A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday asking him to drop the 18 charges against Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The Democratic House members argued that the charges against Assange “pose a grave and unprecedented threat” to press freedom and the First Amendment.“Press freedom, civil liberty, and human rights groups have been emphatic that the charges against Mr. Assange pose a grave and unprecedented threat to everyday, constitutionally protected journalistic activity, and that a conviction would represent a landmark setback for the First Amendment,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
“The prosecution of Mr. Assange marks the first time in U.S. history that a publisher of truthful information has been indicted under the Espionage Act,” the lawmakers said. “The prosecution of Mr. Assange, if successful, not only sets a legal precedent whereby journalists or publishers can be prosecuted, but a political one as well.”
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