U.S. Treasury: We Can't Blacklist WikiLeaks

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) was among the many politicians publicly enraged by WikiLeaks documents dump of U.S. diplomatic cables, likening it to a military act of aggression.

King, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, asked the U.S. Treasury Department to add WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange to its economic blacklist, or sanctions list. Doing so would have given WikiLeaks the same designation as terrorist groups.

On Friday, the Treasury Department said no.

"We do not have evidence at this time as to Julian Assange or Wikileaks meeting criteria under which may designate persons and place them on the" sanctions list, a Treasury representative said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20028543-503543.html?tag=stack

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[kestrel91316]

2. Why do they want to make Wikileaks a terrorist group, and yet steadfastly

refuse to acknowledge that RW terrorists in the US are such??

[w4rma]

4. Their agenda is lawless. A nation of decrees, edicts, lords and ladies. (nt)

[freshwest]

6. Exactly. And thanks for the links.

[movonne]

10. the right wing are terrorists....they kill...

[Gman]

3. with the keyword being "criteria"

of course that matters not to these people.

[katty]

5. King & the like: do it because..."we say so" or else!!!

little dictators all of them.

[nalnn]

7. I think it's strange

While I think it is o.k. that the Treasury does not Blacklist Wikileaks right now, reading the criteria from the quote in the article, "Conducting business, or providing any economic assistance to a blacklisted entity, even unknowingly, no matter how trivial, is a violation of federal law, for which you too may be blacklisted, losing access to all your property and interests in the U.S. Blacklisting is enabled by a network of federal statutes and executive orders, which requires study to begin to understand." Makes it sound as though they could any time they wanted to. That quote by the way is from Author Wendy Kaminer of The Atlantic.

[Uncle Joe]

9. I agree and that does sound McCarthyesque. n/t

[GreenTea]

8. Cheers the US Treasury - And a BIG FUCK YOU to republican (R-NY) asshole Peter King!!

That is all.

[struggle4progress]

11. it sounds like the rule of law is back

[midnight]

12. How does one find out if their on the economic black list?

Author Wendy Kaminer describes the Treasury's blacklist in The Atlantic as follows:

"Conducting business, or providing any economic assistance to a blacklisted entity, even unknowingly, no matter how trivial, is a violation of federal law, for which you too may be blacklisted, losing access to all your property and interests in the U.S. Blacklisting is enabled by a network of federal statutes and executive orders, which requires study to begin to understand."
Kaminer says King's request for blacklisting Assange and WikiLeaks came in response to reports of Assange's million-dollar book deal with American publisher Knopf.

[goforit]

13. Freedom of speech is a terrorist action?...If so King should shut up.