WIKILEAKS founder, Julian Assange, has created a political and diplomatic storm by accepting and releasing, through the WikiLeaks website, hundreds of thousands of stolen US classified documents and cables, and Justice and Defense Department officials are considering his prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917. The release of these secret communications, of course, is believed to have damaged US security interests as well as diplomatic relations with other countries.
But Assange argues that he is a crusading journalist exposing “lying, corrupt and murderous leadership from Bahrain to Brazil,” and that he targets only “organizations that use secrecy to conceal unjust behavior.” But is he protected under the First Amendment, a usual freedom of speech defense?
In the most celebrated prosecution under the Espionage Act, ex-Pentagon analyst Daniel Ellsberg was charged with unauthorized possession and theft of classified “Pentagon Papers” but the charges were dismissed by a Federal judge because of government misconduct which included the burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatric files by President Nixon’s “White House plumbers.”
Samuel Loring Morrison, however, a naval intelligence analyst, was actually convicted under the Espionage Act for stealing government property and supplying publications with secret US intelligence satellite photos of Russian military facilities.
Although Julian Assange’s prosecution is still under consideration, the Justice Department has generally shown much reluctance to prosecute journalists for releasing leaked documents because of the First Amendment press guarantees. However, the pressure against WikiLeaks is growing as Bank of America, Visa, Mastercard and other major financial institutions now refuse to service or process WikiLeaks payments and Assange has vowed to close down Bank of America. Also, Assange is now under arrest in London facing extradition proceedings for alleged sex crimes in Sweden. The Australian WikiLeaks founder, indeed, may pay dearly for receiving and revealing America’s secrets which could adversely affect our national interests.
I may be speaking only for myself, but I don’t need to know any government secrets just to be informed, especially since the release of classified and secret data could expose us to danger at home and abroad. After all, our government is charged with the duty of protecting us and I’ll trust them to execute their obligations of defending our country.
Freedom of speech and of the press, of course, must be preserved and protected but that freedom must be tempered with responsible reporting and within legal guidelines. Theft and reckless revelation of America’s secrets cannot be justified if they benefit our enemies and hurt our national interests.
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Manibog & Manibog Law offices are regular columnists offering legal tips and perspectives in high profile legal cases and events. Monty is a former mayor of Monterey Park and Darren is former president of the Phil-Am Bar Association.
(Advertising Supplement)
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