Assange tried to use embassy as 'centre for spying', says Ecuador's Moreno
So the big winner here really is the US.<p>They got Assange in a virtual prison for ~7 years at no cost to them (that cost was borne by the UK and the Metropolitan Police). You can&#x27;t argue that being holed up in an embassy is that much better than prison.<p>What&#x27;s more none of that ~7 years counts towards actual jail time he&#x27;ll like serve in the UK (for absconding) and the US (the publicized charges are only the beginning). The one (?) remaining charge in Sweden will quickly fall apart no doubt.<p>Arguments that Assange deserve protection as a journalist are (IMHO) a stretch at best. Getting a hold of classified information is one thing. Aiding in defeating security measures to obtain it is quite another story.<p>But to me at least, the big problem is that Assange lost all credibility as a journalist over the Wikileaks handling of the 2016 election and related hackings (eg the DCC emails). You&#x27;ll have a hard time arguing that Assange (and Wikileaks by extension) wasn&#x27;t picking a side here and doing what they can to influence the outcome of the election.<p>A traditional media outlet with an op-ed section is one thing. Playing an active part in illegally obtaining emails and other materials as well as arguably passing on that information to a presidential campaign is quite something else.<p>Even Snowden filtered his classified material through reputable media outlets.<p>So now we have embassy (~7 years), fighting extradition to either the US or Sweden (2+ years probably), whatever prison time he has to serve in the UK (which will run concurrently to fighting extradition no doubt as it&#x27;s typical to serve that time first) and then years, perhaps many years, in US prisons. He may not see the light of day until 2030, maybe 2040.