Failed 2016 Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacted on Thursday to the dramatic arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a dig at the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Appearing at the Beacon Theater in New York City, the former Secretary of State said Assange must “answer for what he has done.” Earlier Thursday, the WikiLeaks chief was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and charged by the U.S. for conspiring with convicted intelligence leaker Chelsea Manning to illegally access a classified Department of Defense computer.
The arrest occurred after Ecuador revoked the 47-year-old Australian native’s political asylum, which allowed him to reside at the embassy for nearly seven years.
“The bottom line is that he has to answer for what he has done, at least as it has been charged,” Clinton said, before adding, “I do think it’s a little ironic that he’s the only foreigner this administration would welcome to the United States.”
In the lead up to the 2016 election, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails belonging to Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman John Podesta and the Democrat National Committee.
President Donald Trump downplayed any personal interest in Assange’s arrest, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the high-profile case was “not my thing.”
“I know nothing about Wikileaks. It’s not my thing,” the president said when pressed on his repeated praise of the organization during the election.
“I know nothing really about it – it’s not my deal in life,” he added.
While the president was none too interested in Assange, some former members of Clinton Inc. celebrated his arrest.
Former Clinton aide and Center for American Progress president reacted to Assange’s arrest by accusing him of “fascist behavior” and “undermin[ing] democracy.”
There are many cultists on this site, but the Assange cultists are the worst. Assange was the agent of a proto fascist state, Russia, to undermine democracy. That is fascist behavior. Anyone on the left should abhor what he did. Not celebrate it.
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) April 11, 2019
“It’s a great day!” Claude Taylor, a former Clinton staffer who now runs an anti-Trump PAC, declared.
It’s a great day! Not quite great enough for Julian to be clutching Roger Stone’s pic. It’s Gore Vidal. https://t.co/0DGFhC1xFO
— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) April 11, 2019
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