WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “deserves stiff punishment” for publishing tranches of stolen documents, says former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra.
Hoekstra, R-Mich., went so far as to argue U.S. laws would need to be updated should Assange escape a trial without a conviction.
“Today’s legal framework should recognize the significant damage he has done to our national security, and find him guilty,” Hoekstra wrote in a column Wednesday for the Detroit News. “And if a trial results in Julian Assange finding a safe haven to protect him from conviction, then our laws are inadequate and must be updated.”
Assange’s secrets revealing website has published documents stolen from government agencies, including the CIA, as well as political groups, like the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta. While Assange has defended WikiLeaks as a place providing “asylum” to the “world’s most persecuted documents,” critics, like Hoekstra, have accused the website of working to damage the U.S.’s image through embarrassing and shocking revelations.
Last week, CIA Director Mike Pompeo delivered a speech rebuking WikiLeaks, calling it “a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.” In a January report, the U.S. intelligence officials said with “high confidence” that WikiLeaks, among others, were being used by Russian intelligence “to release US victim data obtained in cyberoperations publicly” in order to help undermine the 2016 presidential election in favor of President Trump.”
Though WikiLeaks doesn’t actually do any of the hacking or stealing of these secret documents, Hoekstra says Assange’s comments and actions make his intent clear.
“Julian Assange has an inherent desire to fundamentally damage and destroy the West with a focus and emphasis on the United States,” Hoekstra said.
In order to avoid the next NSA contractor Edward Snowden or Bradley Manning, Hoekstra said there needs to be increased whistleblower protection within government agencies, particularly within the intelligence community.
If left unchecked, Hoekstra warned there could a spike in copycats groups of WikiLeaks, where individuals like Manning have chosen to turn instead.
“Snowden demonstrated Bradley Manning was not an anomaly. Manning was just the first. He represented a new wave of traitors that have caused significant damage through the availability of data in cyberspace,” Hoekstra wrote. “Similarly, Assange will only be the first of many to take mass quantities of data to the public.”
Assange replied to Hoekstra’s column with a little snark:
Former head of U.S. House intel committee reminds me of my first girlfriend “Assange deserves stiff punishment” https://t.co/AvOnxxxI16
— Julian Assange ⌛ (@JulianAssange) April 19, 2017
