Russian intelligence asset Julian Assange, the leader of WikiLeaks, lost his bid today in a London Magistrate's Court to delay his extradition to the U.S. to face espionage charges. The charges stem from Assange's role in assisting former U.S. Army specialist Chelsea Manning to break into a classified Defense Department computer. Assange's lawyers were stalling for time to present their case against the extradition request. The court indicated that the full extradition hearing would still be held in late February, with two intermediate procedural hearings in the interim.
Assange was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for years after jumping bail on a rape charge in Sweden before being booted out earlier this year. From there, he helped orchestrate the publication of e-mails from the Democratic National Committee that were hacked by Russian military intelligence. The effect of their release before the 2016 elections was to damage the Presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, a key Kremlin objective. Kremlin asset and corrupt con man Donald "Impeachable Me" Trump gloried in their release, frequently praising WikiLeaks' role and saying "I love WikiLeaks" at his
Tellingly, Assange's WikiLeaks has yet to publish any damaging information on the Russian Federation despite that country's widespread corruption and authoritarianism. They won't because their goals align with Moscow's: tarnish and disrupt the U.S. and its democratic institutions.
(photo: Assange as he was physically removed from the Ecuadorian embassy. Sky News photo)
