Julian Assange

Updated Dec. 9, 2024

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London in April 2019.

Photo Credit: Jack Taylor / Getty Images

Introduction

Australian hacker and self-proclaimed journalist Julian Assange propelled himself to international notoriety in October 2010 when his online data repository, WikiLeaks, published troves of confidential documents about the cataclysmic American escapade in Iraq. The leak kicked off a headline-catching saga that rekindled unresolved debates about the ethics of state secrecy, public security, and the evergreen tension between the two. 

Evicted from his refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019, Assange was taken into British custody and sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for violating his bail conditions. Meanwhile, an American federal grand jury charged him with over a dozen counts under the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law that criminalizes the dissemination of information harmful to American national security. At the time, journalists and free speech advocates asserted that convicting Assange under this law could set a dangerous precedent for press freedom, because, arguably, he was being charged for doing what many mainstream journalists do everyday – revealing government secrets. Ultimately, after failed extradition attempts in 2021 and 2022, the Biden administration reached a deal with Assange in 2024, reducing the charges to one count under the Espionage Act, to which he pleaded guilty, and allowing him to return to Australia.

The Incident and its Aftermath

WikiLeaks—its Mission and Methods
Turning Point: The Iraq War Logs
On the Run
Skim the U.S. Government’s indictments:
International advocacy in 2023:
Plea deal in 2024:

The Role of Free Speech

 

Julian Assange returns home as free man to Australia, after plea deal with US | Source: CNN

Point / Counterpoint

Discussion Questions

  1. Does society need an organization like WikiLeaks? Is there something inherently flawed with the WikiLeaks methodology? If you could reform WikiLeaks in any way—its methods, its oversight, etc.—what would you change and why?
  2. How does WikiLeaks compare to a traditional news outlet? Are they fundamentally different (and, as such, deserving of different treatment), or is attempting to distinguish them splitting hairs?  
  3. Is Julian Assange a journalist? Were his actions (in the context of the 2010 leak) journalistic? Does the designation even matter? 
  4. Try to view Assange’s actions through the eyes of a government prosecutor—in what ways might an indictment under the Espionage Act be legitimate and sensible? Will prosecuting Assange under the Espionage Act morph into wider assaults on freedom of the press, both in the U.S. and throughout the world, or are such fears exaggerated? What punishment (if any) does Assange deserve? 
  5. Government officials and reporters alike have criticized Assange for needlessly exposing American security methods and sources. Many journalists stress that few respectable members of their profession would divulge so much sensitive information with such wanton indiscretion. The U.S. government claims this indiscretion endangered the lives of Americans and their foreign collaborators. What should remain a secret (and why)? Who should draw that line?
  6. Should Assange be considered a whistleblower? What legal protections should whistleblowers have? Should national security be prioritized above personal freedoms?

Additional Viewing

Turning Point: The Coming Espionage Trial of Julian Assange and Its Potential Impact on Journalism, Free Speech at the Crossroads: International Dialogues, September 2022

In 2010, Julian Assange was thrown into the spotlight after his Wikileaks website published classified materials obtained from soldier Chelsea Manning—including footage of a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed at least 11 civilians. Indicted in the United States on 17 espionage charges that carry a maximum prison sentence of 175 years, he has emerged as a divisive figure. Once he came out of nearly seven years of hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Assange was arrested and has now been cleared for extradition by the British authorities; he has appealed that decision. Some say he is being unfairly punished for exposing war crimes, while others contend he damaged diplomacy and harmed U.S. national security.

How should the international community handle Assange? What are the global implications of prosecuting someone for unveiling uncomfortable truths? Is he criminally charged for doing what eminent correspondents around the world do every day?

This event was co-sponsored by the Free Speech Project (Georgetown University) and the Future of the Humanities Project (Georgetown University and Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall, Oxford).

Featured:

Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower, former RAND military analyst

Naomi Colvin, project director, Blueprint for Free Speech

Michael Scott (moderator), senior dean, Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.

Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), director, Free Speech Project, Georgetown University.

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Click on these themes below: National Security + Press  + Legal Action

Discuss: What does this confluence of stories with these filters tell us about Free Speech issues surrounding leaking classified information? The role of Free Speech in holding governments accountable?

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