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posted by janrinok on Sunday August 12 2018, @12:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the wasn't-expecting-that dept.

DNC serves WikiLeaks with lawsuit via Twitter

The Democratic National Committee on Friday officially served its lawsuit to WikiLeaks via Twitter, employing a rare method to serve its suit to the elusive group that has thus far been unresponsive.

As CBS News first reported last month, the DNC filed a motion with a federal court in Manhattan requesting permission to serve its complaint to WikiLeaks on Twitter, a platform the DNC argued the website uses regularly. The DNC filed a lawsuit in April against the Trump campaign, Russian government and WikiLeaks, alleging a massive conspiracy to tilt the 2016 election in Donald Trump's favor.

All of the DNC's attempts to serve the lawsuit via email failed, the DNC said in last month's motion to the judge, which was ultimately approved.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in Ecuador's London embassy for six years, is considering an offer to appear before a U.S. Senate committee to discuss alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, his lawyer said on Thursday.

WikiLeaks published a letter from the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday which asked Assange to make himself available to testify in person at a closed hearing as part of its investigation into whether Moscow meddled to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election. "The U.S. Senate Select Committee request confirms their interest in hearing from Mr Assange," lawyer Jennifer Robinson said in a statement.

Julian Assange 'seriously considering' request to meet US Senate committee

Lawyers for Julian Assange say they are "seriously considering" a request from a US Senate committee to interview the WikiLeaks founder as part of its investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

The Senate select committee on intelligence has written to Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for more than six years.

[...] The chairman of the committee, Richard Burr, wrote: "As you are aware, the Senate select committee on intelligence is conducting a bipartisan inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. As part of that inquiry, the committee requests that you make yourself available for a closed interview with bipartisan committee staff at a mutually agreeable time and location."

The ultimate irony would involve Julian Assange avoiding Metropolitan Police arrest by somehow fleeing to the United States.

See also: Mueller subpoenas Randy Credico, who Roger Stone says was his WikiLeaks back channel

Previously: DNC's Lawsuit Against WikiLeaks is an Attack on Freedom of the Press

Related: Prominent Whistleblowers and Journalists Defend Julian Assange at Online Vigil
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @12:52AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @12:52AM (#720388)

    This plot twist was unexpected. Is anyone aware if the the Senate Intelligence Committee has authority to e.g. grant immunity from prosecution?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @03:01AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 12 2018, @03:01AM (#720439)

    I doubt they can, they aren't part of the judicial branch, so they have no say in sentencing. They're also not a part of the executive branch, so they can't pardon people and they don't deal with prosecution either. Really, the only people who can actually do this are either judges or the President/governor as appropriate.

    Anybody else is completely at the whims of those parties to go along with it. And sometimes they don't, sometimes the prosecutor offers a deal and the judge says no, giving the defendant the sentence they likely would have received anyways.

    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday August 12 2018, @03:26AM (1 child)

      by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Sunday August 12 2018, @03:26AM (#720444) Homepage Journal

      There is a law that gives them that power.

      But in googling the law just now I found lots of arguments that that law is unconstitutional.

      That a law is unconstitutional doesn't prevent it from being enforced. One has to sue to overturn it.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
      • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Sunday August 12 2018, @05:31AM

        by captain normal (2205) on Sunday August 12 2018, @05:31AM (#720480)

        Well there is a little matter of what the U.S. Constitution says.
        "Section 8
        1: The Congress shall have Power To....
        14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;...
        18: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof...."

        --
        When life isn't going right, go left.