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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could be charged under US Espionage Act | Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblower website ‘WikiLeaks’ that released thousands of US State Department’s secret documents on Sunday, is under the scanner of investigators who are trying to figure out whether or not he had violated criminal laws, and could even be charged under the Espionage Act, according to sources familiar with the inquiry. The Washington Post quoted Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. as saying that
the Justice Department and Pentagon are conducting "an active, ongoing criminal
investigation.'' On being asked how the United States could prosecute Assange,
who is an Australian citizen, Holder said: "Let me be very clear, it is not saber
rattling. To the extent there are gaps in our laws. We will move to close those
gaps, which is not to say . . . that anybody at this point, because of their citizenship
or their residence, is not a target or a subject of an investigation that's ongoing."
Others familiar with the probe said that the FBI is examining everyone who came
into possession of the documents, including those who gave the materials to ‘WikiLeaks’
and also the organization itself. According to former prosecutors, prosecutions
involving leaked classified information are difficult because the Espionage Act
is a 1917 statute that preceded Supreme Court cases that expanded First Amendment
protections. The government also would have to persuade another country to turn
over Assange, who is outside the United States , the paper said. However the sources
have claimed that charges could be filed under the act, adding that the U.S. attorney's
office in Alexandria , which in 2005 brought Espionage Act charges, is involved
in the effort. The Pentagon is leading the investigation and it remains unclear
whether any additional charges would be brought in the military or civilian justice
systems, the paper added. Earlier this year, an Army intelligence analyst Professor
Bradley Manning, who is suspected of being the source of the WikiLeaks documents,
was arrested by the military.
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