https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1e10bb77d599
Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of violating the Espionage Act, bringing against him a new, 18-count indictment alleging he unlawfully obtained and disclosed national defense information.
The new charges dramatically raise the stakes of the case both for Assange and the news media, raising questions about the limits of the First Amendment and protections for publishers of classified information.
Prosecutors allege Assange worked with a former Army intelligence analyst to obtain and disseminate classified information — conduct of which many traditional reporters might also be accused. Prosecutors, though, sought to distinguish the anti-secrecy advocate from a traditional reporter.
"Julian Assange is no journalist," said John Demers, the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General for National Security. He said Assange engaged in "explicit solicitation of classified information."
But the new charges against Assange carry potential consequences not just for him, but for others who publish classified information, and could change the delicate balance in U.S. law between press freedom and government secrecy. They also raises fresh questions about whether the British courts will view the new charges as justified and worthy of extradition.
Prosecutors alleged in the new indictment that Assange and WikiLeaks "repeatedly encouraged sources with access to classified information to steal it" and give it to the anti-secrecy organization, posting on its website a "most wanted" list for leaks organized by country and saying the documents must be "likely to have political, diplomatic, ethical or historical impact on release." They alleged that Manning responded to that clarion call, downloading nearly four completely government databases of war reports, Guantanamo Bay detainee assessments and State Department cables and turned them over to WikiLeaks.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of violating the Espionage Act, bringing against him a new, 18-count indictment alleging he unlawfully obtained and disclosed national defense information.
The new charges dramatically raise the stakes of the case both for Assange and the news media, raising questions about the limits of the First Amendment and protections for publishers of classified information.
Prosecutors allege Assange worked with a former Army intelligence analyst to obtain and disseminate classified information — conduct of which many traditional reporters might also be accused. Prosecutors, though, sought to distinguish the anti-secrecy advocate from a traditional reporter.
"Julian Assange is no journalist," said John Demers, the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General for National Security. He said Assange engaged in "explicit solicitation of classified information."
But the new charges against Assange carry potential consequences not just for him, but for others who publish classified information, and could change the delicate balance in U.S. law between press freedom and government secrecy. They also raises fresh questions about whether the British courts will view the new charges as justified and worthy of extradition.
Prosecutors alleged in the new indictment that Assange and WikiLeaks "repeatedly encouraged sources with access to classified information to steal it" and give it to the anti-secrecy organization, posting on its website a "most wanted" list for leaks organized by country and saying the documents must be "likely to have political, diplomatic, ethical or historical impact on release." They alleged that Manning responded to that clarion call, downloading nearly four completely government databases of war reports, Guantanamo Bay detainee assessments and State Department cables and turned them over to WikiLeaks.
