Cynicism of Biden Releasing Assange for Political Advantage on Full Display

The Australian citizen had previously faced 17 charges in the US of espionage and one of hacking — carrying a potential jail time of 175 years — in the over publication of classified information from government whistleblowers.

His crim was publishing inconvenient truths about the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010. Assange's legal team has fought for years against his extradition to the US.

On Monday, WikiLeaks revealed that its founder had been released from prison in the UK and left the country as part of a plea-bargain deal with the US Justice Department.

The trial is expected to be held on Wednesday on Saipan island at the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

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Human rights activists and investigative journalists reflected on the twist of the WikiLeaks founder's fate.

"I was very pleased and happy to learn that Julian Assange will be free after more than a decade of imprisonment in the UK, both the years when he was forced to find safety in the Ecuadorian Embassy and then in the harsh conditions of Belmarsh prison," Lucy Komisar, investigative journalist based in New York, told Sputnik.

"I think Assange is being released now by Joe Biden in the hopes it might improve his standing with progressives and win him a few more votes," Komisar continued. “People concerned about Assange will understand the cynicism of Biden keeping him locked up until he thought he might get some advantage by releasing him."

President Joe Biden has seen his approval numbers plummeting with his progressive base, who have grown disenchanted with the US president over Washington's support to Israel in the Gaza war.

According to RealClearPolitics, 61.3 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, while 59.5 percent disapprove of his foreign strategy in general.

International observers believe a potential Israel-Hezbollah war could further lessen the US incumbent president's re-election chances.

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"I don't think Joe Biden wanted Julian to arrive in the middle of an election campaign," Craig Murray, former British diplomat, who personally knows Assange, told Sputnik. "To be seen to be attacking freedom of speech, to be attacking constitutional rights is not a good look for the United States president whose election campaign is already in a lot of trouble over his support for genocide in Gaza."

Assange has suffered enough after spending five years in a UK maximum security prison for publishing honest information in the public interest argued Taylor Hudak, independent investigative journalist, adding that former President Donald Trump could pardon the WikiLeaks founder at the end of his tenure, but opted not too despite numerous pleas.

"This moment was made possible by the journalists fairly covering the case, the activists who relentlessly advocated for his release, the campaigners behind the scenes and his legal team," Hudak told Sputnik.

The investigative journalist insisted that "the prosecution should have never happened in the first place."

"Mr Assange should have never spent one day in jail for the so-called crime of journalism. WikiLeaks has never published a false document. It is unfortunate that Mr Assange had to plead guilty to any charge," Hudak concluded.

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