Hillary Clinton says Julian Assange must ‘answer for what he …

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a hero or criminal, depending on who you ask.We explain. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Hillary Clinton among the high-profile targets of WikiLeaks' explosive document drops over the yearstold a New York crowd Thursday that Julian Assange must "answer for what he has done" after his Thursday arrest.

London police arrested Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks,on Thursday, the same day the Justice Department released anindictment alleging Assange conspired with ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal classified government documents.

"The bottom line is he has to answer for what he has done," said Clinton, who said she would "wait and see what happens." The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee sharedthe Beacon Theater stage withher husband, former President Bill Clinton.

More: Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, had a litany of legal issues before London arrest

More: Journalist or criminal: Julian Assange, notorious for leaks of US secrets, faces computer hack charge

More: Six big leaks from Julian Assange's WikiLeaks over the years

She stressed the charge against Assange, who faces a count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, shouldn't be seen as an affront to journalism. Assange's supporters often defendhis publication of private message and secret government documents in the name of journalism. Others, however, such as the U.S. government, consider him a criminal.

It is clear from the indictment that came out, its not about punishing journalism," Clintonsaid. "Its about assisting the hacking of the military computer to steal information fromthe United States government.

WikiLeaks exposed parts of Clinton's presidential campaign, including potential running mates, when in 2016 it released 2,000 emails from her campaign manager John Podesta. U.S. intelligence later determined the messages were stolen by hackers working for the Russian government.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Clinton also got in a jab at President Donald Trump, saying, "I do think its a little ironic that (Assange) may be the only foreigner that this administration would welcome to the United States."

Contributing: Associated Press

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/12/hillary-clinton-says-julian-assange-must-answer-what-he-has-done/3445964002/

See the original post:
Hillary Clinton says Julian Assange must 'answer for what he ...

Related Posts

Comments are closed.