SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Inadvertent Court Filing Suggests that the U.S. DoJ is Preparing to Indict Julian Assange
Prosecutors Have Prepared Indictment of Julian Assange, a Filing Reveals
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 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.
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 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 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, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, and The New Republic.
Previously: Prominent Whistleblowers and Journalists Defend Julian Assange at Online Vigil
Ecuador Reportedly Almost Ready to Hand Julian Assange Over to UK Authorities
DNC Serves WikiLeaks Lawsuit Over Twitter; US Senate Invites Assange to Testify for Russia Probe
The Guardian: Russian Diplomats Planned to Sneak Julian Assange Out of the UK
Julian Assange Sues Ecuador for "Violating His Fundamental Rights"
UK Said Assange Would Not be Extradited If He Leaves Embassy Refuge
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 17 2018, @04:05AM
Yeah, the first amendment needs to be preserved, just like the second amendment! Wait... OK, so...
The founders didn't envision advanced journalism with photos, video, and recorded audio. That stuff is for military-grade propaganda. The first amendment gives you the right to a quill pen, and maybe some movable lead type.
People under 21 shouldn't speak. They might say something dumb.
Felons shouldn't speak. They might say something evil.
It shouldn't be possible to put more than 10 sentences in a paragraph or more than 10 paragraphs on a page. Changing the page should require a tool.
Words longer than 0.50 inches should be illegal, not counting compound words.
Every document must have a serial number. Every printing tool must have one too, and must be registered with the government.
Trimming paper should require a federal paper trimming license.
Getting a license to speak should require that you be fingerprinted and take a class on correct ideas. Actually getting the license is at the discretion of your local police chief.
In some locations, you have to hide your documents in an envelope when you carry them in public. In other locations, you have to openly display your documents for all to see. Either way, violating the requirement is a felony.