--- title: Jeff Sessions Won't Say What WikiLeaks Charges Mean for News description: Jeff Sessions declined to comment when asked whether prosecuting WikiLeaks would also open up news organizations to prosecution canonical: https://time.com/4750930/jeff-sessions-wikileaks-julian-assange-news-organizations/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-21T19:25:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:33:03.340Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jeff Sessions Won't Say If Wikileaks Charges Open Up Media to Prosecution og:description: "That's speculative and I'm not able to comment on that" og:url: https://time.com/4750930/jeff-sessions-wikileaks-julian-assange-news-organizations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79bea21c41d0fd7f/6988c3e20b72e3a3816ed765/jeff-sessions-attorney-general-hawaii-doug-chin-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: AG Jeff Sessions Holds A Meeting On Transnational Organized Crime og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jeff Sessions Won't Say If Wikileaks Charges Open Up Media to Prosecution twitter:description: "That's speculative and I'm not able to comment on that" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79bea21c41d0fd7f/6988c3e20b72e3a3816ed765/jeff-sessions-attorney-general-hawaii-doug-chin-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jeff Sessions Won't Say If WikiLeaks Charges Open Up News Organizations to Prosecution  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2017 7:25 PM UTC  Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about organized gang violence at the Department of Justice, April 18, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks about organized gang violence at the Department of Justice, April 18, 2016 in Washington, D.C.Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2017 7:25 PM UTC Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined to comment Friday when asked whether prosecuting WikiLeaks founder [Julian Assange](http://time.com/4620806/julian-assange-russia-hack-fox-hannity/?iid=sr-link5) would also open up news organizations to prosecution. “That’s speculative and I’m not able to comment on that,” Sessions told CNN when asked specifically whether places like CNN or the New York _Times_ would be vulnerable to prosecution. > [](https://twitter.com/CNN/status/855442341317836800) Edward Snowden, a former intelligence agency contractor who leaked classified documents to expose the NSA’s surveillance practices, weighed in Friday with similar concerns. He tweeted that prosecuting WikiLeaks means the Trump Administration can also prosecute “other publishers”: > [](https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/855492724681838592) Sessions said at a news conference Thursday that arresting WikiLeaks founder Assange is a “priority,” [CNN reports](http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/20/politics/julian-assange-wikileaks-us-charges/). 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