On October 26, I wrote about United States House of Representatives members Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) gathering signatures from other House members for a letter to President Joe Biden. The letter asks the president to drop both the US government’s requested extradition and its ongoing prosecution efforts in regard to Julian Assange of WikiLeaks.
Here is an update. This week, Massie and McGovern, along with 13 additional representatives and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), sent the letter to Biden. The letter concludes with the following statement that addresses how the matter of Assange’s prosecution has importance beyond the fate of one man:
It is the duty of journalists to seek out sources, including documentary evidence, in order to report to the public on the activities of government. The United States must not pursue an unnecessary prosecution that risks criminalizing common journalistic practices and thus chilling the work of the free press. We urge you to ensure that this case be brought to a close in as timely a manner as possible.
Hopefully the letter will do some good. Read the letter and the list of cosigners here.
