US Files New Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange, Accuses Him Of Aiding America’s Adversaries

The United States has filed new charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for violating Espionage Act as he published secret documents containing classified information of its military and diplomatic sources, reports The Hindu.

The US Justice Department alleged that Assange directed former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in what is said to be one of the largest compromises on classified information in the American history. It also charged Assange of damaging the national security by publishing documents that harmed the US and aided the adversaries of America and its allies.

The WikiLeaks founder was arrested last month in London after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

WikiLeaks revelations played a crucial role in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller on possible coordination between Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidential election and Russian intelligence officers.

Manning, who is convicted in a military court for providing classified documents to WikiLeaks, is now behind bars in northern Virginia. She served seven years of a 35-year military sentence before receiving a commutation from then-President Barack Obama.