The former head of US intelligence this week denounced the celebrations surrounding the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, calling the Australian ‘not a hero’.
James Clapper, head of the intelligence community under former President Barack Obama, called Assange’s actions wrong and illegal on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Clapper went on to say that U.S. assets in Afghanistan likely died because Wikileaks revealed their identities in government documents.
‘There is somewhat of a religious debate here between those who support transparency and those who are concerned about security. This is an endless discussion. I understand what they’re saying, but I don’t think he’s a hero,” Clapper said.
“What he did was wrong and illegal, and one of our federal grand juries saw fit to indict him on 18 counts, espionage-related charges. The concern we have is the potential identity and compromising of assets, (the) Iraqis and Afghans who helped us, and compromising sources and methods.”
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, pictured next to former FBI Director James Comey, gave his views on Assange in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday morning
Clapper was then asked if he felt that people were dying as a result of Assange and Wikileaks’ methods.
“I imagine there are people who helped us because they have been identified as people who helped us and they did it on a secret basis. When they were exposed, I imagine some of them lost their lives, given the situation, especially in Afghanistan,” he replied.
Assange is accused of having a laissez-faire attitude towards the security of Afghan assets. A reporter once asked him about the risks to their lives.
‘Well, they’re informants. So if they get killed, they deserve it. They deserve it,” he said, according The guard.
Assange was released from Belmarsh prison in Britain on Monday and flown from there to Thailand en route to the US territory of Saipan in the South Pacific.
On Wednesday morning, he appeared before a federal judge, where he pleaded guilty to one count of espionage. He will not serve any prison time in the US.
After his appearance, Assange boarded a flight to Australia, where he will reunite with his wife Stella and their children.
During his interview with Today, Clapper said the agreement in which Assange pleaded guilty was “important to a lot of people.”
The WikiLeaks founder has just been released without probation or supervision following a hearing in a US federal court on the Pacific island of Saipan
Assange is taken to the airport in time to catch flight VJT199 to Canberra, which departed at 1pm local time on Wednesday
Clapper was seen standing on the far right next to former President Barack Obama and current President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as they watch a video of the mission to capture Osama Bin Laden in 2011
While in the Obama administration, Clapper was accused of masterminding a mass surveillance program on American citizens and then lying about it during a 2013 congressional meeting.
Clapper was asked by Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, whether the NSA “collects any type of data on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans.”
“No, sir,” Mr. Clapper replied. ‘Unaware’
Secret documents leaked to the media three months later revealed that the NSA had forced U.S. telecommunications providers to make copies of phone records, known as metadata, for virtually every call and text message made over domestic networks.
Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, identified himself as the source of the leaked NSA documents, including material detailing the metadata collection program, shortly after they were first reported by The Guardian in June 2013.
He was criminally charged while traveling abroad and has not returned to the United States.
In a separate interview on CNN’s Laura Coates Live on Tuesday night, Clapper admitted that Assange had “already more or less paid his dues.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence echoed Clapper’s sentiment in a post on X
Clapper added that the settlement worked out well for the Justice Department because it included an admission of guilt.
‘I think his plea to one count of espionage was crucial. “I don’t think the law enforcement community and the intelligence community would be interested in this without that.”
“But he actually served seven years in prison in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was released and then the British arrested him. He spent 62 months in prison. A tough time in London. So he’s, you know, paid his dues.”
Assange was previously charged with 18 charges, 17 of which related to espionage and one to computer misuse.
The clapper’s sentiments were echoed by former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops during a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the former Indiana governor wrote in a post on X.
“The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families.”
“There should be no plea deals to avoid prison time for anyone who endangers the safety of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.’
Pence’s position was echoed by former CIA analyst Gail Helt, who explicitly stated: “People. Julian Assange is not a hero.”
“He’s a despicable Russian asset who has harmed hundreds of people and fired them as if they didn’t matter.”
“I agree with the plea deal because I hope it means I will see his name a lot less in my social media feeds, but let’s not venerate the man. He has caused great damage.’