Tell the Biden administration to drop the Assange case now
The prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could destroy freedom of the press in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Assange broke the law by receiving classified documents from a source, speaking with that source, possessing the documents, and publishing some of them. In other words, things journalists at news outlets around the country do every day.
If Assange is convicted under the Espionage Act, there will be nothing to stop the government from prosecuting other journalists who publish government secrets.
Take action to protect press freedom: Tell the Biden administration to drop the Assange case now.
WRITE TO THE WHITE HOUSE USING ITS CONTACT FORM: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
CALL THE WHITE HOUSE MAIN COMMENT LINE: 202-456-1111, between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET, Tuesday-Thursday.
WRITE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE USING ITS CONTACT FORM: https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice
CALL THE DOJ MAIN COMMENT LINE: 202-353-1555 and press 1
Here’s a sample script you can use to make your call or send your email:
My name is [NAME] and I live in [CITY/STATE].
I am contacting you to tell President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland that I do not support the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Julian Assange.
Prosecuting Assange threatens press freedom. If Assange is convicted, future administrations could use the precedent to prosecute journalists.
I demand the attorney general stop this anti-press prosecution. Like many other citizens, I believe that journalism is not a crime. The Department of Justice should immediately drop the prosecution of Julian Assange.
POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
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Prosecuting Julian Assange threatens journalists and press freedom.
Join @FreedomOfPress in calling on the @TheJusticeDept to drop the Assange case now!
Read statements from press freedom groups and news media organizations condemning Assange’s indictment under the Espionage Act.
The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El País explain that the prosecution of Assange under the Espionage Act threatens to undermine the First Amendment and the freedom of the press.
Two dozen press freedom and civil liberties organizations called on the Biden DOJ to drop the charges against Assange in a February 2021 letter.
Press freedom and civil liberties organizations re-upped their calls for the Biden DOJ to drop the charges against Assange in October 2021, following shocking reporting about CIA plans to kidnap or even assassinate him.
Over 35 law professors strongly urged the DOJ to end its efforts to extradite Assange to the United States and to drop the charges against him under the Espionage Act.
The New York Times editorial board explains how the Assange indictment “represents a threat to freedom of expression and, with it, the resilience of American democracy itself.”
A successful conviction of Assange could make receiving classified information, asking sources for more information, and publishing certain types of classified information a crime.
The accusations against Assange are indistinguishable from acts carried out every day in The New York Times, The Guardian, and elsewhere. If he can be prosecuted, so can they.
Don’t believe Assange is a journalist? It doesn’t matter. Here’s why his prosecution endangers press freedom and puts all journalists at risk, even if you don’t think Assange is one himself.
Voices from around the world and the country are calling on the Biden administration to drop the charges against Assange.
Learn about how the Espionage Act has been reinterpreted as a broad anti-leaks law that outlaws the sharing of classified information with anyone, for any reason.
Read more about the Nixon administration’s attempt to prosecute New York Times journalist Neil Sheehan under the Espionage Act for publishing classified information.
James Goodale, former general counsel for The New York Times during the Pentagon Papers case, argues that the charges against Assange could criminalize “conspiracy to commit journalism.”