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Title: US ponders legal action on Assange
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Published: Nov 30, 2010
Author: q
Post Date: 2010-11-30 21:58:30 by tom007
Keywords: None
Views: 171
Comments: 14
US ponders legal action on Assange Washington studies whether Espionage Act applies to WikiLeaks founder, while rape charges land him on Interpol list. L US secretary of state Clinton called the release by WikiLeaks "an attack on the international community" [Reuters] The US is considering a range of legal options against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is an Australian national. A senior US defence official said lawyers from across US government agencies are studying whether it might be possible to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act. The official said lawyers from the departments of Justice, State and Defence are among those looking into how to handle the leak. The defence official spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday to be able to discuss internal deliberations. He said lawyers are trying to determine whether the Espionage Act applies in this case, what individuals it might apply to and whether it's possible to use it against the WikiLeaks organisation. Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, said on Monday that there is an "active and ongoing criminal investigation," and that the website's chief would be pursued if he were found to have broken the law. The White House branded those who released the documents "criminals, first and foremost," but so far US authorities have publicly filed no charges against Assange. Australia is also considering legal action against Assange. Australian police said they had begun investigating whether any of the country's laws were broken by the release. Kevin Rudd, the Australian foreign minister, said the unauthorised release of diplomatic communications had been a major problem for every nation state in the world. "We, the Australian government, condemn it because it helps nobody," he told Al Jazeera on Tuesday. "The reason we have diplomacy is that it remains private. This [leak] has fundamentally undermined that and I believe those responsible for it should be held accountable." Interpol most wanted Kevin Rudd, Australia's foreign minister Meanwhile, Interpol has placed Assange on its most-wanted list after Sweden issued an international arrest warrantagainst him as part of a drawn-out rape investigation. The Lyon, France-based international police organisation has issued a "red notice" for Assange, the equivalent of putting him on its most wanted list. The issuance by Interpol was expected after a Swedish court in mid-November approved a motion to have Assange brought in for questioning. The notice, posted on Interpol's site on Tuesday, is likely to make international travel more difficult for him. US state computers tightened The United States has ordered security to be tightened on its military's classified computer network following the release of sensitive diplomatic messages by WikiLeaks. Reeling from disclosures of the cables, the State Department disconnected access to its files from the government's classified network on Tuesday. The move dramatically reduces the number of employees inside the government who can see important diplomatic cables. P.J. Crowley, a State Department spokesman, said the decision was temporary, at least until workers correct what he called "weaknesses in the system that have become evident because of this leak". The new information "big chill" is reversing almost a decade of post-September 11 efforts to nudge US officials into sharing sensitive documents. Security safeguards The Pentagon has also detailed new security safeguards, including restraints on small computer flash drives, to make it harder for any one person to copy and reveal so many secrets. Diplomatic niceties Colourful language is used to describe world leaders in the leaked cables Dmitry Medvedev: "Robin to Putin's Batman" Kim Jong-Il: "Flabby old chap" Robert Mugabe: The crazy old man" Silvio Berlusconi: "Penchant for partying hard mean he does not get sufficient rest" Hamid Karzai: "Easily swayed by anyone who came to report even the most bizarre stories or plots against him" Bradley Manning, an Army private, is charged in military court with taking classified material that was later published by WikiLeaks, a self-styled whistleblower organisation. Officials said Manning is the prime suspect in the leaks partly because of his own description of how he pulled off his heist of the restricted cables. "No one suspected a thing," Manning told a confidant afterward, according to a log of his computer chat published by http://Wired.com. "I didn't even have to hide anything." Manning is being held in a maximum-security military jail at Quantico, Virginia, and though he has so far not been charged in the latest release of internal US government documents, WikiLeaks has hailed him as a hero. WikiLeaks this week published some of more than 250,000 diplomatic memos that were never intended to be read outside the US government. Nato has slammed the disclosure of the sensitive files as "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous". But the most scathing criticism has come from the US. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, called the release by WikiLeaks "an attack on the international community", adding that WikiLeaks acted illegally in posting the material. 'Clinton should resign' WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that Clinton should resign if it is shown US diplomats were ordered to engage in espionage. Assange took aim at Clinton in an interview with Time magazine that was conducted from an undisclosed location over the Skype Internet phone service. Clinton "should resign, if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering US diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the US has signed up," he said. The classified dispatches containing the spy instructions for US diplomats were divulged last weekend in the documents published by WikiLeaks. State Department officials on Tuesday denied that American diplomats were required to spy. The officials said that secret instructions to American diplomats to gather sensitive personal information about foreign leaders originated with the US intelligence community. The officials said American diplomats were free to ignore the requests and that virtually all do. Source: Agencies Email Article Email Article Print Article Print Article Share article Share Article Send Feedback Send Feedback Topics in this article People * Bradley Manning * Hillary Clinton * Julian Assange * P.J. Crowley * Eric Holder * Kevin Rudd Country * United States * Australia City * Quantico
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
#1. To: tom007 (#0)
Hung by the neck until dead, if so ordered by a US Court for tyranny and treason against the United States of America.
Uh, Earth to Buck. Earth to Buck. Can you define Treason? Assange is an Australian not an American. Although you are still an .... As well tyranny? You need a good dictionary Buck. If you are not familiar with them it's a book. It's book listing the meanings of word. Real handy invention that. Although in you defense they've only been around since the 1600's.
buckeroo: Hung by the neck until dead, if so ordered by a US Court for tyranny and treason against the United States of America. Get it with my highlights, above? Here, I am an amiable fellow... let me s-p-e-l-l it out for you.... I added to Julian's point of view.
WeakeyLeaks is most likely a disinfo operation and Assange is likely working for some intel agency - most probably Israel. If he was not under protection, and was doing real damage, he would be dead. Instead he is allegedly on the lam and successfully evading Interpol and and all of the injured parties. Sniff!? Sniff!? Sniff!? Just doesn't pass the smell test.
You read too much Iranian and Muslim trash to have capability of any form of authentication or credibility about your, most likely crap-o-la. I won't bother your silly threads considering the outright BULLSHIT you personally present; it is a waste of time and keyboard strokes.
Translation: You cannot disprove the hypothesis and the circumstantial evidence - the selective use of some leaks and the complete omission of others so as to subtly push the case for the warmonger attack on Iran. Here the biggest clue is what is not said as much as said. What is leaked and printed as much as what is not printed or leaked. However I know from past experience that subtlety is not your strong suit.
Why should I or anyone attempt to disprove your personalized vicious and baseless rumours. Don't let buckwheat get under your skin. He has already proven that his demeanor and "tone" is a smokescreen for his lack of knowledge/intelligence.
Oh, buckie doesn't bother me - mostly I find him amusing more than anything else. I simply put up enough of a counter to show his nonsense for the nonsense it is, and every now and then I actually manage to shut up him up, but never for long. ;-)
#12. To: Original_Intent (#11)
You are a nice person. I, on the other hand, don't waste what time I have left on mental midgets!
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that Clinton should resign if it is shown US diplomats were ordered to engage in espionage.
#4. To: buckeroo, tom007 (#1)
#5. To: Original_Intent, tom007 (#4)
article: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that Clinton should resign if it is shown US diplomats were ordered to engage in espionage.
Original_Intent: [Missed the eightball with piles of nebulous errata and unnerving conviction about reading skills that are subpar performance level (again)-- buckeroo]
#6. To: buckeroo, tom007 (#5)
#7. To: Original_Intent (#6)
WeakeyLeaks is most likely a disinfo operation and Assange is likely working for some intel agency - most probably Israel.
#8. To: buckeroo (#7)
#10. To: Original_Intent (#8)
This from buckwheat:
#11. To: Phant2000 (#10)
Replies to Comment # 11. Oh, buckie doesn't bother me
End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.