The Prosecution of Julian Assange Is an Assault on the First Amendment – By Zach Weissmueller (Reason) / Dec 15 2020
Though journalists tend to despise the WikiLeaks founder, his fate could impact the future of their profession.
Some establishment journalists in the U.S. consider Julian Assange to be a criminal whose work doesn’t fit into the same category as their own.
In April 2019, police dragged the WikiLeaks founder out of the Ecuadorian embassy where he’d lived for seven years after the U.S. government indicted him for allegedly helping Chelsea Manning access government databases. The New York Times editorial board applauded the move, writing that it “could help draw a sharp line between legitimate journalism and dangerous cybercrime,” and that, “The [Trump] administration has begun well by charging Mr. Assange with an indisputable crime.”
“Julian Assange is not a free-press hero,” The Washington Post editorial board opined, “And he is long overdue for personal accountability.”
Then in May 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed a second set of charges against Assange that, if they were to result in a conviction, could set a dangerous legal precedent that would put all investigative journalists who expose state secrets at risk of going to prison. Whether the media considers Assange one of their own, his fate could have a profound impact on the future of their profession.
