World Assange extradition hearing opens with claims of retribution against the media, danger to U.S. informants February 24, 2020 Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY Comments Off on Assange extradition hearing opens with claims of retribution against the media, danger to U.S. informants The U.S. extradition request for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is a test case of media freedoms and the global reach of the U.S. justice system.