Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Urge Biden to Drop Assange Extradition and Prosecution

Unlikely alliance of 16 lawmakers, including far-right and far-left representatives, calls for an end to the extradition and prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, citing concerns over press freedom and potential damage to US-Australia relations.

A bipartisan group of 16 lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), have urged President Biden to drop the extradition and prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, citing concerns over press freedom and potential damage to US-Australia relations.
The lawmakers, who have often been at odds with each other, have united in their call for Assange's freedom, highlighting the importance of free speech and freedom of the press.
Assange, who was arrested in the U.K. in 2019 on a U.S. warrant, has been fighting in British court to avoid extradition to the U.S. to face charges.
This is not the first time lawmakers have called for charges against Assange to be dropped. In April, a group of lawmakers, including some of the same signatories, urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges.
Assange is facing 17 charges under the 1917 Espionage Act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison.