Jeff Sessions Won't Say If WikiLeaks Charges Open Up News Organizations to Prosecution

Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined to comment Friday when asked whether prosecuting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange 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.

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”:

Sessions said at a news conference Thursday that arresting WikiLeaks founder Assange is a “priority,” CNN reports. Assange is currently being harbored in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Get our Politics Newsletter. Sign up to receive the day's most important political stories from Washington and beyond.

Please enter a valid email address.

Sign Up Now

Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.