Transcript:
WEST: There are different means by which you can be attacked. I mean it doesnt have to be a bomb or an airplane flying into a building. It doesn't have to be a shooting. It can be through cyber attacks, it could be through leaking of very sensitive classified information. Regardless of whether you think it causes any harm, the fact that here is an individual that is not an American citizen first and foremost, for whatever reason gotten his hands on classified American material and put it out there in the public domain. And I think that we also should be censoring the American news agencies which enabled him to do this and also supported him and applauding him for the efforts. So that's kind of aiding and abetting of a serious crime.
This is like closing the barn doors, after the cows have all stampeded out. The information is already our there, regardless of whether they read it in the New York Times or on the WikiLeaks site only. There is no extra harm in letting the media cover what has already been exposed.
He does have a point that terrorism can show up in many forms, and some would call this an act of cyber-terrorism. However, unless the media outlets are funding WikiLeaks and their attempts to break into national security databases to steal information, they shouldn't be punished for reported on what has already been brought to light.
Julian Assange should be tried for espionage for his activities related to his WikiLeaks website, but those that report on the leaks shouldn't be without direct proof that there was collusion between Assange and certain members of the media.
The freedom of the press is a basic American right that should be fiercely protected. It was in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights for a reason. It is one of the most exalted and revered rights that we have. West shouldn't have dismissed that so easily, no matter what his intent.
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