'Very cynical timing': Joe Biden slammed as White House denies involvement in Julian Assange deal despite prior consideration

WASHINGTON, DC: Julian Assange, the 52-year-old founder of WikiLeaks, has been at the center of a high-profile legal saga for over a decade.

His journey began with a prolonged stay in Ecuador's London embassy, where he sought asylum for seven years to avoid extradition. This was followed by five years in a UK prison while fighting extradition to the United States.

Assange's legal troubles stemmed from his involvement in obtaining and disseminating national defense information, which he finally pleaded guilty to, leading to a dramatic resolution of his case.

On June 25, Assange left the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory, after his guilty plea. His plea ended the 12-year legal ordeal, and he was sentenced to time served, allowing him to walk free. Immediately after the hearing, Assange boarded a plane to Canberra, Australia, marking his return to his homeland.

White House denies involvement

The White House quickly denied involvement in the plea deal that facilitated Assange's return. Adrienne Watson, a White House National Security Council spokeswoman, emphasized, "This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice, and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision."

A source close to Assange told the New York Post that they were unaware of President Biden’s involvement in the final resolution. Despite this, the timing of the deal raised questions, given that President Biden had publicly expressed interest in resolving Assange’s case.

On April 10, Biden responded to a query about Australia's request to end Assange's prosecution. “Do you have a response to Australia’s request that you end Julian Assange’s prosecution?” the Post asked, to which the President responded, "We’re considering it."

The plea deal came just weeks after Biden’s statement, prompting speculation about its timing and implications. The BBC reported that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had discussed Assange’s status with Biden during a state visit to Washington in October.

In February, Albanese had addressed the Australian parliament, declaring, "Enough is enough," and called for an end to Assange's prolonged legal battle. The Australian House of Representatives later voted 86-42 to urge the US and UK to allow Assange to return home.

Additionally, Australian lawmakers lobbied US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, who became an influential voice supporting the plea deal.

Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson speculated to London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper that Washington had probably “thrown in the towel because they know, as everyone else knows, that we [the UK] are going to have a [Labour Party] government next week [after the July 4 general election] and they couldn’t rely on a Labour government to put him on a plane.”

Joe Biden trolled on social media

The White House's denial of involvement in the plea deal did not quell speculation, especially on social media. Various posts suggested political motivations behind the timing of Assange’s release.

"This was all about getting him released, so Trump can't get credit for it, but Trump is just happy he's been released," one posted on X.

"Everybody knows that Donald Trump was going to release Julian Assange," another wrote.

"Soon as Trump said he would pardon JA when he is re-elected the deep state countered with this to take the credit to garner votes," someone else added.

"Glad he is free! But does this seem timed for the presidential debate on Thursday, just like Biden finally mustered some (inadequate) action on the border so he could claim credit? When he could have taken action a long time ago? Very cynical timing," a comment read.

"Yup, only did it because Trump verbalized he was committed to it," another insisted.

The broader context

Assange's allies and freedom-of-the-press organizations have long argued that the case against him posed a threat to journalistic freedom. His primary offense was encouraging his source, Chelsea Manning, to leak substantial data on US diplomatic and military operations in 2010.

WikiLeaks' publication of these documents exposed sensitive information, embarrassing the Obama administration and angering national defense advocates who claimed the leaks endangered US intelligence sources in war zones.

In 2016, WikiLeaks further stirred controversy by publishing internal communications from the Democratic National Committee, damaging Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Manning received a 35-year prison sentence in 2013 for her role but was later commuted by President Obama in 2017.

Assange initially sought asylum from Ecuador in 2012, fearing that the allegations against him in Sweden were a pretext for extradition to the US. He stayed in the Ecuadorian embassy until 2019, when Ecuador revoked his asylum, leading to his indictment in the US.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.