Rep. Johnson defends WikiLeaks founder
A metro Atlanta congressman is publicly defending WikiLeaks and the man behind the organization, equating the efforts of Julian Assange with freedom of the press.
Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from DeKalb County, said at a hearing Thursday that Assange should not be persecuted for publishing leaked information on the Internet, even if the information was classified and stolen.
"The New York Times published the same cables. We aren't shutting down the Times’ website or encouraging an international manhunt for its editors," Johnson said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, according to a statement from his office.
The comments came during a hearing about the applicability of the Espionage Act to the WikiLeaks case, when committee members heard testimony from legal experts.
The government is investigating whether Assange helped to steal the secret diplomatic cables. He may be subject to prosecution for that, Johnson said, but he should not be harassed merely for publishing the documents. And he must be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, Johnson said.
" We have to acknowledge that this is a failure of the U.S. government to protect our own secrets," he said. "We shouldn't be harassing and demonizing publishers. We should do a better job of securing our data."
About the Author
Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.
