Poll: Democrats more likely to view Assange as having committed espionage

Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independents to view Julian Assange as having committed espionage, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.

Thirty-five percent of Democratic registered voters in the July 20-21 survey said Assange committed espionage by sharing state secrets on Wikileaks, while 20 percent said he is an independent journalist who has been unfairly targeted by US intelligence agencies for building the site.

Forty-four percent of Democrats surveyed said they were unsure.

By contrast, 24 percent of Republican voters said Assange committed espionage, and 25 percent said he is an independent journalist who has been unfairly targeted. Fifty-one percent of GOP voters who participated said they are unsure.

Twenty-three percent of independents said Assange committed espionage while 26 percent said he has been unfairly targeted and 51 percent are unsure.

Among total participants, 28 percent said Assange committed espionage by sharing state secrets on Wikileaks while 24 percent said he is an independent journalist who has been unfairly targeted by US intelligence agencies. Forty-nine percent said they are unsure.

Tuesday, Assange was stripped of his Ecuadorian citizenship, he is currently being held in a jail in the United Kingdom. 

The Biden administration is currently pursuing efforts to have the WikiLeaks founder extradited to the U.S., where he has been indicted on charges connected to allegations that he intentionally published sensitive information.

The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 949 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.18 percentage points.

—Gabriela Schulte