Will Biden drop Assange prosecution?

Julian Assange

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long U.S. push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents.

For years, Australia has called on the US to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought U.S. extradition efforts from prison in the U.K. Asked about the request on Wednesday, as he hosted Japanese PM Fumio Kishida for an official visit, Biden said, "We're considering it." Assange has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website's publication of a trove of classified US documents almost 15 years ago.

American prosecutors allege that Assange, 52, encouraged and helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published, putting lives at risk. Australia argues there is a disconnect between the US treatment of Assange and Manning.

15 years
No of years since Assange was charged