Bipartisan House Push: Halt Assange Prosecution

Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and James McGovern, D-Mass., are at the forefront of a bipartisan effort within the House, rallying for President Joe Biden to put an end to the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter, the congressmen extended a call to their fellow lawmakers, urging the swift withdrawal of the U.S. extradition request for Assange and the immediate ceasing of all prosecutorial proceedings.

“It is the duty of journalists,” they write, “to seek out sources, including documentary evidence, in order to report to the public on the activities of government. The United States must not pursue an unnecessary prosecution that risks criminalizing common journalistic practices and thus chilling the work of the free press. We urge you to ensure that this case be brought to a close in as timely a manner as possible.”

The British government issued an extradition order for Assange in June 2022, marking a significant development in a saga that began with the WikiLeaks founder seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years until his 2019 arrest in the U.K., where he remains detained.

Prominently, major media outlets, such as The New York Times and The Guardian, have previously advocated for the dismissal of charges against Assange. Moreover, U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, has hinted at the potential of a plea deal that could facilitate Assange’s return to his home country of Australia.

Lawmakers have until Thursday to pen their support for this bipartisan initiative.

Of note, in one of the WikiLeaks tabs marked “The Syria Files,” a November 2010 article from The Guardian was cited. In it, The Guardian writes that “Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew across the Atlantic to ask Vice President Joseph Biden to launch a war against Iran on Israel’s behalf. Biden — keenly aware that his responsibility is to the American people — declined.”