How Much Did WikiLeaks Damage U.S. National Security?
NPR Online NewsApr 12, 2019
British and Australian lawmakers on Tuesday called on the US to drop its prosecution of imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, marking the four-year anniversary of his imprisonment at Belmarsh prison.
Assange has been held at the British maximum-security prison while facing 17 charges of espionage and an additional count of computer misuse — with a maximum sentence of 175 years imprisonment if he’s found guilty.
Assange must be extradited to the US to face the consequences for the irreparable harm he has caused. For instance, civilians in Afghanistan or Iraq who collaborated with the US military had to go into hiding for fear of reprisal from the Taliban and al-Qaeda. US surveillance tools were also exposed, meaning they became redundant and had to be replaced, forcing taxpayers to foot additional spending.
Assange’s prosecution has been rife with procedural violations and it criminalizes routine journalistic activity. The First Amendment becomes meaningless if Assange's prosecution continues, especially since he revealed scores of war crimes and abuses of power which the US government had a duty to investigate rather than a cover-up.