British police and take up a post in Russia.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange

Russia Hatched Secret Plan to Rescue Julian Assange

September 21, 2018 at 1:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Russian diplomats held secret talks in London last year with people close to Julian Assange to assess whether they could help him flee the UK,” the Guardian reports.

“A tentative plan was devised that would have seen the WikiLeaks founder smuggled out of Ecuador’s London embassy in a diplomatic vehicle and transported to another country. One ultimate destination, multiple sources have said, was Russia, where Assange would not be at risk of extradition to the US.”

“The plan was abandoned after it was deemed too risky.”

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Julian Assange, Russia

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goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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