Assange is now free, but the American media is more imprisoned than ever, says leading political economist, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, chairman of The Institute for Political Economy, former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal and author, in this interview with Larry Sparano.
Quoted from the interview: One of the purposes of what was done to Julian Assange was to intimidate the media from publishing leaked information that was unfavorable to Washington. That has been achieved.
Persecuting Julian Assange: Assange was not freed in the sense that the case was abandoned or overturned by a higher court. The ordeal of Assange ended when the justice Department suddenly decided they wanted out, for whatever reason, and quickly arranged a deal.
In exchange for Assange making a plea of guilt of one charge, conspiracy to obtain security documents, in change for that his sentence would be the time served already in a British jail. The time he spent was a violation of Habeas Corpus, (A writ to bring a person before a court to ensure that a person’s imprisonment or detention is legal) because he has never been accused or convicted of a crime, but he has been in jail for 62 months, says Dr. Roberts.
Persecuting Julian Assange: There are no charges outstanding and no convictions. He spent the time in a tiny cell and solitary confinement.
I think that the Justice Department concluded that it had achieved its objectives.
Assange is not even American. What he does as an Australian is subject to Australian law. He was not even in the US when he allegedly committed this offence, and was originally charged with treason which cannot apply since he was not a citizen, says Dr. Roberts.
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Persecuting Julian Assange: This is a huge American decline. The American media was terminated when the Clinton regime allowed six mega corporations to purchase 90 % of the media. It is now all concentrated in a few hands.
There is no longer any independent journalism in the print and TV area, only online and there is less and less online. There simply is not independent journalism today. This is why the media did not come to his support continually.
What happened is that the US had achieved its aim. It had intimidated journalists and demonstrated that this is what happens if you embarrass us in any way. They claim a victory because they got a conviction. He is convicted by his plea agreement. They did get a conviction without a trial, he points out.
Assange had not done anything which is not protected, moreover he is not an American citizen. Washington probably sees it as a victory.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is the chairman of The Institute for Political Economy, former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, and an author of many books. He is a regular contributor to the Herland Report news site as well as The Herland Report TV interviews on YouTube. He has had careers in scholarship and academia, journalism, public service, and business. He has been awarded the Treasury Department’s Meritorious Service Award for “his outstanding contributions to the formulation of United States economic policy.”
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