Topline
President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. is “considering” ending the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is currently in the process of fighting extradition to the U.S. to face espionage charges.
Supporters of Julian Assange demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice as the High Court ... [+]
Key Facts
When asked by a reporter about Australia requesting the U.S. end Assange’s prosecution, Biden said: “We're considering it,” according to the White House press pool.
Australian lawmakers passed a motion in February calling for Assange—an Australian citizen—to be allowed to return home, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he hopes the situation can be “resolved amicably,” the Associated Press reported.
Assange is in London’s Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison he has been fighting his extradition from for the last five years.
In late March, Assange was delivered a small win when a U.K. court determined he could not be extradited to the U.S. immediately and could appeal extradition again unless the U.S. guarantees he “is afforded the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed.”
After the March ruling—which gave the U.S. until April 16 to make the guarantees—Assange’s wife said the U.S. should not give the guarantees but should “drop this shameful case, which should never have been brought,” the New York Times reported.
Crucial Quote
“It’s not up to Australia to interfere in the legal processes of other countries, but it is appropriate for us to put our very strong view that those countries need to take into account the need for this to be concluded,” Albanese said in February, the Associated Press reported.
Key Background
Assange is facing espionage charges for publishing thousands of leaked classified military documents in 2010 on WikiLeaks, a website he founded four years prior. He published classified documents and videos tied to the U.S. military, including a “standard operating procedures” manual for Guantanamo Bay. He leaked information that suggested the U.S. underreported how many civilians were killed in the Afghanistan war. Assange—who maintains he should receive First Amendment protection because he was acting as a journalist by publishing the information—avoided charges for years until the Justice Department filed 18 charges against him in 2019 for information published on WikiLeaks. His extradition was delayed because of COVID-19, and in 2021 a British judge ruled he couldn’t be extradited to the U.S. because he would likely kill himself if held in the harsh prison conditions. A number of appeals and legal battles have continued since then, culminating with Assange’s team making his final appeal in February. He is believed to have worked with a former U.S. Army soldier, Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of Espionage Act violations and was jailed for seven years before then-President Barack Obama commuted her sentence.
What To Watch For
A hearing is scheduled at London’s High Court on May 20 to “decide if the assurances are satisfactory, and to make a final decision on leave to appeal.”
