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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Prosecutors Have Prepared Indictment of Julian Assange, a Filing Reveals [nytimes.com]

The Justice Department has prepared an indictment against the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, marking a drastic escalation of the government's yearslong battle with him and his anti-secrecy group. It was not clear if prosecutors have filed charges against Mr. Assange. The indictment came to light late Thursday through an unrelated court filing [amazonaws.com] in which prosecutors inadvertently mentioned charges against him. "The court filing was made in error," said Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for the United States attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia. "That was not the intended name for this filing."

[...] Seamus Hughes, a terrorism expert at George Washington University who closely tracks court cases, uncovered the filing and posted it on Twitter [twitter.com].

A Justice Department spokesman declined to say on Thursday what led to the inadvertent disclosure. It was made in a recently unsealed filing in an apparently unrelated sex-crimes case charging a man named Seitu Sulayman Kokayi [amazonaws.com] with coercing and enticing an underage person to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Mr. Kokayi was charged in early August, and on Aug. 22, prosecutors filed a three-page document [amazonaws.com] laying out boilerplate arguments for why his case at that time needed to remain sealed.

While the filing started out referencing Mr. Kokayi, federal prosecutors abruptly switched on its second page to discussing the fact that someone named "Assange" had been secretly indicted, and went on to make clear that this person was the subject of significant publicity, lived abroad and would need to be extradited — suggesting that prosecutors had inadvertently pasted text from a similar court filing into the wrong document and then filed it.

"Another procedure short of sealing will not adequately protect the needs of law enforcement at this time because, due to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case, no other procedure is likely to keep confidential the fact that Assange has been charged," prosecutors wrote. They added, "The complaint, supporting affidavit, and arrest warrant, as well as this motion and the proposed order, would need to remain sealed until Assange is arrested in connection with the charges in the criminal complaint and can therefore no longer evade or avoid arrest and extradition in this matter."

#Vindicated.

Also at The Guardian [theguardian.com], The Washington Post [washingtonpost.com], and MarketWatch [marketwatch.com].

Previously: Prominent Whistleblowers and Journalists Defend Julian Assange at Online Vigil [soylentnews.org]
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities [soylentnews.org]
DNC Serves WikiLeaks Lawsuit Over Twitter; US Senate Invites Assange to Testify for Russia Probe [soylentnews.org]
The Guardian: Russian Diplomats Planned to Sneak Julian Assange Out of the UK [soylentnews.org]
Julian Assange Sues Ecuador for "Violating His Fundamental Rights" [soylentnews.org]
UK Said Assange Would Not be Extradited If He Leaves Embassy Refuge [soylentnews.org]

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