Julian Assange charged in 18-count indictment for WikiLeaks disclosures

Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Julian Assange was charged Thursday in an 18-count superseding indictment for his role in orchestrating the 2010 WikiLeaks disclosures, described by the U.S. government as “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.”

According to the Justice Department, the new charges from a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia allege that “Assange’s actions risked serious harm to United States national security to the benefit of our adversaries.”

According to the DOJ announcement, Assange faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each charge with the exception of one charge related to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

Assange was previously indicted in April on a single-count conspiracy to commit computer intrusion charge for his role in Chelsea Manning’s disclosure of classified materials made public by WikiLeaks in 2010, which the government has called “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.”

Legal experts at the time said that indictment could be a placeholder in lieu of more extensive charges that could be pursued at a later date. It was also interpreted as the government attempting to dodge potential First Amendment issues by not addressing Assange’s self-proclaimed status as a publisher.

One of the counts includes a charge of conspiracy between Manning and Assange to obtain receive and disclose national defense information in violation of the Espionage Act, a rare move for a person who never served inside government.

“The Department takes seriously the role of journalists and our democracy and we support it,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers told reporters Thursday. “It has not and never been the Department’s policy to target them for reporting. Julian Assange is no journalist, this is made plain by the totality of his conduct as alleged in the indictment.

The superseding indictment comes just one week after Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and anti-secrecy activist, was ordered back to jail after a federal judge held her in contempt of court for defying a grand jury subpoena. That grand jury is convened at the same federal court where prosecutors filed their charges against Assange.

The indictment specifically addresses Assange’s exchanges with Manning, alleging that “after agreeing to receiving classified documents from Manning and aiding, abetting, and causing Manning to provide classified documents,” Assange then published those documents on WikiLeaks — an act they say put confidential sources used by the U.S. government abroad in potential danger.

Assange is currently serving a 50-week jail sentence in Great Britain for skipping bail and is fighting extradition to the United States.

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