Katie Halper, co-host of the podcast “Useful Idiots,” said Thursday that opponents of former President Trump who claim to stand for “human rights” and “freedom” should be against efforts by the U.S. to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.
In an interview on Hill.TV’s “Rising,” Halper noted that it was former President Obama who dropped initial efforts to extradite Assange on espionage and other charges related to publishing classified American military and intelligence documents.
Halper added that under the Trump administration, that the decision to extradite Assange changed.
“Who wanted to go after Assange? Trump and Pompeo,” she said. “So, you want to ask yourself why you’d be siding with Trump and Pompeo.”
In February, the Biden administration said it intended to seek Assange’s extradition after a lower British court ruled against the move, with the judge citing Assange’s deteriorating mental health that could worsen if brought to the U.S.
This week, the British high court said it would allow the U.S. to appeal the decision against extradition.
Halper, however, said that supporters of the “rule of law and freedom of press” should be “wondering… why the United States would ever go after someone for publishing something that the New York Times published.”
Watch part of Halper’s interview above.
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