(DCWatchdog.com) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released after five years in a UK prison for exposing government secrets.
His plea deal with U.S. authorities raises serious concerns about the future of press freedom and the First Amendment.
Assange, who spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London before his arrest, has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. government since 2010.
His release of classified documents exposed military misconduct and government overreach, making him a target for prosecution under the Espionage Act.
In turn, the Harris-Biden administration’s pursuit of charges against Assange sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing journalism.
This case marks the first time in American history that gathering and publishing government secrets has been treated as a crime, potentially chilling investigative reporting on national security issues.
Highlighting the absurdity of his situation, Assange stated, “I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”
Press freedom advocates, human rights groups, and even former Department of Justice (DOJ) officials have widely condemned Assange’s prosecution under the Espionage Act.
Matthew Miller, a former DOJ spokesperson, warned that this case could set a precedent for prosecuting other journalists who publish classified information.
Moreover, the New York Times reported, “The plea deal Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has reached with prosecutors is bad for American press freedoms. But the outcome also could have been worse.”
This case exposes the hypocrisy of the U.S. government, which criticizes countries like Russia for imprisoning journalists while simultaneously pursuing charges against Assange.
“You’ve now got China using the Assange case as a sort of moral equivalence argument. So the message [of the Australian delegation] is going to be: this is very dangerous for journalists around the world and a race to the bottom that’s going on,” Australian lawyer Greg Barns said.
In addition, the impact of Assange’s case extends beyond just one man, as it threatens the very foundation of investigative journalism and the public’s right to know about government wrongdoing.
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