Wikileaks' Assange to release U.S. election documents before Nov. 8October 4, 2016 - 15:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - WikiLeaks plans to release documents pertaining to Google and the U.S. electoral system over the next ten weeks, the organization announced on Tuesday, October 4. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange announced the planned release schedule in a video address at the end of a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday morning, where the organization was celebrating its tenth anniversary, The Verge reports. Assange said the forthcoming documents will pertain to Google, the U.S. presidential election, arms trading, war, oil, and mass surveillance. The organization plans to release them on a weekly basis over the next ten weeks, with Assange saying that all information related to the US presidential race will be published before election day on November 8. There was a lot of build-up to today's press conference, in anticipation of what had been billed as an "October surprise" that could swing the U.S. presidential election. Instead, WikiLeaks devoted most of the event to recounting its most notorious releases and refuting criticism levied against it. Assange acknowledged the anticipation of a bombshell release in a winding address to reporters, though he declined to say whether the upcoming leaks would tilt the election toward Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. "There is enormous expectation in the United States," Assange said of the forthcoming leaks. "Some of that expectation will be partly answered; but you should understand that if we're going to make a major publication in relation to the United States at a particular hour, we don't do it at 3AM." The upcoming releases would follow WikiLeaks' publication in July of more than 19,000 emails from seven top officials in the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The emails, which included full names, phone numbers, and addresses, suggested that the DNC favored Clinton over her primary rival, Bernie Sanders, and led to the resignation of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. WikiLeaks did not disclose the source of the emails, but the leak was published one month after the DNC announced that its servers were compromised by Russian hackers. Assange originally planned to announce the release from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been living in asylum since 2012. But WikiLeaks cancelled his appearance this week, citing "security concerns." Authorities in Sweden have sought to question Assange since 2010 over a rape allegation, but the Australian national has dismissed the investigation as a pretext to extradite him to the U.S. Prior to the announcement, Republican operatives had touted the WikiLeaks release as potentially devastating to the Clinton campaign. On Sunday, Roger Stone, a surrogate for the Donald Trump campaign, tweeted that the Democratic nominee would be "done" on Wednesday, following the WikiLeaks announcement, The Verge says. Asked whether the upcoming releases would "destroy" Clinton, Assange appeared to downplay expectations. "Are upcoming publications significant in relation to the US election? Yeah, we think they're significant," he said. "Do they show interesting features of US power factions and how they operate? Yes, they do." Assange also denied accusations that he and his organization are specifically targeting Clinton and the Democratic Party. "I certainly feel sorry for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump," he said. "These are two people who are tormented by their ambitions, in different ways." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |