Biden admin pressured to drop Julian Assange's case by bipartisan group of lawmakers

A new bipartisan letter drafted by Reps. Thomas Massie, (R-KY) and James McGovern (D-MA) are pushing for members of the House of Representatives to demand Joe Biden terminate the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who the US is currently attempting to extradite after he was accused of publishing sensitive national security information.



Massie and McGovern's letter calls for their colleagues to take part in a bipartisan initiative to "strongly encourage the Biden administration to withdraw the US extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible," Fox News reports. 

Assange was put into a London prison in 2019, and has since been ordered to be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage. His prosecution has been highly controversial since its beginning, with those in favor arguing he has greatly harmed American national security. Others have asserted that Assange was simply exposing inconvenient truths about the activities of the US government, and that his arrest sets a terrifyingly dangerous precedent for the rights of whistleblowers and journalists alike. 

Massie and McGovern's letter notes that "[d]eep concerns about this case have been repeatedly expressed by international media outlets, human rights and press freedom advocates."

"Last April, several Members of Congress argued to Attorney General Merrick Garland that '[e]very day that the prosecution of Julian Assange continues is another day that our own government needlessly undermines our own moral authority abroad and rolls back the freedom of the press under the First Amendment at home.' One example: the Assange case has been cited by officials of the People's Republic of China to claim that the US is 'hypocritical' when it comes to support for media freedom."

As this is transpiring, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to meet with Biden in Washington this week and will likely discuss Assange's case, according to Fox News. Albanese has called for the US to bring the prosecution of Assange to an end more than once in recent months.

An Australian government spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News that "Mr. Assange's case has dragged on for too long and that it should be brought to a close."

The statement continued: "The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have expressed this view to the governments of the United Kingdom and United States and we will continue to do so. The Australian Government cannot intervene in another country’s legal or court processes just as they are unable to intervene in Australia's. We continue to convey our expectations that Mr. Assange is entitled to due process, humane and fair treatment, access to proper medical care, and access to his legal team."

The two congressmen have a separate letter addressed to Biden that is planned to be delivered after they receive signatures from other House lawmakers, with a deadline of Thursday.

This is not Massie's first rodeo; the Kentucky congressman has in the past backed bipartisan legislation to reform the Espionage Act as well as safeguard whistleblowers and journalists.