Assange, whose freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with the Biden administration, was discussed in annual bilateral meetings Brisbane, Australia, last week between Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Is it though?

Any sovereign nation will just ignore this type of pressure just on principle.

I dislike Assange immensely, I also despise the way whistle-blowers are hunted down, but the USA has a massive hard on for this guy so they’re not just gonna give up.

I guess the US wants to deter journalism that they don’t like. An even more apt comparison is Assange vs Donald Trump - Trump allegedly tried to overturn democracy in the US from a position of trust, inciting events that killed people, and stole classified documents for his own private benefit. Assange just worked with whistleblowers as a journalist to try to serve the public interest. And yet Assange is locked up ahead of the US wanting to try him, as he has been for years now, and Trump is free.