Julian Assange’s DC-based lawyer Barry Pollack has responded to the report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. He pointed out that it acknowledged the First Amendment concerns with prosecuting WikiLeaks merely for publishing information, and that it “appears to discuss the lack of evidence of intent to violate the law.”
Speaking to the Gateway Pundit, Pollack said that the report did not contain any significant new information regarding his client.
“The report does not seem to contain any significant new information regarding the role of WikiLeaks,” Pollack said. “WikiLeaks was plainly receiving information from sources and publishing material of public interest.”
“In a section that appears to be about whether any charges could be brought against WikiLeaks for campaign finance violations, the report not only properly notes the first amendment concerns such a prosecution would pose, but also appears to discuss that lack of evidence of intent to violate the law.”
WikiLeaks also responded to the report from its official Twitter account, saying that the organization has “always been confident that this investigation would vindicate our groundbreaking publishing of the 2016 materials which it has.”
WikiLeaks has always been confident that this investigation would vindicate our groundbreaking publishing of the 2016 materials which it has, We disapprove of the large redactions which permit conspiracy theories to abound. Full transparency please.https://t.co/n9o2eUVgI7#submit pic.twitter.com/nbvKRG57YA
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 18, 2019
The pro-transparency organization also called for the full unredacted report to be released, criticizing the “large redactions which permit conspiracy theories to abound.
Pulitzer prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald noted that the statements of Attorney General Barr appeared to uphold WikiLeaks’ right to publish.
It should also be noted that Barr said that WikiLeaks could not have committed a crime by publishing the DNC/Podesta emails unless they participated in the hacking itself, which I don't believe has anyone claimed they did.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 18, 2019
“It should also be noted that Barr said that WikiLeaks could not have committed a crime by publishing the DNC/Podesta emails unless they participated in the hacking itself, which I don’t believe anyone [has] claimed they did,” Greenwald tweeted.
