Espionage, the First Amendment, and the Case Against Julian Assange

In May 2019, a federal grand jury returned an eighteen-count criminal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Charges include conspiring to obtain national defense information, obtaining and disclosing national defense information, and conspiring to gain unauthorized access to a governm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of intelligence and counterintelligence Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 747 - 767
Main Author Ross, Gary
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia Routledge 01.10.2020
Taylor & Francis LLC
Subjects
Assange, Julian Paul
Bail
Classified information
Computer networks
Conspiracy
Crime
Criminal sentences
Defense programs
Espionage
Extradition
First Amendment-US
Grand juries
Indictments
Legislation
National security
World War I
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:In May 2019, a federal grand jury returned an eighteen-count criminal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Charges include conspiring to obtain national defense information, obtaining and disclosing national defense information, and conspiring to gain unauthorized access to a government computer network. All but one of the counts allege violations of the Espionage Act, World War I--era legislation enacted to protect sensitive information and safeguard national security. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in the UK for violating the conditions of his bail in an unrelated case. An extradition hearing is scheduled for Feb 2020 in response to a formal request submitted by the US. The prosecution of Assange has reignited a fierce and long-standing debate over the publication of classified information and limitations to First Amendment protections. A successful conviction would be precedent-setting. Prior prosecutions have focused almost exclusively on government insiders and their initial disclosure, rather than any subsequent release to the public.
ISSN:0885-0607
1521-0561
DOI:10.1080/08850607.2020.1716431