As Biden pursues Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks co-founder is exhausting resources and appeals and a trial in U.S. court seems inevitable.
By Jeffrey Brodsky, Discourse
In its prosecution of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, the Biden administration is setting up one of the most important court cases on press freedom in decades. Did Assange break the law by publishing classified information that others may have stolen? If he did, then much of the work of investigative reporters—who often depend on secret government, individual or corporate information leaked by sources—might also be illegal

The Justice Department got a win in December when a British appellate court ruled that Assange can be extradited to the U.S. The British High Court then declined this month to hear an appeal. Assange does have other avenues for appeal, but time is running out. The U.S. indicted him back in 2019 on charges related to WikiLeaks receiving and publishing thousands of military and diplomatic documents leaked in 2010. The U.S. charged him under the Espionage Act, under which no journalist or publisher has ever been convicted. If he’s found guilty of all charges, the 50-year-old Assange, who is an Australian national, could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.
The Justice Department’s pursuit of Assange under President Biden is one and the same as the actions it took under President Trump. This has surprised some press freedom, civil liberties and human rights groups, which expected that Biden would be a better ally on issues of press freedom. Some 25 such groups urged in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in October that he drop the charges because they “pose a grave threat to press freedom both in the U.S. and abroad,” but the Biden administration is determined to plow ahead.
Recent Posts
Report Details Private Equity’s Stranglehold On US Healthcare
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now “The damage that private equity has wrought on Americans’ healthcare from cradle to grave, simply for profit, has become…
20 Years Later: Confessions Of A Conscientious Quitter
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now Like so many Americans, I was a victim of sadistic marketing that pushed me to believe that becoming a Marine was the best and most…
Here’s What To Know About The United Nations’ IPCC Reports
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now The IPCC might be the most used acronym in climate science. The scientists behind the influential IPCC report discuss what it is and…
We Don’t Have To Choose Between Nuclear Madmen
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now The madness has remained resolutely bipartisan. Joe Biden quickly dashed hopes that he would be a more enlightened president about…