"He could be considered a political actor. I think he's an anarchist, but he's not a journalist," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said at his daily briefing.
"Mr. Assange obviously has a particular political objective behind his activities and I think that, among other things, disqualifies him from the possibility of being considered a journalist."
Wikileaks often is referred to as a "whistle-blower" organization but the State Department spokesman shot that down, too.
"He's not a journalist, he's not a whistle-blower," Crowley said. "He is a political actor; he has a political agenda."
"He's not an objective observer of anything. He's an active player. He has an agenda, he's trying to pursue that agenda and I don't think he can qualify either as a journalist on the one hand or a whistle-blower on the other."
Assange's actions, Crowley said, affect more than just the United States.
Assange, he said, "is trying to undermine the international system that enables us to cooperate and collaborate with other governments and to work in multi-lateral settings and on a bi-lateral basis to help solve regional and international issues. What he's doing is damaging to our efforts and the efforts of other governments. They are putting at risk our national interests and the interests of other governments around the world."
The Pentagon's top lawyer, Jeh Johnson, said WikiLeaks has openly solicited people on its web page to break the law and provide classified information.
"I don't view WikiLeaks as journalism," said Johnson. Johnson said he was briefed regularly on the open criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.
"I worry [WikiLeaks] is out trying to solicit others right now for additional information," Johnson said.
But legal experts say whether the government considers it a journalistic organization or not, WikiLeaks will benefit from the same legal protections as mainstream media.
