The joint Wikileaks, Anonymous release of over 5 million leaked Stratfor emails on Monday confirms what many suspected since the detention of Julian Assange ...that the U.S. would press possible charges of espionage or conspiracy related to the release of hundreds of thousands of leaked state department cables. Stratfor emails reveal the U.S. not only already holds a sealed indictment of Assange, they've been patiently sitting on it for over 12 months.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
UNITED States prosecutors have drawn up secret charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a confidential internal email obtained from a private US intelligence company, Stratfor.
In the email, sent to Stratfor intelligence analysts on January 26 last year, the company's vice-president for intelligence, Fred Burton, responded to a media report concerning US investigations targeting WikiLeaks. He wrote: "We have a sealed indictment on Assange."
Underlining the sensitivity of the information - apparently obtained from a US government source - he wrote "Pls protect" and "Not for Pub[lication]".
Mr Burton is a well-known expert on security and counter-terrorism with close ties to US intelligence and law enforcement agencies. He is a former chief of counterterrorism in the US State Department diplomatic security service.
The Wikileaks founder awaits the British Supreme Court decision on his appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning regarding claims of sexual assault, although to date, he has not been charged with any crime.
While being held in detention in the UK, Assange has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded a gold medal by the Sydney Peace Foundation for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights." He also was the people’s choice for Time’s person of the year, and ninth place in the 2011 Time 100.
