The delegation of Australian politicians travelling to Washington DC to advocate for Julian Assange’s release will meet with conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr and several other US politicians.
That’s according to a spokesperson for the Assange campaign, who said meetings had been lined up with Kennedy — a candidate for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, and a prominent conspiracy theorist known for spreading coronavirus vaccine disinformation — and other politicians. The others include Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, and Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna.
The meeting with Khanna seems to have been arranged in recent days — Crikey contacted his office last week to ask if he had been contacted by the delegation about setting up a meeting.
“We haven’t been approached by anyone,” Khanna’s communications director said in an email last Tuesday.
Many of the US politicians due to meet the delegation have expressed strong support for Assange, including RFK Jr and Ramaswamy, who have both said they would release Assange if they were elected president.
The Australian delegation is made up of former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, independent MP Monique Ryan, Liberal Senator Alex Antic, Labor MP Tony Zappia, and Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson.
The delegation will hold a press conference outside the US Department of Justice on Thursday morning, Australian time. The Assange campaign said US ambassador Kevin Rudd would host a reception for the delegation at Australia’s DC embassy.
Rudd recently said the pursuit of Assange had gone on “for too long”, and that he would work “effectively, which usually means silently”, to advocate for Assange’s release, the Australian Associated Press reported.
“The aim of the delegation is to secure the release of Julian Assange, and I think how they go about that is taking the concern of the Australian people to Washington,” Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton told Crikey when news of the delegation broke.
“Speaking to the State Department, speaking to the Department of Justice, congresspeople and senators, communicating to them that this vengeful prosecution — or persecution — of Julian isn’t doing them any favours abroad. Particularly in Australia which is one of their closest allies.”
When Crikey published that article, we had been told the entire delegation would have their flights paid for by the Assange campaign. Since then, Crikey has learnt that Ryan will pay for her own flights. The Assange campaign is paying for everyone’s accommodation in Washington.
The trip, which runs from Wednesday to Thursday, was marked by a full-page ad in The Washington Post, featuring the signatures of 64 Australian parliamentarians and a message calling for Assange’s freedom.
What can Australia do to put pressure on the US to free Julian Assange? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
If the US can do a 5 prisoners swap with their oft nemesis, Iran, they can also cease the witch hunt of Julian Assange. After all, aren’t we the ‘best friend the US has’? They persist in this shallow boast. Let’s test it.
No, they don’t say we’re the best friend the US has. The exact words are “The US has no better friend than…(insert name of country).” There’s a compilation on Youtube of Obama repeating these words to visiting leaders from country after country.
Stella likes to say Australia is the closest Ally to the U.S. but I think the UK is closer………..That’s why Julian is as good as Extradited at this point.
She’s just saying that to try to get the U.S. to drop the case against Julian.
The USA will just point to the way we treat our own whistleblowers and tell us to wrack off. We are just hypocrite if we expect the US to respond by easing up on Asange while persisting in our brutal attempts to squash our own whistleblowers. Laughable.
I doubt that. My impression is that the USA neither knows nor cares how things are done here.
I suspect that Kennedy and Ramaswamy’s support for Assange will be as effective as Alan Joyce’s support for The Voice.
Neither one of them will become President. Most Americans think both of them are pretty Cooky !
Looking at some of the recent examples of “kooky”; i’d say that’s a prerequisite.
However, it suggests something worse, both are linked to Trump, and indirectly express support for Putin? Further too many locally will not accept that both Assange and Wikileaks started well, but later 2015-16 they went off piste….
Very cute as Mother Jones’ David Corn highlighted some time ago in ‘Denounce Julian Assange. Don’t Extradite Him.’, the links between Assange, Wikileaks, Russia, DNC emails and Trump campaign, for Assange to be thrown under a bus and charged by DOJ under Trump.
Further, Abramson in ‘Proof of Corruption: Bribery, Impeachment, and Pandemic in the Age of Trump’ alleges that Wikileaks became a ‘Russian cut out’, while many supporting Assange are faux anti-imperialist tankies of the right….. pretending to be left (see Vatnik Soup)
One of the characters, Roger Stone, is from the Nixon era and merits a spot on Vatnik Soup being described as ‘He’s best-known for his work as an advisor to Donald Trump & for his alleged connections with Julian Assange and the GRU in relation to the leaked DNC e-mails.’
Interestingly, if/when this gets to court in the US Assange could really embarrass many people, players and grifters in my opinion.
And e.g. Roger Stone, from Vatnik Soup:
‘He’s best-known for his work as an advisor to Donald Trump & for his alleged connections with Julian Assange and the GRU in relation to the leaked DNC e-mails.’
Tells you everything you need to to know about our p*ss weak govt and their kowtowing attitude to the US that they wouldn’t even fund the travel and accommodation. So much for standing up for one of our own. I expected nothing from the libs. I did expect more from labor. More fool me.
They can’t fund it. Then the Americans might actually believe the Albanese Administration supports Julian !
I recall The Australian Citizen thrown under the bus by no other than our own PM – and then her opposition and then the next ; a bunch of pretenders with empty words and gestures ; fairness ? Sovereignty ? Respect for The Separation of Powers ? Individuals’ agency ? Truth ? In the absensce of leadership the vauccum is filled with charlatans
Maybe they can all exchange personally signed horseshoes before heading off enmass to the Russell for Julian funding raising gig at the local speakeasy …