٠٠:٠٤:٠٦Mandatory credit: Free Assange
Julian Assange's US lawyer Barry Pollack said Washington should be asked why it had ordered the WikiLeaks founder to destroy information - as wife Stella revealed her husband would 'swim in the ocean every day' - in footage published on Thursday, following his release under a plea deal the previous day.
"You'd have to ask the United States government why they insisted on including that clause," Pollack said, referring to the part of the deal requiring Assange to destroy classified material.
"The materials that we're talking about are now more than a decade old. I don't know to what extent any still existed or what possible value they might have. Certainly no national security value," he said, adding that the judge herself had found 'no evidence that any harm' to any individual.
Assange walked free from a court in Saipan on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to a single criminal charge and receiving a sentence of 'time served' in the UK's Belmarsh prison. It ended the long-running row over his US extradition.
"The United States has never previously prosecuted somebody for publishing classified information, in this case, information that was plainly newsworthy and in the public's interest to know information that revealed war crimes by the United States government," Pollack claimed.
Stella, who was seen embracing her husband when he landed in Canberra on Wednesday, said that he planned to 'swim in the ocean', 'taste real food' and 'enjoy his freedom'.
Another of his lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, added that he had been prosecuted for 'doing journalism', while Pollack also called on the Biden administration to now pardon Assange.
"Obviously, he's just been released. He's just gotten home. I suspect that that will take some time, but I certainly hope and expect that the same kind of support that he received when he was in prison will again gather steam and this president or future president of the United States will have the wisdom to pardon," he said.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.
'Ask the US why they wanted to destroy docs' - Assange lawyer calls for Biden pardon
Julian Assange's US lawyer Barry Pollack said Washington should be asked why it had ordered the WikiLeaks founder to destroy information - as wife Stella revealed her husband would 'swim in the ocean every day' - in footage published on Thursday, following his release under a plea deal the previous day.
"You'd have to ask the United States government why they insisted on including that clause," Pollack said, referring to the part of the deal requiring Assange to destroy classified material.
"The materials that we're talking about are now more than a decade old. I don't know to what extent any still existed or what possible value they might have. Certainly no national security value," he said, adding that the judge herself had found 'no evidence that any harm' to any individual.
Assange walked free from a court in Saipan on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to a single criminal charge and receiving a sentence of 'time served' in the UK's Belmarsh prison. It ended the long-running row over his US extradition.
"The United States has never previously prosecuted somebody for publishing classified information, in this case, information that was plainly newsworthy and in the public's interest to know information that revealed war crimes by the United States government," Pollack claimed.
Stella, who was seen embracing her husband when he landed in Canberra on Wednesday, said that he planned to 'swim in the ocean', 'taste real food' and 'enjoy his freedom'.
Another of his lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, added that he had been prosecuted for 'doing journalism', while Pollack also called on the Biden administration to now pardon Assange.
"Obviously, he's just been released. He's just gotten home. I suspect that that will take some time, but I certainly hope and expect that the same kind of support that he received when he was in prison will again gather steam and this president or future president of the United States will have the wisdom to pardon," he said.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.
Mandatory credit: Free Assange
Julian Assange's US lawyer Barry Pollack said Washington should be asked why it had ordered the WikiLeaks founder to destroy information - as wife Stella revealed her husband would 'swim in the ocean every day' - in footage published on Thursday, following his release under a plea deal the previous day.
"You'd have to ask the United States government why they insisted on including that clause," Pollack said, referring to the part of the deal requiring Assange to destroy classified material.
"The materials that we're talking about are now more than a decade old. I don't know to what extent any still existed or what possible value they might have. Certainly no national security value," he said, adding that the judge herself had found 'no evidence that any harm' to any individual.
Assange walked free from a court in Saipan on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to a single criminal charge and receiving a sentence of 'time served' in the UK's Belmarsh prison. It ended the long-running row over his US extradition.
"The United States has never previously prosecuted somebody for publishing classified information, in this case, information that was plainly newsworthy and in the public's interest to know information that revealed war crimes by the United States government," Pollack claimed.
Stella, who was seen embracing her husband when he landed in Canberra on Wednesday, said that he planned to 'swim in the ocean', 'taste real food' and 'enjoy his freedom'.
Another of his lawyers, Jennifer Robinson, added that he had been prosecuted for 'doing journalism', while Pollack also called on the Biden administration to now pardon Assange.
"Obviously, he's just been released. He's just gotten home. I suspect that that will take some time, but I certainly hope and expect that the same kind of support that he received when he was in prison will again gather steam and this president or future president of the United States will have the wisdom to pardon," he said.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.