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Bradley Manning's Ties To Julian Assange Face Justice Department Scrutiny

Paresh Dave |
December 15, 2010 | 7:22 p.m. PST

Executive Producer

Attorney General Eric Holder under pressure to make an example of Assange, but needs to build a better case.
Attorney General Eric Holder under pressure to make an example of Assange, but needs to build a better case.
Was Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning's decision to leak hundreds of thousands of classified government documents somehow influenced by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange?

That's a question federal prosecutors are now looking into as they figure out what crime they could possibly charge Assange with, even though Manning hasn't even been convicted of anything yet--let alone be charged with a crime.

Reports the New York Times:

Since WikiLeaks began making public large caches of classified United States government documents this year, Justice Department officials have been struggling to come up with a way to charge Mr. Assange with a crime. Among other things, they have studied several statutes that criminalize the dissemination of restricted information under certain circumstances, including the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.

But while prosecutors have used such laws to go after leakers and hackers, they have never successfully prosecuted recipients of leaked information for passing it on to others — an activity that can fall under the First Amendment’s strong protections of speech and press freedoms.

Because of those past failures, the Justice Department would rather nail Assange for being a co-conspirator--a much more direct charge.

Their best public evidence appears to be Manning's infamous chat with computer hacker Adrian Lamo, which was published by Wired.

Attorney General Eric Holder is under pressure from the Pentagon, Congressional leaders and others in the federal administration to take down Assange, hopefully deterring others from acting with such brazen disregard for diplomatic secrecy.

For his part, Manning is still not cooperating with investigators. He's been indefinitely detained since May and is in solitary confinement in Virginia.

Assange is in jail in Britain for at least another day. British prosecutors have appealed a judge's decision to grant him $310,000 bail. A hearing is set for about 3:00 a.m. PST Thursday.

At the bottom of their article, the New York Times also notes WikiLeaks, on its website, has changed several sentences describing its operation. The moves show a motivation to position WikiLeaks as a news organization rather than a whistleblower haven.

Reach executive producer Paresh Dave here. Follow him on Twitter: @peard33.



 

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Comments

adianrufus (not verified) on December 16, 2010 2:13 AM

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THE (not verified) on December 15, 2010 10:43 PM

We have read how the City of Berkeley which wanted to award Private First Class Bradley Manning the Honour of being a Hero to America, but they have correctly and properly delayed a vote on the matter.

This is because the City of Berkeley should not have moved on this matter until it has been proven in a Proper Court of Law if Private First Class Bradley Manning is the one who leaked the American Undiplomatic Cables to Wikileaks.

The City of Berkeley in typical American fashioned has forgotten that anyone under suspicion is to be PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL FOUND OTHERWISE BY A PROPER COURT OF LAW.

This is of course the correct position, because a person has to be found guilty in a Court of Law, and not in what the Media might say, or even what hearsay says.

The City of Berkeley in California is a liberal City, and most people vote for the Democrats, and this may have been politically motived because of the recent Federal and State Elections.

There are many possibilities here, and I will only mention the more obvious ones to illustrate why the Presumption of Innocence must be respected.

What if a million Americans claimed that he was the one who leaked that Classified Information to Wikileaks, would that make all of them suspects?

We may be correct in assuming that the person or persons behind this leak to Wikileaks were sane, and therefore had their motives.

It could be that if a person heard about what someone else or others have leaked to Wikileaks, then they made have wanted to take the credit for it, or it could have been just booze talk.

If a person knew of the leak, and then pretended that it was him to someone who is not the Authority, then he would be confident to be found innocent at his trial.

The motivation is of course fame and fortune, or even infamy and fortune, but as long as there is the fortune along with the pronouncement of innocence.

That is one end of the spectrum, and the other possibility is that Presidents Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton were the masterminds of this, and that Manning will receive a Pardon from Barack Obama, just before he hands over office to President Hillary Clinton.

Berkeley is a liberal city that votes for the Democrats, and it is the Democrats who will lose a lot of votes if they do not manage to find whoever leaked the Cables to Wikileaks either innocent, or to say either truthfully or to lie and say that they cannot find who made the leak to Wikileaks.

I am not suggesting that liberals will vote for the Republicans, although a few might; but America has voluntary voting, and the liberals may not vote at the next election.

This is why President Hillary Clinton has not been Publicly calling for an Imperialistic version of a Fatwa on Manning, but the Democrats have left to the other side of the coin to do their dirty work, because the Democrats know that it will cost the Democrats votes.

The Republicans do not have any worries as regards loss of votes with a person who could be portrayed as a traitor, even though, depending on testimony that is not extracted from torture may show that he is probably a Patriot and maybe even a Hero.

The problem for both Political Parties in America is that regardless of who leaked the information, they are showing the world that they are not happy with being made to be honest, and that is why they are persecuting Private First Class Bradley Manning in a Middle East Jail, so that protests cannot be held at an American Jail.

We can all be certain that Private First Class Bradley Manning’s Legal Defence Team, and even common sense have instructed him to answer no questions.

We have learned from the Media that the American Government, is trying to make it look like there was coercion from the founder of Wikileaks on Private First Class Bradley Manning to make the leaks.

We have seen attempts at this by asking why Wikileaks has not paid money to Private First Class Bradley Manning, because as far as President Hillary Clinton is concerned, she needs Julian Assange convicted in America for her election at the next American Presidential election.

The reason for detaining a Presumed Innocent American Citizen in Contravention of the American Constitution is to bribe, pressure, or even torture him into doing the whims of President Hillary Clinton.

Whoever leaked the information to Wikileaks did the American Community a great Public Service, because what we learn is that the Dictatorship is coming to America, regardless of Democrats or Republicans.

The Democrats and the Republicans want to conceal the fact that the American Military must one day come home, and that they are now trained psychopaths who need an endless supply of victims.

That supply of victims will not be foreigners, but American Citizens who have been disarmed because of being manipulated by a Puppet Uncle Tom using their stupid white guilt trip.

The American citizens will be told criticism against the Unconstitutional policies of a Puppet Uncle Tom will because of their alleged racism, and not because of the evil policies.

The Democrats and the Republicans both know all these things to be true, but they will not confess for the obvious reasons.

They have their ready made excuses that were invented long ago, and all of this information is Classified Top Secret.

The reason they are against even the low level Classified Information being leaked, is because others will be able to deduce what the Top Secret Information concerning the disarming of the American people, and the return home of America’s psychopathic Nazi Army.

It should not surprise us if the Founder of Wikileaks has been bribed, pressured, or even intimidated into changing the original content of the UnDiplomatic American Cables.

The American Government has made so many documents Classified, because that way they can intimidate anyone with commenting on their definition of Classified Information.

I know that we are all wiser with hindsight, but a non-Nazi Hope and Change would have said what is done is done, and that persecuting those who may or may not have leaked this information, and those who are publishing it even in a changed form after they have been bribed and intimidated would not be in the Public Interest.

I truly wish that I did not have to be the one of many to inform America’s Politicians, but I guess that if they do not know by now, then they need to firstly be advised as to how Americans are thinking, and they need to be reminded of their obligations to the American Public.

The American People may soon rise up and kill all, and that means all American Politicians, Federal, State, and Local.

That is why if even people like Ron Paul need to decide to leave Politics or to confess that he has been as corrupt as the rest of them all along, because if there is a cleansing, the cleansing will be complete.

There will be no distinction between good Politicians or bad Politicians, because the only good American Politician will be a Dead American Politician.

As far as the Main Stream Media is concerned, I have not been able to see the mood of the American people, but they may go down along with the bankers.

This is why both Political Parties in America ware working together to find ways to unduly censor the Internet, so that the Corrupt and Bribed Puppet Media can brainwash the Gullible.

There were many people who were hoping that the British Legal System was not subservient to the dictates of America.

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Twitter Trackbacks for Bradley Manning's Ties To Julia (not verified) on December 15, 2010 9:17 PM

[...] Bradley Manning's Ties To Julian Assange Face Justice Department Scrutiny | Neon Tommy neontommy.com/news/2010/12/bradley-mannings-ties-julian-assange-face-justice-department-scrutiny – view page – cached Bradley Manning's Ties To Julian Assange Face Justice Department Scrutiny [...]

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Therese (not verified) on December 15, 2010 8:17 PM

It looks like its not about justice, it's revenge.

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