In a brand new report from CNN we have learned that U.S. officials have prepared charges in an effort to arrest WikiLeaks whistleblower Julian Assange.
The Justice Department investigation of Assange and WikiLeaks dates to at least 2010, when the site first gained wide attention for posting thousands of files stolen by the former US Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning.Prosecutors have struggled with whether the First Amendment precluded the prosecution of Assange, but now believe they have found a way to move forward.
The US view of WikiLeaks and Assange began to change after investigators found what they believe was proof that WikiLeaks played an active role in helping Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst, disclose a massive cache of classified documents.Assange remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, seeking to avoid an arrest warrant on rape charges in Sweden. In recent months, US officials had focused on the possibility that a new government in Ecuador would expel Assange and he could be arrested. But the left-leaning presidential candidate who won the recent election in the South American nation has promised to continue to harbor Assange.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on bringing charges against Julian Assange pic.twitter.com/BudIEN2uK0https://t.co/LN04EvJ8FK
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 21, 2017
Earlier Assange statement on talk of Trump administration prosecuting WikiLeaks https://t.co/ec9eWALuMO
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 20, 2017
I don’t think they understand the hell they will unleash if they touch Assange.
— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 20, 2017
So CNN reports the U.S. may arrest Julian Assange for publishing leaked documents yet this ⤵️ from @washingtonpost is perfectly fine. Got it pic.twitter.com/GFHClvIjBO
— Katica (@GOPPollAnalyst) April 20, 2017