AOC and MTG Join Forces to Fight Julian Assange’s Extradition to U.S.

Efren Landaos/Sipa US & Troy Stolt/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP Images

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) joined forces this week in a letter calling on President Joe Biden to stop the extradition and prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Sixteen members of Congress from both major parties signed a letter on Wednesday strongly encouraging Biden “to withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange” and to “halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible.”

The letter warned:

We are aware that the Assange case has been cited by officials of the People’s Republic of China to claim that the U.S. is “hypocritical” when it comes to purported support for media freedom. We are also well aware that should the U.S. extradition and prosecution go forward, there is a significant risk that our bilateral relationship with Australia will be badly damaged.

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.

The letter, which was led by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), was signed by a diverse group of lawmakers in the House and Senate: Ocasio-Cortez, Greene, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), Rep. Matthew Rosendale (R-MT), Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

Assange — an Australian citizen who has never set foot in the United States — has been imprisoned in London’s Belmarsh Prison since April 2019, awaiting extradition to the United States to face charges of violating the Espionage Act.

In May, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed frustration over the Biden administration’s refusal to drop its prosecution of Assange, declaring, “enough is enough.”

Albanese told reporters that the matter needed “to be brought to a conclusion,” and that he had made it “very clear” to the Biden administration “what our position is on Mr Assange’s case.”