Biden’s Assange Comments: The Wrong Reasons

For the first time, the U.S. president is striking a milder tone about Julian Assange. America’s relationship with Australia and the upcoming U.S. election campaign are likely to have played a role.

There is no victory yet. Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sitting in British high-security Belmarsh prison for five years, legally defending himself against extradition to the U.S., where he faces trial for espionage. But, for the first time, President Joe Biden has publicly said that the U.S. would “consider” dropping the charges against Assange.

Previously in February, the Australian government passed a resolution by 86-42 calling for representatives of the U.S. and Great Britain to cease prosecuting Assange and allow him to return home. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has now also taken this position. Australia is allied with Britain and America in the AUKUS military alliance — and this is becoming more important because the U.S. is considering bringing Japan into the alliance to take a stronger stance against China.*

Whether this is the reason for Biden’s implied change in thinking remains speculative. But it is certain that with this year’s U.S. election, Biden has more to lose than to gain domestically by prosecuting Assange. The progressive wing of his party, which is already angry at Biden’s continued military support for Israel in the Gaza war, would have more reasons to oppose him if Assange were brought to America handcuffed in poor health. The president doesn’t need that on Nov. 5 when he goes up against Donald Trump in a race for the presidency.

Both domestic concerns and foreign policy would be the wrong reasons. As the publisher of material documenting U.S. war crimes, Assange shouldn’t be charged at all if we seriously value freedom of the press. But, at this advanced stage, what matters isn’t why Assange is released: only that he needs to be released.

*Editor’s Note: AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.