A US judge has just ruled that people who visited Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at an embassy can proceed with their espionage lawsuit against the CIA.
The new details come amid revelations that the CIA may have violated the rights of Assange associates. He gained notoriety after leaking details about Hillary Clinton before the 2016 presidential election.
“A lawsuit journalists and allies of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange filed against the CIA on Tuesday in federal court after a federal judge rejected a bid by the spy agency to dismiss the case.” Politician reported
“Manhattan-based U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl ruled that four Americans who visited Assange while he was locked up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London several years ago can continue to his lawsuit over allegations that a security contractor gave the CIA data copied from his phones during those visits,” the news agency added.
(Video credit: The Hill)
The tables seem to have turned, and Assange's compatriots claim their privacy rights were violated. Ironically, Koeltl is appointed by former President Bill Clinton.
“In his 27-page decision, Koeltl rejected parts of Assange's visitors' lawsuit filed last year that alleged the CIA violated his rights by listening in on embassy conversations and obtaining copies of their passports,” Politico noted. “However, Koeltl said that accessing the contents of their phones, if that happened, invaded visitors' privacy rights under the US Constitution.”
“The misconduct alleged is a violation of plaintiffs' reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of their electronic devices under the Fourth Amendment,” the judge stated in his ruling.
Koeltl dismissed part of the lawsuit seeking damages against former CIA Director Mike Pompeo over the incident. However, he stated that the plaintiffs could continue their lawsuit against the CIA for the destruction of any records obtained from the phones of Assange's visitors.
The ruling may prompt officials to invoke the state secrets privilege that could be used to quash the lawsuit because it apparently involves classified information.
Tucker Carlson on why he felt compelled to interview Julian Assange
“Then you find out sooner [Assange] he was accused of any crime in the United States that Mike Pompeo, who was the director of the CIA, decided to kill him, assassinate him before he was indicted…. pic.twitter.com/Cz1HIO8822
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 14, 2023
The lawsuit was filed in August 2022 on behalf of two lawyers who visited Assange in 2017, Margaret Ratner Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, along with two journalists: John Goetz of the German broadcaster NDR and Charles Glass, a former freelance journalist from ABC News.” Politico wrote.
“We are delighted that the Court has rejected the CIA's efforts to silence the plaintiffs, who seek only to expose the CIA's attempt to carry out Pompeo's vendetta against WikiLeaks,” said the lawyer representing the visitors. Richard Roth, in an email sent to POLITICS.
The lawsuit refers to a series of allegations made by the Spanish newspaper “El País” that accused a security company of the Ecuadorian embassy of providing the CIA with information about Assange's visitors. The information was obtained from hidden cameras and microphones, as well as the opening of visitors' phones while meeting with Assange.
The lawsuit accuses Pompeo of spearheading the effort, citing his record of public animosity toward WikiLeaks, the controversial group that anonymously obtains secrets from governments, the military, banks and political figures and publishes them online, often in gross,” Politico said.
LATEST: Judge rejects US government's motion to dismiss ongoing New York case: Lawyers sue CIA, Mike Pompeo in Julian Assange surveillance case #FreeAssange #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/SCJGW3tS1x
— Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) December 19, 2023
Opinion on Assange's actions is divided, with some accusing him of being a Russian agent and others hailing him for radical transparency and exposing corruption.
When Pompeo became CIA director in 2017, he called WikiLeaks a “hostile intelligence service” and targeted Assange.
“Assange, an Australian citizen, entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 and was granted asylum while on bail pending efforts by the Swedish government to extradite him to face a charge of violation,” Politico explained.
“That investigation was dropped in 2017, but the United States brought criminal charges against him the following year for allegedly conspiring to hack into US government computers and to reveal national security secrets,” the outlet reported.
Ecuador handed Assange over to UK officials in 2019. He has been in prison for the past four years and is still fighting extradition to the US. Time is running out on this count and fast.
BREAKING: Julian Assange's final appeal to be held at UK High Court on 20-21 February 2024
Stella Assange: “A fair trial, let alone Julian's safety on American soil, is an impossibility if he were to be extradited. The persecution of this innocent journalist and publisher must end.” pic.twitter.com/GdUvnD6xPu
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) December 19, 2023
“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's potential final legal challenge to block his extradition from the UK to the US to face charges of publishing classified US military documents will take place in February 2024 in the High Court of London”. Fox News reported
“The next hearing, scheduled for February 20 and 21, will be held before two judges who will review an earlier High Court decision made by a single judge in June, when the Australian journalist was refused leave to appeal ·lar, according to a statement from pro-Assange campaigns,” the news outlet added.
Assange, now 52 but looking considerably older, faces 17 counts of allegedly “receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the Espionage Act, and one count alleging conspiracy to commit a computer intrusion,” according to Fox News.
If Assange is extradited to the US and convicted, he could spend up to 175 years in a US maximum security prison.
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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is a constitutional conservative who researches and writes extensively on politics and current affairs.
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