Sarah Palin is publicly calling for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to receive a pardon. The former Alaska governor’s own leaked private messages were posted by Wikileaks after she was tapped to serve as John McCain’s running mate in 2008. But in a YouTube video on Saturday, Palin says it was a “mistake” for her to ever come out against Assange. “I made a mistake some years ago, not supporting Julian Assange— thinking that he was a bad guy, that he leaked material that perhaps he shouldn’t,” she said. “And I’ve learned a lot since then, and I think Julian did the right thing, and Julian did us all a favor in America. … He deserves a pardon,” she said, adding that Assange also should be recognized for what “he has done in the name of real journalism.”