DOJ accuses Assange of violating Espionage Act
The Justice Department has hit WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with Espionage Act charges, escalating a legal fight against the high-profile activist and alarming press freedom activists.
DOJ had previously only indicted Assange on a single count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. Thursday’s revelation of the additional 18 charges, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, means Assange could face significantly more prison time if found guilty.
...
John Demers, head of DOJ’s national security division, pushed back at that argument on Thursday, insisting Assange is “not a journalist,” and alleging that the WikiLeaks founder “purposely published names he knew to be confidential human sources in warzones.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...ge-act-1342653
The government does not get to decide who is or who is not a journalist.