WATCH: Chomsky, Ellsberg, Walker on the Julian Assange Case

Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg and Alice Walker take part in this Courage Foundation panel discussion moderated by Jimmy Dore ahead of Julian Assange’s extradition hearing beginning on Monday.

Julian Assange faces extradition from Britain the United States, where he would face a potential sentence of 175 years prison, in a hearing that resumes on Monday at Old Bailey in London. The imprisoned WikiLeaks editor and publisher’s extradition is being sought for publishing U.S. government documents in 2010, which exposed war crimes and human rights abuses.

The indictment marks the first-ever use of the Espionage Act for the publication of truthful information in the public interest, and it represents a gravely dangerous attempt to criminalize basic journalistic activity, threatening journalists’ right to publish and the public’s right to know.

Political comedian Jimmy Dore hosted the panel featuring Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, and Daniel Ellsberg, preeminent experts on free speech and the fight to protect it. They examined the implications of his indictment and explained why they have joined up as co-chairs of a new U.S. support group for Assange.

Watch it here at Assange Central on Consortium News:

17 comments for “WATCH: Chomsky, Ellsberg, Walker on the Julian Assange Case

  1. September 6, 2020 at 17:16

    Everyone should be interested in this false trial which both liberals and conservative folks believe is wrong.

  2. September 6, 2020 at 14:37

    i am so happy to see these people of substance stand up and speak in support of assange – in support of the first amendment (which has been torn to peaces by the woke) and in support of freedom of the press (of which there are so few real reporters anymore because they are all owned by a few billionaires and corporations with a financial axe to grind).

    i never thought i would see the day when pot is sold legally on every street corner – but we have to meet our hairdresser in a dark alley because it’s illegal – and dissent is quashed in all areas in all areas – opposition censured in every part of the world – and freedom of movement taken away by a fake epidemic.

    sadly, government corruption is now complete :
    “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
    — William Casey, CIA director, February 1981

  3. September 6, 2020 at 13:46

    Já jednou už psala Pan J.Assang mel by mít v každém m?ste památník k tomu Nobelovu cenu za Mír .Žurnalisty m?ly by být chraeni zákonem .

    Czech, translation by Google
    I once wrote Mr. J. Assang should have a memorial in each city to the Nobel Peace Prize. Journalists should be protected by law.

  4. Lorain McElligott
    September 6, 2020 at 07:00

    JA … Hero of our time!

  5. September 6, 2020 at 05:26

    Highly important interviews – Ellsberg was brilliant speaking about the constitutional rights of Americans and how recent Presidents have transgressed them, particularly Obama and Trump. The wide use of solitary confinement particularly for black people as described by him is a blight on the image of the USA as a democracy. Its was really valuable to hear Chomsky’s historic defense of the public right to know. All should respect the vast wisdom of such an eminent and experienced person about the freedom of the people. It is marvellous to see him in action even though he is getting quite frail. We didn’t hear enough from Alice Walker unfortunately. She spoke about the value of Assang’e work and the need for all to study his case and speak up for him.

    What does this mean for Australia:

    Julian Assange should be nominated for the Order of Australia for his value to the World.

    He should also be nominated and win the Nobel Peace prize

    Our Government should demand that the UK return a distinguished Australian to Australia.

    Its obscene that we could ever countenance the forced kidnapping of Assange by the UK to the US.

    Our Government should work much harder to ensure the right of freedom of the press in Australia – because this under threat now

    • evelync
      September 6, 2020 at 14:36

      Daniel Immerwahr in his 2020 book “How to Hide an Empire” ties together the ugly racism you mention that also permeated our foreign military policy from the beginning. The chapter on the brutal abuse & cheating of men of color “hired” to harvest guano for agricultural nitrogen from the snatched territory of the guano islands was at the very start of Empire building; the brutal betrayal of our Filipino brothers in arms who were the real heros of the liberation of the Phillipines from Spain.
      Waterboarding was used against the Filipino military at the time of the Spanish American War who had believed we had joined them in their 30 year struggle to win a war of liberation from Spain and therefore had resisted what became an American occupation.
      Demoralized and beaten, the Spanish conceded to a secret aggreement with the American forces rather than admit defeat to the Filipinos.

  6. paul easton
    September 5, 2020 at 21:28

    It got a bit messy at the end. It looked like a joker got into your deck.

  7. Maricata
    September 5, 2020 at 21:25

    “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”

    — William Casey, CIA director, February 1981

  8. evelync
    September 5, 2020 at 19:20

    Thank you Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg and Alice Walker!
    Someone might conclude that my measly effort so far is naive or silly.
    I used an online form of the British Embassy and also left a phone message to say I’ve lost respect for and faith in the British Courts, the British Government and the Queen for not stepping in/speaking out to challenge their imprisonment of Julian Assange at Belmarsh – an obvious political prisoner, the British “justice system” is conspiring with the American Government to keep their criminal wrongdoing hidden from public scrutiny.
    I know that the monarchy is not supposed to dabble in politics….
    but when I saw Charles years ago turn himself into a arms/weapons salesman during a dog and pony show for ME Royalty..it became clear what the Monarchy’s duties include….nothing to be proud of.
    Shame on them all.

  9. Juliet Smith
    September 5, 2020 at 16:51

    Can someone please fix the info at the end, or at least put text at the bottom so we can understand?

  10. Tom Pain
    September 5, 2020 at 14:56

    The men the American public admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.” – H. L. Mencken  

  11. Barbara Humphrey
    September 5, 2020 at 14:08

    Thank you so much for offering this discussion. Alice Walker is correct that education is the key. Not just knowing, but understanding what you know and its implications for the future. Sadly, when the establishment, the corporations, and the media are giving a counter message, getting people to know and understand the persecution of Julian Assange is very difficult. I hope this discussion educated people to understand.

  12. John Earl
    September 5, 2020 at 13:17

    Unless I haven’t been listening, Joe Biden has said nothing about freeing Assange. Biden has deep ties to the intelligence establishment after all. Whether it’s still the case or not, at one time Trump was at least making some favorable noises.

  13. Jennifer Powell
    September 5, 2020 at 12:36

    Really looking forward to it. Thank you for arranging.

  14. September 5, 2020 at 11:33

    Julian Assange the journalist who told us the TRUTH about US violations of HUMAN RIGHTS, it’s War Crimes, executions of Head of States & the murder of millions of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, S. America, etc. These atrocities by Washington have to STOP. Initially US hegemony was proclaimed to bring democracy but this was a BIG LIE as well. Today US has military bases – more than 800 – all over the planet while imposing their criminal control on the FREE people of this planet!

  15. September 5, 2020 at 09:57

    what Wikileaks publishes is the Real democracy of societies without official secrets

  16. September 5, 2020 at 09:50

    The truth must be told when it’s about human rights abuses and other violations and govermental misgivens that have an effect on us all.

Comments are closed.