Interesting article I found on a Google search from January of 2014.
It is written by Sean Wilentz for for the New Republic. Wikipedia says he “is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979.” Wikipedia also states that “Wilentz has prominently engaged in current political debate. He is reportedly a long-time family friend of the Clintons.”
So he is partisan. Check.
The article is titled “Would You Feel Differently About Snowden, Greenwald, and Assange If You Knew What They Really Thought?” So yeah, it sounds like a potential hit piece. Check.
BUT, the timelines and interactions of Julian Assange and Snowden with the Russians is interesting, if true.
Here is an excerpt on Assange’s relationship with the Russians.
Even more disconcerting was Assange’s expanding relations with official Russia. In October 2010, just before WikiLeaks reached the acme of its influence with the release of the State Department cables, Assange vowed that WikiLeaks would expose the secrets not just of the United States but of all repressive regimes, including that of Russia. In an interview with Izvestia, a formerly state-controlled daily, he explained, “We have [compromising materials] about your government and businessmen.” The same day, Kristinn Hrafnsson of WikiLeaks told a reporter, “Russian readers will learn a lot about their country.”
Unlike the Americans, though, the Russians put WikiLeaks on notice. The day after Hrafnsson’s interview appeared, an anonymous official from Russia’s secret police, the FSB, told the independent Russian news website LifeNews.ru, “It’s essential to remember that given the will and the relevant orders, [WikiLeaks] can be made inaccessible forever.”
Then, something strange happened: A few days after Assange was arrested on sexual assault charges, Kremlin officials emerged as some of his most vocal defenders. The Moscow Times reported that Vladimir Putin himself had condemned Assange’s arrest: “If it is full democracy, then why have they hidden Mr. Assange in prison? That’s what, democracy?” Putin’s indignation was echoed by other top Russian politicians, including State Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov, who observed, “The real reason for his arrest is to find out by any means who leaked the confidential diplomatic information to him and how.”
It goes on from there, and apparently Assange even had a ½ hour TV show on Russian TV.
Does anyone have any info on this article? Was it well known when it came out? Was it debunked? When I first heard the “Russian” angle in the news today for the DNC emails, I thought it was a potential reach. But after reading this article, if the timelines are true, there appears to be a connection with Assange, Wikileaks, and Putin/Russia.
The Ron Paul connection for all three was interesting too.
Apologies in advance if this has been debunked, etc. I searched “Wilentz” on this site but nothing came up.