U.S. Trying to Build Conspiracy Case Against WikiLeaks’ Assange

[DaBees-Knees]

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/wikileaks-conspiracy-case/

U.S. federal prosecutors are looking for evidence that would help them bring conspiracy charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the New York Times.

Prosecutors are looking for anything that would suggest Assange encouraged or helped Manning leak classified information by giving him instructions on how to download files or requesting that Manning obtain certain kinds of documents to send to WikiLeaks.

As Threat Level reported earlier this week, a conspiracy charge for helping steal classified documents would help prosecutors avoid First Amendment issues that would arise if they tried to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act.

The Times doesn’t cite any sources but says to make a conspiracy case, prosecutors have been sifting through online chat logs of Manning’s discussions with former hacker Adrian Lamo. In those, he confessed to leaking classified material to WikiLeaks and of having a unique relationship with Assange that went beyond what other sources might have with the enigmatic leader of the secret-spilling site.

Their investigation has also included border searches of laptops and cellphones of people connected tangentially to Manning or WikiLeaks.

Manning is charged under the Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the federal anti-hacking statute that prohibits unauthorized computer access or access that exceeds authorization.

If prosecutors were to charge Assange for publishing classified documents under the Espionage Act, it would be a political landmine since it would open traditional media outlets, such as The New York Times, to similar prosecutions for publishing classified information, a quagmire the Justice Department likely wants to avoid.

It seems thumbing through the laws to find one that stands a chance of succeeding is the name of the game.  

[Trestor]

The US, quite rightly, has a reputation for freedom of speech, equality, and other good things. The same can't be said for those who hold positions of power who, when threatened, squeal like stuck pigs and behave as badly as any repressive government they claim to be superior to.

I'm a heretic in believing that there is a need to be able to say things in confidence with an expectation those things won't be revealed to others, but that's a long distance from persecuting those who challenge the self-given privileges of the mighty.