The Lifeboat News: Independents provide coverage one might expect salaried Guardian journos to carry, in a sane world

Kevin Gosztola
‏Verified account @kgosztola

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange was indicted on March 6, 2018, for "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion." Notably, not charge under Espionage Act.
But doesn't mean political case isn't attack on journalist or media organization.

I'll go through rest of indictment:

The first graphs in the "general allegations" section of indictment against Julian Assange are what prosecutors typically might put in indictment against someone charged with violating Espionage Act. Mentions Manning's security clearance, executive order defining classified info.

Indictment against Assange states "WikiLeaks publicly solicited submissions," and that he didn't "possess a security clearance." Several media organizations throughout world have dropboxes where they encourage sources to send leaks.

Journalists who publish leaked classified information or "sensitive" information do not typically have security clearances. Justice Department is very clearly criminalizing journalism in this section of the indictment.

Here's key allegation against Julian Assange: that he "agreed to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on United States Department of Defense computers." This relates to supposed evidence that was presented during Chelsea Manning's Article 32 hearing in December 2011.

Obama DOJ had supposed evidence related to Assange assisting Manning in "cracking a password" back in 2013, when they backed away from prosecuting him.

Why wasn't it enough to prosecute then? Because even limited to alleged computer crime, it still implicated press freedom

Here's section from Count One of indictment against Julian Assange [see link for screen images]. The language contains the same words typically seen in Espionage Act charge. Prosecutors are clearly accusing Assange of aiding and abetting espionage, but they're trying to do it within charge for computer crime

Another alarming section: what does it mean for Assange to "facilitate" "acquisition" and "transmission" of documents?

This would seem to criminalize acts where journalists advise their confidential sources on how to communicate with them and maintain their confidentiality.

Where Trump Justice Department is criminalizing Assange—a journalist or publisher—for expressing interest in files on Guantanamo detainees that were later published by WikiLeaks

This section of indictment of Assange carries implications for journalists or media organization that use drop boxes for accepting documents. Thinking of setups like SecureDrop. US security agencies would love precedent that criminalized.

The final section of indictment against Assange shows password was never cracked. What the Justice Department is prosecuting is a *conspiracy* that involved an *attempt* to commit an alleged crime—all so it can punish journalist for publishing information.
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