An attorney for WikiLeaks sent a Tuesday letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch arguing that the precedent established by the refusal of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute Hillary Clinton means the agency should drop its criminal investigation of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
In late 2010, the DOJ stated it was opening an investigation into WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, the site’s founder, to search for potential criminal activity.
That investigation is still ongoing, as of May 19.
According to attorney Barry J. Pollack, the DOJ announced in July it was closing the the criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information precisely because the FBI could not establish criminal intent. The DOJ made its decision the day after the FBI stated that no reasonable prosecutor would move forward with the case.
For Pollack, this Clinton precedent means that the DOJ needs to close its investigation into Assange, as it seems clear there is no criminal intent, just like the Clinton case. And once that determination was made by the FBI, the DOJ rendered its judgment with speed.
“WikiLeaks has published information out of a single overriding motivation: its belief that the information being published is newsworthy,” Pollack argued. “The extensive third-party media coverage of information published by WikiLeaks confirms that WikiLeaks’ assessment in this regard was correct. WikiLeaks’ intent was lawful. It was not to aid enemies of the United States or to obstruct justice; it was to inform the public about matters of great public interest.”
With that in mind, Pollack wrote Lynch saying the DOJ has no “legitimate basis for continuing the Department’s lengthy criminal investigation of Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks.”
What Pollack wants is for Lynch to confirm there are no pending charges against Assange and that any existing charges will be dismissed. Additionally, Pollack demanded that the criminal investigation into Assange be closed.
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