U.S. “readying charges against Wikileaks' Assange”April 21, 2017 - 11:30 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - United States authorities have prepared charges for the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Engadget reports citing CNN. Assange has been hiding out in the Embassy of Ecuador in London since 2012, fleeing allegations of rape in Sweden and espionage charges in the U.S.. This makes him difficult to reach, regardless of a formal charge -- unless Ecuador plans to kick him out of its embassy after a five-year stay. The Department of Justice is weighing whether it should actually pursue these charges against Assange and other Wikileaks members, according to The Washington Post. Prosecutors are apparently re-investigating Wikileaks' role in the 2010 publication of thousands of government files provided by former army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning, and the recent leak of purported CIA hacking tools. The Post says there's no word on whether prosecutors are also looking into the 2016 leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign. Under President Barack Obama, the Justice Department investigated but declined to charge Assange for disseminating classified government material. Prosecutors concluded such a charge would not hold up against the First Amendment and its protections for a free press. However, the Obama administration didn't close the case, and under President Donald Trump, the Justice Department has indicated its interest in bringing charges against Wikileaks. CIA Director Mike Pompeo claimed in a speech last week that Wikileaks directed Manning to intercept specific, secret government information -- a move that would not be covered under the First Amendment, CNN reports. "It's time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: A non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia," Pompeo said. In a press conference on Thursday, April 20, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said arresting Assange was a priority. "We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious," Sessions said, according to CNN. "So yes, it is a priority. We've already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail." An attorney for Assange, Barry J. Pollack, told the Post on Thursday he hadn't been informed of any charges against his client. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |