REVEALED: The US government has seized 'masses of hidden, internal WikiLeaks data that could be used in a criminal case against Julian Assange for publishing tens of thousands of DNC emails hacked by Russian intelligence'

  • The government has collected an 'abundance' of internal WikiLeaks data covering the organization's period of operations, from 2009 through 2017
  • It includes messages exchanged with alleged Russian hackers about Democratic National Committee emails 
  • A court filing, submitted apparently in error by US prosecutors in an unrelated case, last year, mentions criminal charges against someone named 'Assange'
  • The federal government hasn't confirmed that Assange has been charged with anything   

The U.S. government has an 'abundance of data to work with' if it chooses to pursue a case against Wikileaks Founder, Julian Assange, including internal Wikileaks data.

The data, covering the majority of the organization's period of operations, from 2009 through 2017 has been seized by the federal government through search warrants, subpoenas, equipment seizures, and cooperating witnesses, as reported by Design, technology and science website, Gizmodo.

It includes over a dozen WikiLeaks' computers and hard drives.

Aata covering the majority of Wikileaks' period of operations, from 2009 through 2017, founded by Julian Assange (pictured above) has been seized by the federal government

Aata covering the majority of Wikileaks' period of operations, from 2009 through 2017, founded by Julian Assange (pictured above) has been seized by the federal government

E-mail accounts, including those of the organization's current and former editors-in-chief, along with messages exchanged with alleged Russian hackers about Democratic National Committee emails have also been collected.

The existence of an apparent criminal case against Assange emerged in November last year.  

A court filing, submitted apparently in error by U.S. prosecutors in an unrelated case, mentioned criminal charges against someone named 'Assange.' 

Direct messages between WikiLeaks and 'Guccifer 2.0,' a persona the U.S. government believes was used by Russian operatives were recovered

Direct messages between WikiLeaks and 'Guccifer 2.0,' a persona the U.S. government believes was used by Russian operatives were recovered

If Assange's charges are related to Russian hacking and the Democratic National Committee email leak then messages between WikiLeaks and 'Guccifer 2.0' could be used as evidence

If Assange's charges are related to Russian hacking and the Democratic National Committee email leak then messages between WikiLeaks and 'Guccifer 2.0' could be used as evidence

It led to a federal court hearing being held in Virginia in November after free-press advocates called for a judge to unseal the apparent criminal charge against Assange. 

However, no decision was made by a federal judge whether to unseal the apparent charge during the brief hearing in Alexandria. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema appeared to uphold the government’s position that no charging information should be released short of an arrest.

After the hearing Gordon Kromberg, an assistant U.S. attorney, wouldn't confirm that Assange had been charged or was even under investigation. 

The existence of an apparent criminal case against Assange emerged in November last year thought to be centered on Democratic National Committee emails and Russian hacking

The existence of an apparent criminal case against Assange emerged in November last year thought to be centered on Democratic National Committee emails and Russian hacking

It's been widely reported that the possible charges against Assange are related to  Democratic National Committee emails and Russian hacking.

If the charges against Assange are related to Russian hacking and the Democratic National Committee email leak then direct messages between WikiLeaks and 'Guccifer 2.0,' a persona the U.S. government believes was used by Russian operatives, could be one of the most likely pieces of evidence to be directly relevant to the initial charges against Assange, according to Gizmodo.   

In late October 2017 a government request was issued requesting Twitter provide copies of all direct messages that were over 180 days old to and from accounts belonging to WikiLeaks, the WikiLeaks Task Force, 'Guccifer 2.0,' Assange, and Margaret Ratner Kunstler, a civil rights attorney.

Over a dozen WikiLeaks' computers and hard drives have also been seized. The government hasn't confirmed or denied Assange is facing criminal charges

Over a dozen WikiLeaks' computers and hard drives have also been seized. The government hasn't confirmed or denied Assange is facing criminal charges

On June 22, 2016, WikiLeaks sent Guccifer 2.0 a message instructing Guccifer 2.0, to send new material to them so it would 'have a much higher impact.' 

In July, the organization sent another message encouraging Guccifer 2.0 to send 'anything [H]illary related' in time for the Democratic National Convention, which WikiLeaks thought Clinton would use to solidify support. 

A portion of the message shows WikiLeaks saying they thought 'conflict between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Clinton would be 'interesting.'' 

Any case could also focus in part on material seized from alleged Vault 7 leaker Joshua Schulte and the alleged recordings of him transferring additional files to WikiLeaks.  

Vault 7 refers to a series of documents that detail activities and capabilities of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.  

47-year-old Assange has been holed up under asylum inside the embassy since 2012 when he was accused of sexual assault by two women in Sweden. 

  

 

  

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