Leaders of NYT & 4 European news outlets have called on the US govt to drop charges against Julian Assange for soliciting/publishing classified information. (Case is about the 2010 @xymanning-leaked DOD/State files, not the 2016 Russia-hacked Dem emails). nytimes.com/2022/11/28/us/…
Here is the joint open letter: nytco.com/press/an-open-… NYT company spokesperson says the institutional decision to participate was made by the publisher (@AGSNYT) in consultation with the legal department (@davidmccraw). The newsroom (@nycscribe) was not involved.
The letter focuses on the Espionage Act charges, which could establish a precedent that investigative nat-sec journalistic activities can be treated as crimes. It does not call for dropping a hacking-related charge, saying only that "some" signatories are concerned about it, too.
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe I wonder how the NYT would cover a company whose management endorsed or opposed a government policy but then said its workforce had nothing to do with it and was free to make its own decisions about how to run the business.
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe Editors from the other newspapers appear to have signed on - was NYT the only paper where the editor did not? What was the reason?
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe The newsroom can sign here; I hope they all will, if they haven't already: speak-up-for-assange.org
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe Interesting timing
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe Thank you for speaking out publicly.
@charlie_savage @AGSNYT @davidmccraw @nycscribe He’s a traitor and needs to stay in prison. Anyone who’s on his side is scum.