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Home Front: WoT
Wikileaks founder fears he could be arrested
2010-08-02
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of Wikileaks, has said he has been warned by "inside sources in the White House" not to return to the US as he could be arrested.
That's one way of solving the problem ...
The 39 year-old told journalists at the Frontline Club last night that US government insiders had informed him about discussions to charge him as a co-conspirator to espionage. The discussions were later dropped.
US government insiders are talking with Assange? Who, exactly, and who authorized them to do so? Assange is putting the lives of Americans and our friends at risk. We shouldn't be talking with him, we should be hunting him down.
Mr Assange says despite this he still fears he is at risk of being forcefully detained by the US government as a material witness in the prosecution of US intelligence analyst Bradley Manning.

Mr Manning, 22, was arrested in Baghdad in May and charged earlier this month with multiple counts of mishandling and leaking classified data, after a computer hacker turned him in.

In the United States an authority has the right to detain and hold a material witness for an indefinite period to ensure they give their testimony in a criminal investigation.

The Wikileaks founder said: "Today the White House put out a private briefing to reporters about Wikileaks and me and it quoted a section from an interview with me in Der Spiegel saying that I enjoy crushing --------.

"Somehow the White House finds that offensive.

"In terms of returning to the United States I don't know. Our sources advise from inside the US government that there were thoughts of whether I could be charged as a co-conspirator to espionage, which is serious.

"That doesn't seem to be the thinking within the United States any more however there is the other possibility of being detained as a material witness and being kept either in confinement or not being allowed to leave the country until the Manning case is concluded."
Again, who in the US government is talking with him? Names, please.
He also claimed that Bradley Manning is being held in a secluded facility in Kuwait which he says is like "a second Guantanamo Bay".
Sucks to be a traitor, huh ...
He also accused the US government of doing this to "hide" Mr Manning from effective civil representation.
He's a soldier. He'll get a military trial.
If convicted Bradley Manning, who is also awaiting court martial, faces a maximum of 52 years in jail.
Posted by:Steve White

#30  Aw, Julie baby, think of it this way. Getting arrested would give you instant "street cred".

And I'm sure a purty thang like you would be treated very gently by your new roomie, "Tiny".
Posted by: Swamp Blondie   2010-08-02 23:28  

#29  According to Newsweak (of all sources), retaliation and threats are already beginning, including one possible death.

Assange has blood on his hands.
Posted by: OldSpook   2010-08-02 22:23  

#28  Hey AtomicConspiracy your wife is fucking with mexicans and you waste time in this insignificant blog? I m Sorry for you
Posted by: hunterkiller   2010-08-02 18:05  

#27   hahhahhahhaaa A niger in police uniform that look like one of the village people? is this faggot you Fred?
Posted by: hunterkiller   2010-08-02 17:57  

#26  innocent Chechen civilians????? dude go back in the bathroom and take a shitt,dude you are crazy
Posted by: hunterkiller   2010-08-02 16:50  

#25  Assange isn't anti-war. He's anti-US. He says he's anti-"capitalism" but somehow he's failed to take note that the world's most ruthless and larcenous capitalists are now in Russia, an authoritarian state with a massive, completely unchecked military and security apparatus that has slaughtered over 100,000 innocent Chechen civilians in a war whose brutality makes any recent US engagement look like a stroll in the park.

Where's the Unaleaker's FSB/Russian Army file?
Posted by: lex   2010-08-02 16:45  

#24  @crazzyfool sorry it is not astard it is bastard
Posted by: hunterkiller   2010-08-02 16:44  

#23  Hey crazyfool cocksucker if you dont like the WH policies go to Africa. astard like you in time of war are seditious bastards and have to be executed Real American are tankful to mister Assange for exposing your dear American military incompetence
Posted by: hunterkiller   2010-08-02 16:42  

#22  I'd like to point out that there is *nothing* 'whistleblower' about this. These weren't 'whistleblower' documents.

These were ongoing classified documents in a time of war - the release of which will probably mean that a number of people will be killed - and killed dead. Not just Afghans but Americans and Australians.

There is nothing 'heroic' about Assange just as there is nothing 'heroic' about script-kiddies who spread computer viruses. The media and hollywood types may depict him as some sort of 'folk hero hacker type' - but to me

And you won't see Chinese or Iranian or North Korean or Russian's 'whistleblow' to wikileaks because, unlike here in the USA there won't be a worshipful talk show tour or book deal involved - the E-X-E-C-U-T-E you. Game Over Man!

Is the WH supporting them in this? Sounds like it or some people in the WH - how high does it go?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2010-08-02 16:06  

#21  With the Russians mightily pissed at Assange themselves, and now much less worried about offending the west, Assange might finally get the point; say, of a radioactive umbrella.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 15:07  

#20  Traitor to Australians yes. I was being a bit American-centric there. Interesting how an Aussie and an American-Britt are at the center of this. Anglosphere has it's share of scum.
Posted by: Rjschwarz   2010-08-02 14:37  

#19  The Russian mafia and its business fronts also have good reason to hate and fear Assange and his media-sponsored espionage ring. So far, they have had little luck in shutting him down, legally or otherwise, but with western authorities equally pissed at him, now might be the time for the Russians to act. They might well see it that way in any case.

It should also be noted that wikileaks receives legal support from such media organizations as such as the Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. source
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 13:57  

#18  The funny part is that this weener doesn't realize that by US law, federal marshals can hunt him down and kidnap him in foreign countries, and have done so to other villains.

Suddenly he would find himself in the loving care of say, a federal judge in Oklahoma, with a nickname like "Hanging John".
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-08-02 13:33  

#17  Another irony:

On the one hand, Assange and his murderous crew of hackers and homicidal geeks can assassinate dozens or hundreds of allied soldiers and Afghan patriots and get away scot-free. Indeed, they are rewarded with effusive praise and status from the degenerate media culture for their actions. It's not hard to imagine that there might be otherwise hard-to-get sexual privileges as well.

Otoh, any American or Australian patriot who chose to assassinate the bastard would become the object of the greatest manhunt in history, tracked to the ends of the earth by the full resources of either federal government and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Some animals truly are more equal than others.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 12:10  

#16  Sorry, meant Afghanistan above. I have Iraq on the brain because today is the anniversary of Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 11:53  

#15  He is a traitor rjschwarz. Australian troops, including SAS operators, are fighting in Iraq. They and the usual sources special operators develop locally are both in danger from these revelations. Besides the direct damage done by these documents, what are the betrayed sources likely to reveal under torture once the Taliban have them? That may not even be necessary in many cases. How many will spill their guts from simple outrage that a two bit media droid could sell them out with impunity?
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 11:50  

#14  anon1 saith:

"But there is much to like about wikileaks. It protects sources with encryption."

So, it's important and praiseworthy for wikileaks to keep its own secrets, but also importan and praiseworthy for national defence secrets to be distributed freely to murderous enemies? Are you really so dense that you didn't see the contradiction here?

Evidently you are:
"I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans"
If Assange were Russian, he would already be in jail. If he were Chinese, he would already have gotten the proverbial noodle. If he were North Korean, he would simply have disappeared.

In fact, even from the safety of Australia, Assange would probably be afraid to publish Chinese and Nork secrets even if he had them. The same, of course, is true of Hezbollah and Hamas, though it's unlikely Assange would want to do anything to damage their interests.

What a naive tool you are.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2010-08-02 11:46  

#13  He can't be a traitor if he's not American. Still his actions are the equivalent of a spy. Spy's are often shot or locked up for decades until a prisoner swap can be arranged.

The problem with the idea that Iran and company will have whistleblowers is the West is less likely to punish whistleblowers so our secrets are much more likely to be exposed. The constant chipping away of these sort of thing weakens us.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2010-08-02 11:00  

#12  Re: "Poison Pill"

HAHAHAHahahahahahahahahahahaha!...
Posted by: mojo   2010-08-02 10:21  

#11  Wasn't it Winston Churchill who said the truth is so important it must be protected with a body of lies?
Posted by: trailing wife   2010-08-02 09:54  

#10  I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans

oh please. Why don't you get back on the hippie bus, smoke another joint and wonder what would happen if we had a war and no one showed up. (answer: women and children get raped and wealth pillaged)

Would we really benefit if your wish came true? Would you really like Iran, Al Qaeda, mobsters and crazy nuts next door to you had easy access to the secrets of the brave people who allow us to sleep soundly in our beds?

The reason we have a word called "civilization" is because it acknowledges that not everyone is good and is going to share their last apple with you when they are hungry. Thus we belong to and participate in families, tribes and nation states, with the idea that these associations will protect us against the harm that others wish to inflict.

So what next, should we out all of the undercover agents and set them up for mahem too? If you are such a big fan of open secrets, why don't you post your credit report, social security, bank accounts and favorite porn sites online If everyone did it, what could be the harm?
Posted by: Martini   2010-08-02 09:48  

#9  there's a lot of negative press out there painting wikileaks as putting US forces in danger.

But there is much to like about wikileaks. It protects sources with encryption.

In this bureaucratised world where the government tries to choke off all independent sources of information and tries to control what you know with spin, wikileaks is one of the few ways we will find out about the bad shit going on

wikileaks is very important.

I just wish the Chinese whistleblowers would discover the site and start posting classified documents... and the Russians, Iranians and North Koreans

then we would be well on the way to knowing what is really going on in the world

i'll put it this way: in Australia the Federal Gov ernment wants to censor the internet. IT wants to block Wikileaks. A document listing proposed sites for banning was leaked to... wikileaks.

communications minister Stephen Conroy said he would call in the australian federal police to hunt down the leak.

that is totally against the idea of democracy and freedom of speech - and it's happening in AUstralia.

we need more freedom of speech and protection of whistleblowers, not less.

otherwise we can win the war but lose our own country
Posted by: anon1   2010-08-02 08:53  

#8  Hello Glenmoore,
Going to be hot all week at Ft. Meade. 90's for most of the week and dry. Maybe a shower or two Monday or Tuesday. The air conditioning will be running hard there. Few trees for cover.
Posted by: Dale   2010-08-02 08:31  

#7  I wonder how long before it's cracked.

How's the weather up in Fort Meade? Kind of warm? Maybe lots of big computers cranked up and generating heat?
Posted by: Glenmore   2010-08-02 07:58  

#6  The file is AES encrypted

I wonder how long before it's cracked.
Posted by: gorb   2010-08-02 04:19  

#5  Arrested? That is the least of his worries.
Posted by: imoyaro   2010-08-02 03:48  

#4  Wikileaks founder fears he could be arrested

Poor baby.

Meanwhile, Afghan patriots and their families are being targeted for slaughter. More at 11:00.
Posted by: gorb   2010-08-02 01:51  

#3  According to Wikipedia, Wikileaks has published a 'poison pill'
On July 29, 2010 Wikileaks added a 1.4 GB "Insurance File" to the Afghan War Diary page. The file is AES encrypted and has been speculated to serve as insurance in case the WikiLeaks website or its founder Julian Assange are incapacitated, upon which the passphrase could be published.[142]
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2010-08-02 01:45  

#2  Wikileaks founder fears he could be arrested

He should worry about being Killed, he pissed off alot of folks who don't pay any attention to laws.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2010-08-02 01:27  

#1  If convicted Bradley Manning, who is also awaiting court martial, faces a maximum of 52 years in jail.

Can someone explain why this traitor isn't facing a firing squad?
Posted by: CrazyFool   2010-08-02 00:35  

00:00