Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a prison van as he is taken from Southwark Crown Court in London on May 1, 2019. (Neil Hall/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was charged Thursday with violating the Espionage Act by seeking out classified information, an escalation of the Trump administration’s pursuit of leakers that could have major First Amendment repercussions for news organizations. Assange, 47, who was arrested last month in London and is fighting extradition to the United States, faces a maximum of five years in prison under that conspiracy charge. In the past decade, prosecutors have increasingly used the Espionage Act to pursue government employees or ex-employees who leak classified information to reporters. The Assange case marks the most aggressive move yet in the Trump administration’s quest to punish leakers.

Source: Washington Post May 23, 2019 20:00 UTC