Republicans warm up to Assange

Republicans are making common cause with an old enemy: Julian Assange. In 2010, prominent figures in the GOP wanted the WikiLeaks founder jailed for releasing thousands of diplomatic cables leaked by former Pvt. Chelsea Manning.

Onetime presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said the leak “put American lives at risk.” Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Assange had “blood on his hands” and should be “hunted down.” Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) called for the Australian anti-secrecy activist to be tried under the Espionage Act and asked if WikiLeaks could be designated as a terrorist organization.

Fast-forward to 2016, when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters are extolling the release of thousands of emails stolen from Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s personal account.

“Let me be clear: Thank God for Wikileaks — doing the job that MSM WON'T! #ASSANGE #wikileaks,” Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) tweeted on Monday, using an acronym for “the mainstream media.”

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http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/301444-republicans-warm-up-to-assange