Jimmy Dore Says Donald Trump Should Pardon Julian Assange For Freedom Of Speech & Press
Comedian and political commentator Jimmy Dore appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show on Friday and argued for the release of imprisoned journalist Julian Assange.
Dore began by touching on the recent censorship happening on technology platforms, arguing that it violates American free speech protections. In a YouTube clip of his appearance, the commentator claimed that George W. Bush’s War on Terror already showed the dangers of government overreach in the name of fighting domestic terror and suggested that the new push for censorship could lead to the same abuses.
The political commentator’s remarks echoed warnings from journalist Glenn Greenwald, who argued in a recent Twitter thread that the events at the U.S. Capitol have accelerated the “new War on Terror” that President-elect Joe Biden’s administration is purportedly planning to pursue.
From here, Dore highlighted the censorship of Assange and called for the journalist to be pardoned.
“The first person to be de-platformed was Wikileaks and Julian Assange,” he said.
“And this will be a great way for Donald Trump to stick a thumb back in the eye of these people, is to pardon Julian Assange. If he knows what’s good for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, he should take this moment and pardon Julian Assange.”
As The Inquisitr reported, conservative commentator Jack Posobiec previously claimed that Trump would be making a decision on whether to pardon Assange — as well as Edward Snowden and Ross Ulbricht — by this weekend.
Per CNN, the WikiLeaks founder was charged under the Espionage Act for publishing classified diplomatic and military cables that exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is facing up to 175 years in prison and was recently denied bail by a British judge. The same judge earlier denied Assange’s extradition to the United States.
In a piece for Common Dreams, journalist Chris Hedges argued for the importance of the case and the implications of Assange’s possible conviction in the U.S.
“The extradition of Assange would mean the end of journalistic investigations into the inner workings of power. It would cement into place a terrifying global, corporate tyranny under which borders, nationality and law mean nothing.”
Assange is being held in Belmarsh prison in London, England, where concerns have been raised about his physical and mental health. According to Amnesty International human rights expert Julia Hall, Assange is being targeted while in prison by a strategy to cut him off from his family, friends, and legal team. Elsewhere, reports suggested that the journalist has exhibited symptoms of psychological torture.
Outspoken supporters of Assange include actress Pamela Anderson, director Oliver Stone, and Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters.
