WE GOT YOUR ASSANGE
WikiLeaks founder arrested in London for massive hack of U.S. intel secrets
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, shouting and sporting a wild Dickensian beard, was abruptly yanked Thursday from the Ecuadoran Embassy after seven strange years inside the London lair — the first volley in the extradition battle to bring him before a U.S. court.
Assange, the 47-year-old facilitator of the massive 2010-11 dump of 700,000 confidential documents, videos and diplomatic cables, was dragged from the embassy in handcuffs by a half-dozen British police officers and loaded into a waiting van for the ride to a British court.
U.S. authorities charged Assange conspired with former U.S. intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning to access the classified information from Department of Defense computers, and he faces up to five year in prison if convicted. The charge was announced shortly after Assange’s arrest.
His lawyer quickly vowed to fight any effort to relocate Assange to the United States, and Ecuadoran officials backed his battle against extradition — even after giving the boot to a man dismissed by President Lenin Moreno as a “spoiled brat.”
“This sets a dangerous precedent for all journalist and media organizations,” said Assange attorney Jennifer Robinson. “This precedent means that any journalist can be extradited for prosecution in the United States for having published truthful information about the United States.”
With his graying hair slicked back, Assange flashed a thumbs-up as he disappeared from the street outside the embassy.
“This is unlawful! I am not leaving!” he shouted vainly before departing with local authorities.
The single count against Assange — conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer — relates to his role in “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
“I told you so,” Assange told attorney Robinson when she arrived at his cell. Assange had predicted the U.S. would fight for his extradition if they could get him outside the embassy
A weary Moreno revealed that he revoked Assange’s political asylum over “discourteous and aggressive behavior,” including smearing feces on the embassy walls. One day earlier, WikiLeaks had accused Ecuador of running an “extensive spying operation” targeting Assange.
But Moreno still expressed support for Assange’s battle to steer clear of an American courtroom.
“In line with our strong commitment to human rights and international law, I requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr. Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty,” said Moreno.
“The British government has confirmed it in writing, in according with its own rules.”
Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning (below), was an Army intelligence analyst with a “top secret” security clearance. She was convicted for violating the Espionage Act and served seven years in prison after leaking thousands of classified documents revealing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks published the majority of those documents on its website in 2010 and 2011. The latest indictment accuses Assange of encouraging and assisting Manning, 31, to crack a password stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers. The pair used Jabber, an online chat service, to communicate and share classified documents, authorities said.
In one of the exchanges shared Thursday by the government, Manning reportedly told Assange in March 2010 that “after this upload, that’s all I really have got left.” Assange replied that “curious eyes never run dry in my experience,” according to the indictment. Assange, an Australian national, took refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in 2012 as he faced a rape charge in Sweden, an allegation that was later dropped.
He emerged as a key subject in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. WikiLeaks obtained and published thousands of emails stolen from Hillary Clinton and other Democratic figures just weeks before the presidential election.
President Trump, a big WikiLeaks supporter during his 2016 White House run, distanced himself from Assange after the arrest.
“It’s not my thing,” Trump replied when asked about the case at the White House. “I know nothing about WikiLeaks.”
Barry Pollack, an attorney for Assange in the U.S., said in a statement that Ecuador’s action Thursday was “bitterly disappointing” and urged the U.K. to give Assange “proper health care.”
Assange appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he received a harsh welcome from District Judge Michael Snow. The judge quickly found Assange guilty of breaching his bail conditions, rejected a claim that Assange did not receive a fair hearing and a found that he had no reasonable excuse for not appearing.
“Mr. Assange’s behavior is that of a narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests,” Snow said. “He hasn’t come close to establishing ‘reasonable excuse.’”
Assange, before heading to his cell, waved to the packed public gallery. He’s due back in court May 2 for a prison video-link appearance linked to the extradition battle.
“No one is above the law,” said British Prime Minister Theresa May.