Apparently the US Justice Dept is looking into the possibility that Julian Assange was part of a "conspiracy" to steal the documents that Wikilinks went on to publish. While Army private Bradley Manning is widely believed to be the actual thief, conspiracy indictments simply require some evidence that others either took part in the theft, or encouraged Manning to steal the documents.
It is common for prosecutors to offer a defendent in a criminal case a reduced sentence (or even no prosecution) in exchange for incriminating others -- especially others that the prosecutors are more interested in prosecuting. In this case, I wouldn't be surprised if the Justice Department offered Manning such a deal in exchange for testimony involving Assange. At this point, Assange and WikiLinks are far bigger thorns in the side of the US establishment than is Bradley. It would be very easy for Manning to "bend" the truth a little, since he is young and faces serious prison time.
Thus we see the Obama administration trying to take down its perceived enemies using the so-called "Justice" Department. Once again, our Democratic president is acting in a way strangely reminiscent of his Republican predecessor.
Of course, the irony is that, while Obama is acting more and more like an establishment figure, WikiLinks is looking more and more like the original Tea Party.
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Your suspicions are bolstered by the distinct possibility that he is being tortured (see: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/14/manning). The fact that he is not allowed exercise is particularly strange. No wonder that he is taking anti-depressants. How long will he hold out before going Whittaker Chambers on Assange?
ReplyDeleteMarshall Cohen