The Latest Charges Against Julian Assange Are an Assault on Press Freedom

Published: May 27, 2019, 7:23 a.m.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice unsealed new charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Unlike the previous indictment\u2014which focused narrowly on an apparent offer to help crack a password\u2014the 17 superseding counts focus instead on alleged violations of the Espionage Act. In doing so, the DOJ has aimed a battering ram at the freedom of the press, whether you think Assange is a journalist or not.