Townhall editor Guy Benson: Julian Assange arrest, charges a 'positive development'
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Townhall.com editor and Fox News contributor Guy Benson called the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a "positive development" and says he hopes Assange gets extradited to the U.S. following his arrest in London on Thursday.
"Julian Assange I don't think is a freedom fighter," Benson told America's Newsroom. "You might argue that some of the transparency that he's facilitated could be a good thing but I think the evidence is pretty clear and our intelligence community obviously believes that he is an asset of the Kremlin.
WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE ARRESTED AFTER ECUADOR WITHDRAWS ASYLUM
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"The Kremlin has been a hostile power to U.S. interests. We have national security secrets for a reason. He helped expose them and I hope that he gets a fair trial - which he should- I hope he gets extradited to the U.S., of course, and faces justice."
WHO IS JULIAN ASSANGE? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE WIKILEAKS FOUNDER
Assange was arrested in London, ending a 7-year stay in Ecuador's embassy.
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A few hours after his arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Assange had been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for aiding Chelsea Manning, in the cracking of a password to a classified U.S. government computer in 2010.
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Assange had been holed up at the embassy in London since 2012, after Ecuador granted him asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden for sexual misconduct allegations.