Assange is accused of “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer,” a federal offense, according to information form the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia. Allegedly, Assange was working with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack U.S. Department of Defense computer network password.
Assange spent the last seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London allegedly dodging sexual assault allegations from Sweden, but was reportedly thrown out for both being a poor house guest and as part of an effort to boost U.S.-Ecuadorian relations.
Arrest Sends Shockwaves Through Legal Field
Assange’s arrest has sparked reactions from legal experts, journalists and even Hillary Clinton, who Assange reportedly targeted in one of his organization’s hacks. In defense of transparency and journalistic responsibility, Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said prosecuting Assange for merely publishing truthful information would be “unconstitutional.”
“Any prosecution by the United States of Mr. Assange for Wikileaks’ publishing operations would be unprecedented and unconstitutional, and would open the door to criminal investigations of other news organizations,” said Wizner. “Moreover, prosecuting a foreign publisher for violating U.S. secrecy laws would set an especially dangerous precedent for U.S. journalists, who routinely violate foreign secrecy laws to deliver information vital to the public's interest.”
Wizner added while Assange’s charges, at present, have not yet crossed that particular “Rubicon,” there is no way to know the scope of the charges the U.S. will bring.
“Further, while there is no First Amendment right to crack a government password, this indictment characterizes as ‘part of’ a criminal conspiracy the routine and protected activities journalists often engage in as part of their daily jobs, such as encouraging a source to provide more information,” added Wizner. “Given President Trump’s and his administration’s well-documented attacks on the freedom of the press, such characterizations are especially worrisome.”
Journalist and Constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald, one of the three editors who cofounded The Intercept, weighed in on the indictment in an editorial with Micah Lee. Greenwald, like Wizner, agrees the case could present a threat to journalistic freedoms. “The indictment of Julian Assange unsealed today by the Trump Justice Department poses grave threats to press freedoms, not only in the U.S. but around the world,” they wrote. “So much of what has been reported today about this indictment has been false.”
Greenwald and Lee said the accusation incorrectly identifies Assange as trying to help Manning hack a government database. In fact, the pair say Assange was, instead, trying to protect Manning by offering anonymity through the use of a different username. “In other words, the indictment seeks to criminalize what journalists are not only permitted but ethically required to do: take steps to help their sources maintain their anonymity,” the editorial reads.
DOJ: Assange Engaged in a Conspiracy
According to the federal government, Assange’s role in “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” rises to the level of criminal conduct. The recently unsealed indictment is dated March of 2010, according to information from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Manning, who had access to the computers in connection with her duties as an intelligence analyst, was using the computers to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures,” according to information form the DOJ. Assange was said to have actively encouraged Manning to give him more information throughout the incident.
The extradition will go through the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs. If convicted, Assange faces up to five years prison time.