Reporters Committee statement on Julian Assange plea agreement

According to news reports, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange agreed on Monday to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act. Assange had been facing 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one count of conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Bruce D. Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, made the following statement:

“The Justice Department argued that the sole act of publishing government secrets violates the Espionage Act. The Reporters Committee would have vigorously contested that reading of the statute had Assange been put on trial in the U.S. But with this reported plea agreement, a potentially dangerous precedent for national security journalism would be avoided.”

The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our monthly newsletter and following us on Twitter or Instagram.