Does Wikileaks Have A ‘Silver Bullet’ That Will Kill Hillary Clinton’s Campaign?
Social media is alive with speculation that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has a “silver bullet” that will bring Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign to a screeching halt. The 2016 presidential election campaign has been the most bitter in recent history. Both Clinton and chief rival Donald Trump have been beset by controversy after controversy, and many are wondering why America is forced to choose between two candidates with so many skeletons in their respective closets.
Trump has been accused of racism, sexism, corrupt business practice, and even of encouraging opponents of gun control to assassinate Clinton. For her part, Hillary Clinton has been embroiled in her email scandal, suggestions of cronyism, and most recently having lied to the American people about her health. This is a presidential campaign that has spawned an industry intent on exposing the seemingly dodgy dealings of both Clinton and Trump.
Of course, Wikileaks is a major player when it comes to exposing the allegedly underhand dealings of the rich and powerful. There is every reason to suppose that both Trump and Clinton have been on the Wikileaks radar for quite some time. A report in True Pundit claims that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was certainly on Secretary of State Clinton’s radar. The report claims that Clinton suggested that Assange should be targeted in a drone strike.
Hillary Clinton on Assange "Can't we just drone this guy" — report https://t.co/S7tPrl2QCZ pic.twitter.com/qy2EQBa48y
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 3, 2016
Given that Assange has lived in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London for the last five years, you have to wonder if Clinton was prepared to use military force to mount an assassination on foreign soil?
According to Cnet, Wikileaks moved a press conference to Berlin from London after receiving unspecified “specific information.” It had been expected that Assange was set to release information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton. The last-minute change of venue was announced shortly after the Wikileaks site tweeted a report that quoted Clinton as appearing to suggest use of a drone strike against Assange.
In 30 min: WikiLeaks 10 Year Anniversary begins with Berlin press conference https://t.co/u9e5ecGaMc #wikileaks pic.twitter.com/cPqWeFr7Uw
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 4, 2016
According to the Daily Mail Wikileaks has turned 10-years-old and plans to “celebrate” by releasing material relevant to the U.S. election every week for the next 10-weeks. The material is likely to be damaging to both Clinton and Trump but apparently Assange has denied that the leaks will “destroy Hillary Clinton.”
“WikiLeaks provides a safe means for whistleblowers to make disclosures to the public on wrongdoing committed by any government or private enterprise.”
“If we have significant confidential information on Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton we will publish it. If we have information on any significant power faction or candidate in a globally significant election campaign, we publish it.”
If the current election campaign is anything to go by, both Trump and Clinton will be dreading what Wikileaks will reveal in the coming weeks. Whether the revelations will be sufficiently damaging to Clinton or Trump’s campaigns remains to be seen. Whatever the outcome of the election, it is clear that the Wikileaks staff are concerned about their own safety at the hands of Clinton or Trump.
During their 10th anniversary press conference, Wikileaks showed a video that first surfaced in 2012. The video purports to show “high-level U.S. government officials, including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, [demanding] the assassination of Assange and to list WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization.”
With the presidential election just over one month away, both Clinton and Trump will be hoping that Wikileaks shows their opponent in a worse light than them. Few will expect either Clinton or Trump to to emerge from Wikileaks’ scrutiny with any credit, and both will be worried about what the revelations will do to their electoral chances.
According to the Telegraph, Trump has continually eaten away at Clinton’s lead in the polls. Clinton did get a boost as a result of the first televised debate, but the polls have been narrowing for months. Many people do not trust either Trump or Clinton, and as a result the election could swing on which of the two appears the least dirty. If that proves to be the case, Wikileaks could well decide whether Clinton or Trump gets the keys to the White House.
[Featured image by Markus Schreiber/AP]
