US charges WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with publishing classified info

In thisMay 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks out from the balcony while claiming political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

• Assange is accused of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a Defense Department computer password
• Assange is in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The US is seeking his extradition

WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with receiving and publishing classified information.
The charges are contained in an 18-count indictment announced Thursday.
The new charges go far beyond an initial indictment against Assange made public last month that accused him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in a conspiracy to crack a Defense Department computer password.
The new indictment says Assange conspired with Manning to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents, including State Department cables and reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It says his actions “risked serious harm” to the United States.
The 47-year-old Assange is in custody in London after being evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April. The US is seeking his extradition.