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 @ISIDEWITHNewsGlobalPress freedomUS governmentJulian AssangeWikiLeaksWhistleblowing•••2yrs ago

Julian Assange: 'I Pled Guilty to Journalism' to Secure Freedom

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has made his first public statement since being released from a British prison, declaring that he 'pled guilty to journalism' to secure his freedom.

Assange had been incarcerated for five years after publishing classified US military documents, following years of self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. His release came after a plea deal with US prosecutors, ending a prolonged legal battle.

Assange's case has sparked global debates on press freedom, whistleblowing, and government transparency.

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4 Replies

 @PumaBrooklynProgressive from North Carolina  commented…2yrs2Y

It's ridiculous that exposing war crimes can land someone in prison while the people who commit them walk free—this shows just how broken our system is when it comes to protecting press freedom.

 @Pe0plesPartyPumaLibertarianfrom Illinois  commented…2yrs2Y

Assange being punished for exposing government wrongdoing shows just how far we’ve strayed from protecting free speech and transparency.

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…2yrs2Y

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed By SYLVIA HUI and BARBARA SURK

https://indianexpress.com

Prior to his time in prison, he had spent seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he claimed asylum on the grounds of political persecution.

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…2yrs2Y

Julian Assange makes first public statement since being freed: ‘I pled guilty to journalism’

https://yahoo.com

Julian Assange has said that he is free after years of incarceration because he “pled guilty to journalism”. Mr Assange was released in June after five years in a British prison. He pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concluded a drawn-out legal saga.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…1yr1Y

Biden bans new offshore oil drilling along most of US coastline

President Joe Biden announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the US coastline on Monday in a move designed to bolster his environmental and climate legacy as he prepares to leave office.The order will protect 625mn acres of ocean on the US east coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, as well as portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the White House said on Monday.“My decision reflects what the coastal communities, business and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said.The executive action will not prevent oil and gas companies obtaining leases in the central and western parts of the Gulf of Mexico, areas that produce almost 15 per cent of the nation’s oil supplies. Nevertheless, the move is expected to complicate the policy agenda of incoming president Donald Trump, who has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and boost US oil production, even though it is already at a record level.The Trump transition team said it was a disgraceful decision designed to exact “political revenge on the American people” and the incoming president said he would immediately “unban” Biden’s prohibition on new offshore drilling.“I have the right to unban it immediately . . . we can’t let that happen to our country. It’s our greatest, it’s really our greatest economic asset,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview on Monday.Biden’s action will probably be challenged by the oil industry in court and face pushback from Republicans in Congress. But overturning the order could prove challenging and may require an act of Congress, according to legal experts.Biden is using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to protect the areas from drilling — the same mechanism which former president Barack Obama used previously to ban offshore drilling in some Arctic and Atlantic waters in 2016.In 2019, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by former president Donald Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawful.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Michigan Showdown: Rashida Tlaib Snubs Kamala Harris as Gaza Crisis Roils Arab American Voters

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who spoke at a United Auto Workers rally in Detroit Friday night, declined to endorse Kamala Harris just four days out from Election Day, according to The Detroit News.The Democratic lawmaker encouraged union members to vote but kept her speech focused on down-ballot races. Tlaib, who is Palestinian American, is the only member of the Squad to withhold her support for Harris and has been vocal in her criticism of the Biden administration’s Israel policy.The war in Gaza has remained a top issue in battleground Michigan, where more than 100,000 voters cast their ballots for “uncommitted” in the state’s primary earlier this year, spurring concerns about the Democratic presidential candidate’s chances in the state. Harris has continued to face protests on the trail, as demonstrators call for her to break with President Joe Biden and support an arms embargo on Israel.The Uncommitted National Movement, confounded by Layla Elabed, Tlaib’s sister, announced in September that it wouldn’t endorse Harris while saying it opposed Donald Trump.Harris has been endorsed by several other leaders in the Arab American and Muslim community, and aides have met privately with leaders across battleground states in recent months. The vice president met briefly with a group of Arab American and Muslim leaders last month in Flint, Michigan, to discuss their concerns about Gaza and civilian casualties in Lebanon.

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