Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was among a small group of US lawmakers to welcome the delegation on Wednesday local time, which included former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and members of the Labor Government and the Greens.
The US Department of Justice said in a 2019 statement that Julian Assange"was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defence." The Australian delegation is hoping to cast Assange's detention as a central issue ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's planned state visit from the 23rd to 26th of October later this year.
The Australian politicians who travelled to Washington DC to campaign for Assange's release included former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and members of the Labor Government and the Greens. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage