Julian Assange: NSA leaker next Bradley Manning?

Assange addressed the rights and responsibilities of the government and journalists. | AP Photo

By REBECCA ELLIOTT 

 

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suggested that the National Security Agency leaker might face the same fate as Pfc. Bradley Manning, adding that he expects more documents to come.

“Let’s ask ourselves whether the whistleblower who has revealed those, and there’s more to come, is going to be in exactly the same position as Bradley Manning is in today,” Assange, who called in to “CBS This Morning,” said Friday, referring to the individual who leaked information about the NSA’s phone and internet monitoring.

Manning, a former intelligence analyst, is currently on trial for leaking 700,000 documents to WikiLeaks, the biggest leak case in U.S. Military history. Manning’s trial began Monday and he has been charged with 22 counts, including espionage. The commencement of the trial coincided with a period of extensive criticism of the Department of Justice for its aggressive prosecution of leakers, including the subpoenaing of Associated Press and Fox News reporters.

“People have a right to understand what the government’s doing in their name,” Assange said. “Of course, we need government to do all sorts of things. But when it’s done properly, there is a law, people are aware of what the law is, there’s a process for carrying out the law, there’s a process for checking the law. There’s open justice where judges in their decisions of trying people, themselves are tried before the public.”

He continued: “It doesn’t mean that every aspect, every detail must be public, but at least enough parameters to understand what is really going on. And there’s no way that the American or international public was aware…in detail of these mass spying programs on Google, Facebook, and so on.”

Assange ultimately addressed the rights and responsibilities of the government and journalists.

“Governments have the responsibility to uphold rights. Governments themselves have no rights,” he said.

“The duty of journalists to expose government behavior—that is their duty—and sometimes these duties are in conflict.”

Source:  politico.com