Julian Assange Protestors Photo by Mohamed Elmaazi

Regarding Julian Assange's adjudication status for U.S. alleged crimes related to Wikileak's publishing U.S. government whistleblower's disclosures of U.S. government war crimes, it's been over three years since U.K.'s District Judge Vanessa Baraitser’s extradition decision was issued in January 2021. Baraitser actually rejected the U.S. government's demand for Assange's extradition on the basis that there was a “substantial risk” of suicide if Assange was subjected to U.S. jail or prison conditions. However, in 2021 Baraister also rejected all of Assange’s other arguments against extradition. 

February 20, 2024 Assange's legal defense team Barristers Mark Summers KC and Edward Fitzgerald KC presented in the U.K. appeals court seven grounds for challenging the ruling.

If the High Court accepts some or all of the appeal grounds as being at least “arguable” they will set a future date for Assange’s appeal to be heard. But if the High Court judges reject the defense arguments, Assange will have exhausted all of his domestic avenues of appeal.

Crimes exposed by the WikiLeaks publications that are central to this case include “torture,” “[extraordinary] rendition,” and “drone strikes” that killed scores of civilians.

To understand what WikiLeaks has done, we must understand economic cause and effect. Let us begin with a comparable market: the market for gambling.

Governments have laws against gambling. Why? The justification is moral principles. This reason is less persuasive once the government sets up state lotteries and also licenses taxable gambling, such as horse racing. The real reason is the governments want to monopolize the vice. They expect greater tax revenues.

Governments arrest bookies. But bookies are merely providers of the service. The source of demand is the individual gambler, the guy who is placing the bets. The infrastructure that delivers the service is surely basic to the process, but it is the individual citizen who is the prime mover. Why? He is paying for it.

Want to understand the process? Follow the money. It ends with the customer.