Former Bush Official Staunchly Defends Prosecution Against Assange

"The idea that this prosecution would undermine any journalist’s rights, it just makes no sense to me," said Jamil Jaffer on PBS's "Newshour."

Jamil Jaffer is a former official at the U.S. Justice Department under President George W. Bush, and he is a current/former member of multiple national security think tanks populated with former officials of the CIA and Pentagon.

He appeared on PBS's "Newshour" program on Tuesday, February 20, and emphatically defended the Justice Department's prosecution against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The segment aired just after the conclusion of the first day of a pivotal hearing before the British High Court of Justice.

Kevin Gosztola, author of the book "Guilty of Journalism: The Political Case Against Julian Assange," picks apart Jaffer's spiteful and ill-informed remarks, like "Julian Assange isn't a real journalist. He never has been. He's been a hacker his whole life," and, "The idea that this prosecution would undermine any journalist’s rights, it just makes no sense to me."