
Today a top British government official signed orders to send WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the U.S. to face espionage and computer fraud charges for his role in publishing top-secret documents sent by military whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel (essentially their attorney general) approved the extradition orders, issued by a London court back in April, to permit the United States to take custody of Assange and put him on trial for 18 separate charges that have a maximum potential penalty of 175 years in federal prison.