Donald Trump was such a massive supporter of Wikileaks he once publically said “I love WikiLeaks”, but since the US Government announced charging Julian Assange as a "priority" Trump responded with “it’s OK with me”.US officials have now stepped up preparations for charging Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has also announced that securing the arrest of Assange is now a priority.“We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks. This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of,” Sessions said.
“We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious.”The Independent reports: The Justice Department investigation of Mr Assange and WikiLeaks, dates to at least 2010, when the site first gained widespread attention for posting thousands of obtained by the former US Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning.
US to file charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – report
Officials reportedly claim the Department of Justice is ready to file arrest charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Press advocates warn that if the US goes after the pro-transparency publisher, they could go after other news outlets as well.
On Thursday, CNN and the Washington Post cited unnamed US officials as having information that the US has prepared charges to make arrests related to WikiLeaks publishing tens of thousands of military documents leaked by Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
CNN specifically reported WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in a small room in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, was the subject of forthcoming arrest charges.
The Post reported multiple members of the WikiLeaks group were being targeted as prosecutors draft a memo laying out the charges. Possible charges include “conspiracy, theft of government property or violating the Espionage Act.” However, officials told the Post that the memo is still incomplete, and would need authorization from the highest levels of the Justice Department.
US to file charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange – report
Officials reportedly claim the Department of Justice is ready to file arrest charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Press advocates warn that if the US goes after the pro-transparency publisher, they could go after other news outlets as well.
On Thursday, CNN and the Washington Post cited unnamed US officials as having information that the US has prepared charges to make arrests related to WikiLeaks publishing tens of thousands of military documents leaked by Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
CNN specifically reported WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living in a small room in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, was the subject of forthcoming arrest charges.
The Post reported multiple members of the WikiLeaks group were being targeted as prosecutors draft a memo laying out the charges. Possible charges include “conspiracy, theft of government property or violating the Espionage Act.” However, officials told the Post that the memo is still incomplete, and would need authorization from the highest levels of the Justice Department.
Prosecutors have struggled with whether the First Amendment precluded the prosecution of Mr Assange, but now believe they have found a way to move forward.Mr Trump has said that he is not in the decision-making process as to whether Mr Assange should be charged. Yet according to to the Associated Press, he said if Mr Sessions and the DOJ wanted to proceed with such a move, he would be fine with the decision.
CNN said that in recent months, US officials have focused on the possibility that a new government in Ecuador would expel Mr Assange and he could be arrested. But the left-leaning presidential candidate who won the recent election in the South American nation has since promised to continue to provide a safe haven to him.Last week in a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said:
“WikiLeaks directed Chelsea Manning to intercept specific secret information, and it overwhelmingly focuses on the United States.”He added: “It’s time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: A non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.”
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