Assange won't face charges over role in devastating CIA leak

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico



The decision surprised national security experts and some former officials, given prosecutors’ recent decision to go after the WikiLeaks founder on more controversial Espionage Act charges.

By NATASHA BERTRAND 06/02/2019 06:53 AM EDT

The Justice Department has decided not to charge Julian Assange for his role in exposing some of the CIA’s most secret spying tools, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the case.

It’s a move that has surprised national security experts and some former officials, given prosecutors’ recent decision to aggressively go after the WikiLeaks founder on more controversial Espionage Act charges that some legal experts said would not hold up in court. The decision also means that Assange will not face punishment for publishing one of the CIA’s most potent arsenal digital code used to hack devices, dubbed Vault 7. The leak — one of the most devastating in CIA history — not only essentially rendered those tools useless for the CIA, it gave foreign spies and rogue hackers access to them.

Prosecutors were stymied by several factors.

First, the government is facing a ticking clock in its efforts to extradite Assange to the United States from the United Kingdom, where he is being held. Extradition laws require the U.S. to bring any additional charges against Assange within 60 days of the first indictment, which prosecutors filed in March, accusing Assange of helping former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning hack into military computers.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/02/julian-assange-cia-leak-1349425

[underpants]

1. This is, from what I've read, why Holder didn't file charges

They like thought about it fully and realized the potential 1st Amendment issues involved.

[zentrum]

2. First Amendment hangs on

....for a little while longer.

[cstanleytech]

4. Possible but it's also possible they had orders from the Trump administration not to do it as part

an effort by the administration to stimme any potential evidence being uncovered of corruption by Trump and or those in his administration.

[paleotn]

7. And damage done to the country...

Our country and specifically our safety by leaking intelligence tools, that's just a price we have to pay for those who don't understand that rights have limits. Right? Right?

[LanternWaste]

17. It does not follow.

Your conclusion does not follow from the statements, evidence and story that lead to it.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Assange is not a journalist. He is a propagandist with an axe to grind.

He has First Amendment rights while in the US (if he comes or is brought here), but not journalist privileges.

His role in hacking the military computers is a separate story.

[reACTIONary]

10. What, exactly, are journalist privileges?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. Respect, access, but esp not being compelled to reveal sources.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporter%27s_privilege

[reACTIONary]

14. Thanks, I'll read the article....

... so you think Assange should be compelled to reveal his sources? Or just that he doesn't deserve respect?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Mostly the respect aspect. But his involvement in tRump's election should not be shielded. . . nt

[Historic NY]

5. So what was the point?

[paleotn]

6. Just love that rule of law...

Don't you? Especially how it applies to everyone equally. Huh? What?

[JudyM]

8. Like Reality Winner...

[srobertss]

9. Pretty interesting

I have heard some speculation that the DOJ is trying to intimidate journalists and aren’t really concerned with successful extradition. They may even be counting on these charges to be controversial enough to make it unlikely that he will be extradited. I have heard many journalists comparing their news sites to Wikileaks, with protected whistleblower portals. So maybe, adding the Vault 7 charges would give a stronger case for extradition, which they don’t actually want? One thing for sure, this administration has really twisted my thinking.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Assange is not a journalist. He proclaims it to the sky but that doesn't make him one. . . . nt

[srobertss]

13. I don't like him either

but I have heard many journalists worry that the legal distinction between them is a dangerously gray area.

[LanternWaste]

18. You'll provide who these noted journalists are, yes?

Are are we simply referring to bloggers?

[srobertss]

19. I don't remember all the names

Michael Isikoff, Robert Scheer, Rachel Maddow, Jeremy Scahill. Also the ACLU. And honestly, I can’t remember if Isikoff and Scheer actually came down on the side of we need to defend him, but they each had podcasts where they at least interviewed people who viewed it this way. Skullduggery and Scheer Intelligence, respectively.

[hughee99]

15. If I understand correctly, he wasn't even charged until a few months ago?

So some people are upset that he isn’t going to be prosecuted for a crime that the previous administration never even charged him with?

And how did he actually help Manning “hack” a system that he already had access to?