Thread by @trevortimm

Huge respect to @ScottShaneNYT for this. At the same time, it’s so disconcerting how many other reporters are ignoring the Assange case.

When it comes to Trump’s rhetoric, everyone is quick to denounce. Yet this case has FAR more impact on press freedom than anything Trump says

https://twitter.com/ScottShaneNYT/status/1341549317966983172

I get it, people hate Assange. Criticize him all you want!

But please also acknowledge every single major press freedom group in the US: the criminal case against him is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS for reporters—even if you don’t think Assange is a journalist! freedom.press/news/press-fre…

Here’s Bruce Brown—@rcfp exec. director—writing that the Assange case is "the first time in American history that the US gov't has sought to prosecute the act of publishing state secrets, something that national security reporters do with some regularity" cjr.org/opinion/assang…

Here’s @Joelcpj, executive director of @pressfreedom, talking about how prosecution of Assange is not just a danger to US reporters, but "is a threat to journalists around the world" washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…

Here’s @cdeloire, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, encouraging a pardon of Assange for the sake of press freedom. @rebecca_vincent, also with @RSF_inter, has been pleading with journalists to pay attention to the case for months.

https://twitter.com/cdeloire/status/1338823504410587138

You can also read the court testimony of @JameelJaffer—executive director at @knightcolumbia and former deputy legal director at @ACLU—about how the rights of every single national security reporter could be eviscerated if the Assange case continues. justsecurity.org/72629/its-assa…

Here’s my own testimony in the Assange case, as executive director of @FreedomofPress: “The US government is saying that by merely possessing these documents Assange is committing a crime. If Assange is committing a crime, then so is any other journalist” computerweekly.com/news/252488835…

All of the important investigative reporting that everyone cheered during the Trump era will potentially be prosecutable using the Assange precedent. It is ESPECIALLY important to speak up about this case right now, because…. freedom.press/news/trump-shu…

The incoming Biden admin is making important decisions about the DOJ as we speak, and it will be up to them whether the Assange case continues. If they don’t feel the pressure, they will likely continue down the same path. And that would do incalculable damage to press freedom.

Do you want The Next Trump to have the power to prosecute reporters? If the answer is no, use your voice to denounce the DOJ’s Assange case. Do it even if you hate him. In fact, do it *especially* if you hate him. It may be the only hope that the incoming Biden admin will listen.