GOP congressman: ‘Thank God’ for WikiLeaks

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) on Monday cheered the release of stolen emails by the anti-secrecy platform WikiLeaks.

{mosads}“Let me be clear:  Thank God for Wikileaks — doing the job that MSM WON’T! #ASSANGE #wikileaks,” Duncan tweeted, referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Duncan’s words of support come hours after WikiLeaks’s Twitter account reported that Assange’s internet connection had been “intentionally severed by a state party.”

The Australian activist is currently living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London avoiding a rape charge in Sweden.

WikiLeaks over the last week has been publishing daily batches of emails stolen from Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta.

The organization has drawn praise from some on the right, who argue that the “mainstream media” is devoting too much coverage to the sexual assault allegations facing GOP nominee Donald Trump — at the expense of investigating Clinton.

Praise from the right for Assange is also noteworthy given the criticism he came under for releasing classified material beginning in 2010.

The material included documents related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and diplomatic cables. Then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other U.S. officials argued some of the documents put lives at risk by revealing information about collaborators and informants.  

The Clinton campaign and other Democrats argue that the theft and release of the emails from Podesta’s account and the Democratic National Committee is an attempt by Russia to influence the presidential election’s outcome.

The campaign has refused to confirm the authenticity of the documents, saying it will not comment on stolen materials.

So far, the contents of the emails have been a mixed bag. A handful of documents contain potentially embarrassing revelations for Clinton.

The ninth batch of documents, released over the weekend, includes what appear to be the transcripts of three paid speeches Clinton made to Goldman Sachs.

In a 2012 email released last week, Clinton Foundation foreign policy director Amitabh Desai wrote to other senior foundation aides that Qatari officials hoped to see former President Bill Clinton “for five minutes in NYC” to a present a $1 million check to Clinton for his birthday.

A member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, Duncan was elected in 2010 as a part of the Tea Party wave. A Trump supporter, he is seen as the favorite in his bid for a fourth term.