WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- More than two-thirds of Americans say WikiLeaks hurt the public interest by releasing classified diplomatic cables, a Washington Post/ABC News poll indicates.
Results released Tuesday indicate nearly six in 10 Americans think WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should face criminal charges over the leaked material.
The latest poll indicates Americans believe Assange went too far when he released the State Department cables after expressing a more tolerant view following WikiLeaks' release of documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated 68 percent of Americans said they think the release of the State Department cables harmed the public interest, while 20 percent said the public interest was served.
Fifty-nine percent of Americans said they thought Assange should be charged with a crime for releasing the U.S. diplomatic cables and 29 percent indicated they didn't think it was a criminal matter, the Post said.
Results were released on the day Assange was freed on $310,000 bail in London while he fights extradition to Sweden to answer questions about sexual assault allegations.
Results are based on a survey of 1,001 adults conducted Thursday through Sunday. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
