Time correspondent under fire for tweet suggesting Assange be killed in drone strike

Time senior national correspondent Michael Grunwald has apologized for a tweet in which he suggested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange be killed in a drone strike.

"I can't wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange," Grunwald wrote on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.

The tweet was met with immediate criticism by fellow journalists, including the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald:

I assume you're allowed to express this vile opinion & still be an objective "journalist"- not an "activist", right? https://t.co/NhXiZ5jdTl

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 17, 2013

Here's the idiotic and frankly disturbing since-deleted tweet from TIME correspondent @MikeGrunwald: pic.twitter.com/xJNMrugVc0

— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) August 18, 2013

This is a @Time reporter. Remarkable. RT @MikeGrunwald: I can't wait to write a defense of the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange.

— Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) August 17, 2013

In response, WikiLeaks called for Grunwald's resignation:

We have written to TIME magazine to ask for Michael Grunwald's resignation https://t.co/X8Rf3TN5MY

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 18, 2013

In a statement, Time magazine called the tweet "offensive" and distanced itself from Grunwald's views:

Michael Grunwald posted an offensive tweet from his personal Twitter account that is no way representative of TIME's views. He regrests having tweeted it, and he removed it from his Twitter feed.

Grunwald later apologized on Twitter:

It was a dumb tweet. I'm sorry. I deserve the backlash. (Maybe not the anti-Semitic stuff but otherwise I asked for it.)

— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) August 18, 2013

He added:

I didn't need a boss to tell me it was dumb. I mean, @blakehounshell called me derpy! Again, I apologize. Good night, everyone.

— Michael Grunwald (@MikeGrunwald) August 18, 2013