Freed and Defiant, Assange Says Sex Charges 'Tabloid Crap'

LONDON, Dec. 17, 2010— -- Freed from a London prison, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange now says he was set up in the Swedish sexual assault case and claims that the publication of over a quarter-million classified U.S. diplomatic cables was "a step forward."

"[I am] clearly the victim of a smear campaign," Assange told "Good Morning America" today. "There are intercepted SMS messages between the women and each other and their friends that I am told represent a set-up."

Assange said his attorney has seen the messages, but has been ordered by the Swedish government not to discuss them. Assange is accused of sexually assaulting two women in Sweden, but claimed he has not been presented with "one word" of evidence.

In another interview with ABC News, Assange called the allegations "tabloid crap."

Speaking to "GMA" in front of the sprawling English mansion where he is staying with a friend now that he has been released on bail, Assange is already mounting a defense against possible U.S. charges under the Espionage Act. He claims not to know Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence private who is allegedly behind the leak of the trove of classified diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks.

"I never heard the name Bradley Manning until it was published in the press," Assange said. According to Assange, WikiLeaks is set up to provide the "leaker" of documents complete anonymity. Assange denied that he encouraged Manning to send the documents and likened his role to that of a reporter who discovers information.

"Security officers have a job to keep things secret, the press has the job to expose the public to the truth. So that is our job. We're doing it. The fact that state department was not able to do their job is a matter for them," he said.

Assange denied claims from some U.S. officials that the leaks have endangered any lives, but rather have proved a sign of progress in the Middle East.

"[Benjamin] Netanyahu of Israel seems to welcome this material, in fact said leaders should say in public what they say in private. So as far as the peace negotiations with Iran and the Middle East, it seems to be a step forward," he said. "In general, it is a step forward for everyone to be on the same page and not be running around behind each other's backs, telling lies about each other."

Now that he's freed from solitary confinement, Assange told ABC News WikiLeaks is "speeding up the internal pipelines" and reaching out to more media organizations to spread its offerings faster.