Cablegate: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrested (Update 3)
by Steve Ragan - Dec 7 2010, 22:24
Assange’s arrest and continuous coverage. (IMG: WikiLeaks/S.Ragan)
After weeks of fighting a war on several fronts, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by London Metropolitan police this morning on behalf of the Swedish authorities. These recent developments to the unfolding 'Cablegate' saga come as WikiLeaks faces legal, political, and financial attacks.
13:20 EST:
Senator sets sights on U.S. Press –
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) spoke to FOX News Channel’s (FNC) Jenna Lee on Happening Now regarding Wikileaks, whether the New York Times should be charged with a crime for publishing Wikileaks information.
Credit: This was sent to us by FOX News Channel’s Happening Now
On why the Justice Department has not charged Wikileaks’ Julian Assange with treason:
“I don’t understand why that hasn’t happened yet. It sure looks to me on the facts that Mr. Assange and Wikileaks have. He ought to be indicted and then we can ask the authorities in England to extradite him to the United States,” Senator Lieberman said.
“I don’t think it has anything to do with politics. I sure hope not. I think it’s the most serious violation of the Espionage Act in our history, and the consequences globally that have occurred.”
On whether the New York Times and other organizations that have published Wikileaks’ information could be charged:
“I have said that I believe that the question you are raising is a serious legal question that has to be answered. I’m not here to make a final judgment on that. To me, the New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship. And whether they have committed a crime I think that bears very intensive inquiry by the Justice Department. If you don’t prosecute people who commit crimes, others are going to do it soon and again. I’m afraid that is what’s going to happen here.”
Attack! - Anonymous responded to Assange's arrest by taking down Swedish government site www.aklagare.se, the hive at 13:15 EST has hit more than 600 users. This is more than enough to cripple a given domain, considering that aklagare.se has minimal infrastructure support.
There are calls in the IRC channel to target MasterCard, Visa, as well as PayPal. However, most of those in the room who are active in the attacks are sticking with a single target.
10:34 EST:
Criminal operation - In an interview with World News Daily, Cryptome.org’s John Young said that WikiLeaks sold classified intelligence.
Q: "When you were at WikiLeaks initially, was your impression they were trying to sell information?"
A: "Well, it only came up in the topic of raising $5 million the first year. That was the first red flag that I heard about. I thought that they were actually a public interest group up until then, but as soon as I heard that, I know that they were a criminal organization."
Full interview and radio recording here.
10:00 EST:
Assange is denied bail - He is remanded to custody until December 14.
According to the Associated Press, Assange told the court he would fight his extradition to Sweden. When asked if he understood that he could consent, he said, “I understand that, and I do not consent.”
Prosecution objected to bail stating that Assange would fail to surrender and that he should stay in custody for his own protection. [More from the Guardian here.] The last part of the objection is likely due to threats against his life, which led to him remain out of the public eye since cablegate started.
09:45 EST:
Visa is mirrors MasterCard - In a statement to The Tech Herald, a Visa spokesperson said that they have, “taken action to suspend Visa payment acceptance on WikiLeaks' website pending further investigation into the nature of its business and whether it contravenes Visa operating rules.”
With PayPal, MasterCard, and now Visa removed as possible donation points, anyone wishing to support WikiLeaks will need to use bank transfer or postal mail.
Consular Assistance - According to reports, the Australian High Commission in London is providing Assange consular assistance, as they “would to any Australian under arrest.”
Channel 4 News said that Assange approached the Australian embassy in London yesterday morning. The High Commission also told the news agency that in the event Assange was extradited to Sweden, he would be assisted there too.
Extradition – The Guardian reports that Assange's legal team is determined to fight his extradition.
They will do so “…on grounds including the failure of authorities to provide details of the warrant issued by Sweden. They will also claim human rights reasons, including the arguments that the WikiLeaks founder may be unfairly deprived of his liberty in Sweden and that he risks not facing a fair trial.”
“A key issue will be whether Assange is released on bail during that period. His lawyers are reported to be putting together a generous bail package, including a security of at least £100,000 and a surety, where third parties guarantee to pay the court if he absconds.
Experts say a large sum is likely to secure bail, although the crime for which Assange is wanted by Sweden is rape, an offence for which bail is harder to secure.”
Eating Crow – Remember Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech in January? Where are those ideas now?
“On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress. But the United States does. We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world's information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it.”
“This challenge may be new, but our responsibility to help ensure the free exchange of ideas goes back to the birth of our republic. The words of the First Amendment to the Constitution are carved in 50 tons of Tennessee marble on the front of this building. And every generation of Americans has worked to protect the values etched in that stone.”
“The final freedom I want to address today flows from the four I've already mentioned: the freedom to connect - the idea that governments should not prevent people from connecting to the internet, to websites, or to each other. The freedom to connect is like the freedom of assembly in cyber space. It allows individuals to get online, come together, and hopefully cooperate in the name of progress. Once you're on the internet, you don't need to be a tycoon or a rock star to have a huge impact on society.”
0800 EST:
Previously, The Tech Herald reported on an email forwarded by a student attending the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia, which was making the Internet rounds this past weekend [Link].
The email, which is said to have originated from the Columbia University’s Office of Career Services, warns anyone aspiring for a government job that WikiLeaks is off limits.
Dean John H. Coatsworth promptly responded to the headline-making letter, and reversed what appeared to be an official stance.
“Last Tuesday, SIPA’s Office of Career Services received a call from a former student currently employed by the U.S. Department of State who pointed out that the U.S. government documents released during the past few months through WikiLeaks are still considered classified,” Dean Coatsworth’s response began.
“The caller suggested that students who will be applying for federal jobs that require background checks avoid posting links to these documents or making comments about them on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter,” it added.
“Freedom of information and expression is a core value of our institution. Thus, SIPA’s position is that students have a right to discuss and debate any information in the public arena that they deem relevant to their studies or to their roles as global citizens, and to do so without fear of adverse consequences. The WikiLeaks documents are accessible to SIPA students (and everyone else) from a wide variety of respected sources, as are multiple means of discussion and debate both in and outside of the classroom.”
0745 EST:
Funding - In a statement to CNET, Mastercard said it is “taking action to ensure that WikiLeaks can no longer accept MasterCard-branded products.”
It also said, Mastercard's rules “prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal.”
The statements from MasterCard mirror those from Amazon and PayPal and are concerning insofar as WikiLeaks has yet to be charged for anything related to Cablegate. We’ve reached out to MasterCard and Visa for official comment.
Previous coverage from The Tech Herald on the Amazon and political incidents can be viewed here. In addition, information on PayPal’s actions can be found here.
0740 EST:
Protest - Justice for Assange plans to hold a protest at Westminster Magistrate’s Court. Anyone planning to attend is urged to meet at 1330.
0700 EST:
Arrested - Julian Assange was arrested at 0430 EST in London on Tuesday. A statement released by the Metropolitan police said the arrest was made on behalf of the Swedish authorities on the suspicion of rape.
“He is accused by the Swedish authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape, all alleged to have been committed in August 2010. Assange is due to appear at City of Westminster Magistrates Court today,” the statement reads.
After the arrest was announced, WikiLeaks commented via Twitter that: “Today's actions against our editor-in-chief Julian Assange won't affect our operations: we will release more cables tonight as normal.”
Currently, WikiLeaks is being mirrored on nearly 750 websites globally.

IMG: Guillem Carbonell Garcia / S.Ragan
In other Cablegate news, Anonymous has thrown its hat into the ring, lending support (wanted or otherwise) to the “anti... anti-WikiLeaks” agenda. After a successful attack on PayPal’s blog, it is still in the process of attacking PostFinance.
More Tech Herald coverage on that particular story can be read by clicking here.

Comment on this Story