[2] Wizner began working for the American Civil Liberties Union in Los Angeles in August 2001, initially focusing on prison reform.
[5] There, he argued legal cases relating to airport security, government watchlists, surveillance practices, targeted killing, extraordinary rendition, and torture.
"[7] Starting in 2005, Wizner represented Khalid El-Masri, a German citizen arrested while travelling in Macedonia on suspicion of links to Al Qaeda, who was held by the CIA at a black site in Afghanistan for five months, despite evidence that he was the wrong person.
El-Masri's suit was dismissed in the U.S. on grounds of state secrecy, though the CIA ultimately admitted to making a mistake, in a report released by the U.S. Senate.
In 2013, Edward Snowden contacted journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras, longtime acquaintances of Wizner, about releasing classified information on NSA programs.
[3] The team works pro bono[11][12][13] to ensure Snowden's continued freedom and ability to contribute to the public conversation he began with his disclosures.
"[7] Wizner has forcefully defended Snowden against calls for his punishment, stating that he broke the law for the public good, and noting that no elected officials have been held criminally liable for torture and other human rights violations since 9/11.
[7] Following the April 2019 arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London's Ecuadorian Embassy, Ben Wizner said that if authorities were to prosecute Assange "for violating U.S. secrecy laws [it] would set an especially dangerous precedent for U.S. journalists, who routinely violate foreign secrecy laws to deliver information vital to the public's interest.