WikiLeaks: US Shows Hand

As many journalists and others have been saying for a decade, the US was seeking Assange to charge him with an anti-Constitutional law that threatens investigative journalists around the world.

The Daily Beast has been tough on Wikileaks. Very tough. But charging someone under the espionage act for publishing classified info — that's not okay. It sets a terrible, terrible precedent for the rest of us. https://t.co/3n3PKEaq3y

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) May 23, 2019

“The blast radius of an Espionage Act conviction against Assange would include every working national security journalist. Surely the Justice Department is aware of those implications.” New @brbarrett: https://t.co/liaiHTtuUf

— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) May 23, 2019

Many people don’t like Assange, for a variety of reasons, some of them real, and some of them concocted by the US smear campaign run against him. They shouldn’t let their hate blind them as to the real threat.

This is the issue, in three sentences. https://t.co/VCt9zAzK7s pic.twitter.com/7AjIDW2Avl

— Jameel Jaffer (@JameelJaffer) May 23, 2019

Assange shared the scoops with newspapers, who are now also at risk of being charged with spying, while they practice journalism like Assange clearly does.