A
federal grand jury returned an 18-count superseding indictment today
charging Julian P. Assange, 47, the founder of WikiLeaks, with offenses
that relate to Assange’s alleged role in one of the largest compromises
of classified information in the history of the United States.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S.
Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia,
Assistant Director John Brown of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division
and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Timothy Dunham of the FBI’s
Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with
Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in
unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the
national defense. Specifically, the superseding indictment alleges that
Assange conspired with Manning; obtained from Manning and aided and
abetted her in obtaining classified information with reason to believe
that the information was to be used to the injury of the United States
or the advantage of a foreign nation; received and attempted to receive
classified information having reason to believe that such materials
would be obtained, taken, made, and disposed of by a person contrary to
law; and aided and abetted Manning in communicating classified
documents to Assange.
After agreeing to receive classified documents from Manning and
aiding, abetting, and causing Manning to provide classified documents,
the superseding indictment charges that Assange then published on
WikiLeaks classified documents that contained the unredacted names of
human sources who provided information to United States forces in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and to U.S. State Department diplomats around the
world. These human sources included local Afghans and Iraqis,
journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and political
dissidents from repressive regimes. According to the superseding
indictment, Assange’s actions risked serious harm to United States
national security to the benefit of our adversaries and put the
unredacted named human sources at a grave and imminent risk of serious
physical harm and/or arbitrary detention.
The superseding indictment alleges that beginning in late 2009,
Assange and WikiLeaks actively solicited United States classified
information, including by publishing a list of “Most Wanted Leaks” that
sought, among other things, classified documents. Manning responded to
Assange’s solicitations by using access granted to her as an
intelligence analyst to search for United States classified documents,
and provided to Assange and WikiLeaks databases containing approximately
90,000 Afghanistan war-related significant activity reports, 400,000
Iraq war-related significant activities reports, 800 Guantanamo Bay
detainee assessment briefs, and 250,000 U.S. Department of State cables.
Many of these documents were classified at the Secret level, meaning
that their unauthorized disclosure could cause serious damage to United
States national security. Manning also provided rules of engagement
files for the Iraq war, most of which were also classified at the Secret
level and which delineated the circumstances and limitations under
which United States forces would initiate or conduct combat engagement
with other forces.
The superseding indictment alleges that Manning and Assange engaged
in real-time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission of classified
records to Assange. The discussions also reflect that Assange actively
encouraged Manning to provide more information and agreed to crack a
password hash stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected
to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a United States
government network used for classified documents and communications.
Assange is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for
agreeing to crack that password hash.
Assange is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years
in prison on each count except for conspiracy to commit computer
intrusion, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the
maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any
sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and
other statutory factors.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Kellen S. Dwyer, Thomas W. Traxler and Gordon D. Kromberg,
and Trial Attorneys Matthew R. Walczewski and Nicholas O. Hunter of the
Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the
case.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a
crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless
proven guilty in court.