[Peace-discuss] Assange update: trial on hold for Coronavirus (a lawyer's exposure, not the persistent risk to Assange)

[J.B. Nicholson]

I wrote:
> The Assange trial is on hold until Monday while the court deals with one of the 
> lawyers exposure to Coronavirus. There might not be updates to speak of until 
> Monday's proceedings. Here are some updates from the usual, most well-informed, 
> suspects.

There aren't any updates to offer but there are some good summaries of the 
significance of this extradition.

One key point comes out early in the first link comes from James Goodale, former Vice 
Chairman of the New York Times and author of "Fighting for the Press: The Inside 
Story of the Pentagon Paper and Other Battles" (twice named as the best non-fiction 
book of the year in 1971). Goodale led the winning team of lawyers defending the New 
York Times from being enjoined under the Espionage Act for publishing the Pentagon 
Papers.

> James Goodale: The [US] government does not have a case here, really, against
> Assange for publishing information that violates national security. The
> information informed the public he published. It did not damage national security.
> The government can show no damage to national security in this case and indeed can
> show that no individual was damaged by this publication. So keep in mind: this is
> the other side of the Pentagon Papers case that was never decided but the
> information that's involved in it is of no more importance and [in] terms of
> damage to national security as it was in the first instance.


You can expect to see these videos on the recommended list of videos for AOTA & NFN 
timeslots.



Consortium News and Popular Resistance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLJj_L56-YA -- (1h 24m 32s) Assange Extradition and 
the War on Journalism - James Goodale, Daniel Ellsberg & Chris Hedges hosted by 
Popular Resistance and Susan Udry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWRqT8bc8qU -- (2h 11m 25s) CN Live: Drama in the 
Court -- Timm, Maurizi, Gosztola, Mercouris, and Kim Dotcom.





My take:

Kim Dotcom knows personally about US governmental overreach and the effect of 
pushover governmental oversight. Dotcom and his family have also been the victim of 
US government propaganda (eagerly repeated by the docile establishment media) which 
is allowed to run unchallenged by the "5 Eyes" partner New Zealand government.

-J