Biden considering Australian request to drop Assange charges

President Joe Biden stated during a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday that his administration is contemplating a request made by Australia to withdraw charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

In February, the Australian Parliament passed a motion urging for Assange's release to his native Australia.

When questioned on Wednesday about Australia's appeal to halt Assange's prosecution, Biden informed reporters at the White House, "We're looking into it."

US authorities allege that Assange, aged 52, endangered lives by publishing confidential military documents and have been seeking his extradition on charges of espionage for several years. Assange is wanted by the US for disclosing classified military records provided by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 and 2011.

In 2019, prosecutors in Virginia charged Assange with 18 offenses, including one count of conspiracy to attempt to hack a computer in connection with the 2010 release of classified military material obtained through Manning, and 17 additional counts under the Espionage Act.

Each of these charges carries a potential sentence of 10 years, implying that if found guilty, Assange could face a maximum of 175 years in prison.

Assange has been resisting extradition for the past five years from Belmarsh prison in London, and prior to that spent seven years as a political refugee at the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK capital.