Julian Assange not under 'sealed indictment': US official

A sealed indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has not been filed by federal prosecutors.

Senior law enforcement sources said that despite persistent rumors that a nearly three-year-old grand jury investigation of him and his organization had secretly led to charges.

According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department has unsealed an indictment charging Edward Snowden under the Espionage Act. Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong and then Russia.

Federal officials said the grand jury investigation has not been closed, and a spokesman for WikiLeaks said the organization drew no comfort from the fact that there was no sealed indictment.

Assange, who published documents from one of the largest leaks of classified U.S. military and diplomatic documents, has been living in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London since June 2012, when he was granted political asylum, the report said.

He sought asylum after he lost a series of court battles in Britain to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual assault.

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the case.