Takeaways from the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
WASHINGTON (AP) — Julian Assange's arrest on Thursday in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London opens the next chapter in the saga of the WikiLeaks founder: an expected extradition fight over a pending criminal prosecution in the United States.
It's also likely to trigger a debate over press freedom and call attention to unresolved questions about Assange's role in the release of stolen Democratic emails leading up to the 2016 presidential election, part of special counsel Robert Mueller's recently concluded investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Some takeaways from his arrest:
THE CHARGES IN THE U.S.
Assange, for now at least, faces a single count of computer intrusion conspiracy.
He's accused of conspiring in 2010 with Chelsea Manning, then a U.S. Army intelligence analyst who leaked troves of classified material to WikiLeaks, to crack a password that would give her higher-level access to classified computer networks.
Prosecutors say Assange and Manning tried to conceal Manning's role as a source by deleting chat logs and removing usernames from sensitive records that were shared. They used a special folder to transmit classified and national defense information, according to the indictment. Assange ultimately requested more information related to the password, telling Manning that while he had tried to crack it, he "had no luck so far."
PRESS FREEDOM IMPLICATIONS
Assange and his supporters say he is a journalist who deserves legal protections for publishing stolen material. But the indictment doesn't really have to do with whether Assange is a journalist.
The allegations don't relate to the publication of classified information but focus on his attempts to obtain the material in what prosecutors say was an illegal manner.
That distinction could...