President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. is “considering” dropping its years-long attempt to prosecute Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who was central to publishing a trove of classified U.S. military intel starting in 2006.
That comment from Biden, made to reporters outside the White House, comes two months after the Australian parliament approved a motion that called for Assange to be released to his home country of Australia.
A reporter mentioned the motion Wednesday when asking Biden about ending Assange’s prosecution, to which the president responded, “We’re considering it.” He said nothing more about Assange.
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Assange, who is imprisoned in the United Kingdom, has evaded U.S. authorities for over a decade—first by living in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for seven years, and next by trying to dodge extradition through British courts for the last five.
Assange, 52, is staring down a sentence that could exceed 100 years behind bars in the U.S. if he were to be convicted on multiple counts of espionage. U.S. prosecutors alleged he put lives at risk by publishing secret military documents while the U.S. was engaged in active conflicts in the Middle East.
In total, Assange faces 18 federal counts in the states—17 of which are for allegedly violating the Espionage Act. The other charge, for allegedly conspiring to hack a computer, comes from a related incident in 2010.
Assange’s case has been a complicated one from the start, with free speech advocates condemning the charges against him, saying a conviction could have a chilling effect on press freedoms. Others want Assange put away for life, accusing him of endangering American soldiers.
Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, said her husband “is being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives.” She has said she fears he’ll die behind bars, citing his deteriorating health.
The U.K. approved Assange’s extradition to the U.S. in 2022, but he appealed that decision on claims the ruling was politically motivated and that he didn’t face a fair trial. That appeal kept him in London, at the Belmarsh Prison, where high-profile suspects and criminals are held.
The leaker was granted a lifeline in London last month, when a court ruled that it would not extradite Assange on espionage charges unless U.S. authorities guaranteed he wouldn’t receive the death penalty—a decision the U.S. has remained mum on to this point.
