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Would charges for #Assange's role in disclosing classified national security information implicate #PressFreedoms?
Q&A with @rgoodlaw (posing questions) and @steve_vladeck (answering them)
justsecurity.org/40281/qa-assan…
Q&A with @rgoodlaw (posing questions) and @steve_vladeck (answering them)
justsecurity.org/40281/qa-assan…
Question: “What if the government’s case against Julian Assange is based primarily – and let’s say for the sake of analysis, exclusively – on allegations that he was directly involved in procuring classified information?...”
A: “If the government’s claim against Assange is not about publication or retention of national security information, but instead looks more like a solicitation or conspiracy claim...that might provide a thin-enough reed on which to rest a prosecution without crossing the line..”
Q: “What if the case against Assange were based exclusively on materials he disclosed that can be shown to have no public interest whatsoever or any evidence of legal wrongdoing on the part of the government? Imagine if Assange disclosed US troop locations in Afghanistan.”
A: “I’m not especially optimistic that, should it come to this point, courts would recognize a First Amendment defense in Assange’s case. But that’s why this is potentially such a dangerous precedent: If Assange becomes the first successful prosecution of a third party ...”
Those are just snippets of some of the Q and A on Assange and freedom of the press with our co-editors-in-chief. Read the full exchange at Just Security.
