The annual State of the Union delivered by the President of the United States has become little more than political theater, with any thoughts of seriousness being shredded the night former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a very public display of ripping a copy of former President Donald Trump’s speech in half.

The time-honored practice of inviting a special guest is a surefire way to send a message, as it provides a sympathetic press to zero in on the story behind the invitee, and it’s here that U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie may have an edge.

The Republican lawmaker from Kentucky has invited Gabriel Shipton, brother of imprisoned publisher Julian Assange, to attend Thursday’s State of the Union Address as his guest.

“The U.S. government’s ongoing effort to prosecute Julian Assange threatens the First Amendment rights of Americans and should be opposed,” Massie said in a statement.

“During his term in office, I asked President Trump to pardon Mr. Assange, and I was disappointed by his failure to do so,” he added. “President Biden should drop the criminal charges currently being pursued by the Department of Justice. I am pleased Mr. Shipton has accepted my invitation to join me at the State of the Union.”

Assange, 52, has been dealing with health issues and was unable to attend what appears to be his final appeal challenging his extradition from the U.K. to the U.S. last month, according to Fox News.

As Fox News noted, Assange faces 17 charges for allegedly receiving, possessing, and communicating classified information to the public under the Espionage Act, in addition to one charge of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified U.S. military documents leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

(Given what we know today about the deep state’s role in the shaping of events in America, the leaks take on a whole different perspective.)

“It is a real honor to be a guest of Rep. Massie,” Shipton told Fox News. “He is steadfast in his calls for the prosecution of Julian to be let go, and very clear about what’s at stake in this unprecedented indictment of a publisher for sharing information in the public interest.”

“The prosecution of Julian Assange is a direct attack on the 1st amendment and the freedom of the press to publish information in the public interest,” he continued. “Rep. Massie is a fierce defender of these rights having introduced legislation that would protect my brother Julian and put an end to the espionage act being weaponized against publishers. I hope President Biden, can take a new look at the indictment and see it for the threat to democracy that it is.”

Massie and U.S. Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) were behind a bipartisan letter urging President Biden to “withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible.”

The November letter was signed by an interesting mix of lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Cori Bush (D-MO), Ayanna Pressley (DS-MA), and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).

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Tom Tillison

Senior Staff Writer
Tom@bizpacreview.com

The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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