DOJ That Refuses To Charge Bushco/CIA For Torture & Tape Destruction Wants To Charge Assange?

[kpete]

..............a hard and clear prior restraint message to the American press.

Oh, and one other thing, about the thought that if Assange is prosecuted, the New York Times could be too; no less an authority than former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey suggests, while such may place the NYT squarely within the prosecutorial ambit, that the DOJ simply engage in straight up selective prosecution and go only after Assange. Nice. Remember when all those high minded bloggers were saying how principled Mukasey was and what a refreshing choice he would be to replace Alberto Gonzales? I do; that didn’t work out so well.

Eric Holder and the DOJ cannot possibly find jurisdiction to charge American contractors who torture and murder people in the course and scope of their employment by the US Government abroad, and cannot charge CIA supervisors and OLC lawyers who patently admit to destruction of evidence and conspiracy to commit war crimes; however, the same DOJ is now suddenly able to be so legally creative as to find a path to charging a person under the Espionage Act who is not a US citizen, owed the US no duty under citizenship and treason provisions, committed no act within the jurisdiction of the US and who is a member within the general definition of “press” and who only published purported whistleblower leaks given to him. It is amazing how the DOJ is willing to go out on that “limb” when it wants to, but can never so travel when the interests of justice really demand it to.

In conclusion, and to bring this post full circle, there is no established viable basis for prosecuting Julian Assange, in fact all precedent is to the contrary. To do so flies directly in the face of the once vaunted DOJ guidelines for criminal prosecution. For these reasons, there is no reason to consider the attempts by the US government to prosecute Assange as anything but a craven facial assault on the First Amendment and freedom of the press. After seeing the disdain, contempt and avarice the Obama Administration has displayed toward the Fourth Amendment and Fifth Amendment, I guess no one should be shocked.

more:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/12/12/the-misplaced-us-determination-to-indict-assange/#comments

[Robb]

1. They're charging Assange?

[NightWatcher]

3. Assange's atty thinks a secret grand jury is meeting in Virginia

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/13/wikileaks.investigation/

[Robb]

7. Ah. Well, his attorney, of course.

[Luminous Animal]

12. The article does not claim that the DOJ IS charging Assange. ..

It says that they want to charge Assange.

"Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday vowed to examine every statute possible to bring charges against Assange, including some that have never before been used to prosecute a publisher."

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2034088_2034097_2035994,00.html

[1VaDem]

2. A lot of "amazing" things are happening!

Not the least of which is the idea to bring charges on Assange while we have let so many "evil doers" go and be treated as heroes. Surely we are not THAT stupid.

[KansDem]

4. Yeah, amazing isn't it?

Who said the 21st century was going to be boring?

[GodlessBiker]

5. I represented clients before Mukasey when he was a judge. I was thoroughly unimpressed.

[tcaudilllg]

6. We should organize a massive demonstration outside WH if NYT is prosecuted.

With LOTS of Anti-Obama signs.

As for Assange, he needs to get his ass to Iceland as soon as he can manage.

[Echotrail]

8. NYT should stand up for itself!

If Leiberman's Shield Law is passed, it makes no distinction between wiki leaks and the NYT

[Hawkeye-X]

9. Even if there is an indictment, it'll still be dismissed by the judge

with extreme prejudice as jurisdiction doesn't apply to an non-American citizen.

Hawkeye-X

[Poboy]

10. Just as Obama called his actions 'deplorable', while FORCEFULLY preventing

Spain from investigating the lies we were told in the run-up to war.

A pack of lies, wrapped in hypocracy. The administration is corrupt.

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. That pissed me off to no end

I can't stand the hypocrisy.

[Poboy]

11. edit- dupe

[Echotrail]

13. Don't they have to change the law before they can prosecute him?

That's why Lieberman introduced the Shield Law.

Many constitutional lawyers (present president excepted) have the view that wiki leaks broke no laws.

Passing the Shield law would break the law (the big one) but that hasn't stopped anyone in recent years.

[elias49]

14. Assange should solicit $$ from Halliburton, like Cheney did

and buy a 'get-out-of-jail-free' card.
Allegedly $500,000,000. is enough to get Nigeria to drop charges against Cheney for corruption and bribery.
Now there's justice for you!
Of course we wouldn't know about this without Wikileaks.

[Solly Mack]

15. k/r

[ladjf]

17. More bad news from the DJ. nt