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The charges that led to Julian Assange’s arrest have nothing to do with the 2016 presidential election or the Mueller investigation into Donald Trump’s Russian ties, but the extradition case and Assange’s possible arrival in the US will be electrified by all those unresolved issues.

“I know nothing about Wikileaks. It’s not my thing,” Donald Trump told reporters asking for a reaction to the arrest. That is not what he said on the campaign, when he frequently praised the organisation that Assange founded, and which arguably played an important role in getting Trump elected.

Assange’s role in 2016 cut like a meat cleaver through the administration, dividing Trump loyalists on the far right – who see him as a hero persecuted by the “deep state” – from the traditional conservatives who portray him as nothing less than a Kremlin accomplice.

Read further:</s>Credit: Wikipedia Updated, 4/11/19, 7:44am PT: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has charged Julian Assange with "conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S. government computer." The department also confirmed that Assange was arrested "pursuant to the U.S./UK Extradition Treaty" and that he will be extradited to the United States. Assange is accused of working with Chelsea Manning in 2010 to crack a password stored on a Department of Defense computer so Manning could provide WikiLeaks with classified documents. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but the DoJ noted that maximum penalties are rarely applied.



The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) announced today that it arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has lived in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, following Ecuador's withdrawal of his political asylum. MPS said in its announcement that Assange was "taken into custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

MPS said it was invited into the embassy by Ecuador's ambassador to the United Kingdom. That hardly comes as a surprise: Reuters reported in October 2018 that Assange filed a "lawsuit challenging the Ecuadorean government requiring him to pay for medical bills [and] phone calls and clean up after his pet cat." The report also said that officials "complained of Assange riding a skateboard in the halls, of playing soccer on the grounds, and behaving aggressively with security personnel." Assange said the requirements and complaints were meant to force him to leave the embassy.

It turns out that Ecuador didn't need to find roundabout ways to get Assange to leave--it just had to withdraw his political asylum and let British police arrest him. That's exactly what happened today, with MPS arresting Assange in accordance with a warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrates' Court in June 2012. We should note at the start that the warrant had nothing to do with Assange's connection to WikiLeaks, at least not directly. (His supporters will inevitably argue that any legal action against Assange is motivated by his publication of top-secret documents.)

Rather, the warrant was issued because shacking up in the Ecuadorian embassy violated the terms of Assange's bail. He originally sought refuge in the embassy because he feared that British police would extradite him to Sweden on sexual assault charges--which have since been dropped--and that he would then be extradited to the United States for his involvement with WikiLeaks. There is some basis to those fears: The New York Times reported in November 2018 that the U.S. had secretly filed charges against Assange; it's not clear with what exactly he has been charged.

Yet the original sexual assault investigation, Ecuador's withdrawal of Assange's political asylum, and today's arrest haven't been directly linked to the charges in the U.S. Nor have the governments of Ecuador, the UK, or Sweden indicated that they would extradite Assange to the U.S. as part of this years-long back-and-forth. We won't know if this arrest was truly just standard procedure or if it was part of a multinational conspiracy to get Assange to the U.S. until he has his day in court. That couldn't happen while he was safe in the embassy; now it can.

WikiLeaks, for its part, attempted to rally its supporters on Twitter by saying that "Ecuador has illegally [sic] terminated Assange political asylum in violation of international law." It also linked to the Defend WikiLeaks web page, which purports to explain how the prosecution of Assange threatens U.S. journalism, and which also features a legal defense fund to which supporters of Assange and/or WikiLeaks can donate.</s>US prosecutors said on Thursday they had charged Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, with conspiracy in trying to access a classified US government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

[WASHINGTON] US prosecutors said on Thursday they had charged Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, with conspiracy in trying to access a classified US government computer with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010.

Assange, arrested by British police in London and carried out of Ecuador's embassy there, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the American charges, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

His London arrest paved the way for his possible extradition to the United States.

Assange's indictment arose from a long-running criminal investigation dating back to the administration of former President Barack Obama. It was triggered in part by the publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of U.S. military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and American diplomatic communications.

The Justice Department said Assange, 47, was arrested pursuant to the US/UK Extradition Treaty, and accused him of involvement in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States.

The indictment said that Assange in March 2010 engaged in a conspiracy to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on US Department of Defence computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a US government network used for classified documents and communications.

He was charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

The department said Manning had access to the computers as an intelligence analyst and was using them to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password would have enabled Manning to log on to the computers under a username other than her own, making it more difficult for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures, the department said.

The Obama administration decided not to prosecute WikiLeaks on the grounds that the work of WikiLeaks was too similar to journalistic activities protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller also underscored the role of WikiLeaks in his 22-month investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 US election. The website published emails damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton that Mueller and US intelligence agencies have said were stolen by Russia in a bid to boost Republican Donald Trump's candidacy.

The Justice Department said Manning and Assange engaged in real-time discussions concerning Manning's transmission of classified records to Assange in which Assange encouraged Manning to provide more information.

The department's statement quoted an exchange between the two in which Manning told Assange that "after this upload, that's all I really have got left," with Assange replying that "curious eyes never run dry in my experience."

Assange was earlier convicted on Thursday by a London court of skipping bail in 2012 after an extradition order to Sweden over an allegation of rape.

Assange, who pleaded not guilty, will be sentenced a later date when he will face a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison for the offence.</s>Julian Assange was arrested on Thursday after Ecuador withdrew his asylum status.

British police apprehended the WikiLeaks founder at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been claiming asylum since 2012.

Hoisted out of the embassy by local authorities, a full-bearded Assange could be heard pleading that the “UK must resist … this attempt by the Trump administration.”

He also appeared to be holding a copy of Gore Vidal’s “History of the National Security State”—a book about the establishment of the military-industrial-security complex and so-called “Imperial Presidency.”

The Metropolitan Police Service later confirmed Assange was “further arrested” on behalf of the US, under an extradition warrant.

“He is accused in the United States of America of computer-related offences,” the Home Office said in a statement.

The US indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, lists a single count of “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion,” and alleges that Assange worked with former U.S. Army soldier and whistleblower Chelsea Manning to obtain classified documents.

An extradition hearing will take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

Assange first made international headlines in April 2010, when WikiLeaks published confidential reports provided by Chelsea Manning (then known as Bradley Manning), including Afghanistan and Iraq war logs.

He was granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012, in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault (which he denies). Assange has since been accused of aiding Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

In a video posted to Twitter, Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno distanced himself and his country from Assange, announcing that his “discourteous and aggressive behavior,” among other transgressions, “have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable.”

“Ecuador sovereignly has decided to terminate the diplomatic asylum granted to Mr. Assange in 2012,” Moreno continued, adding that Ecuador has “fulfilled its obligations in the framework of international law.”

“The patience of Ecuador has reached its limit on the behavior of Mr. Assange,” the president said.</s>LONDON, UK — Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum.

Assange's attorney Jennifer Robinson also said her client had been arrested on an extradition request from the United States as well as on charges of breaching his bail conditions.

In a tweet, Robinson said Assange "has been arrested not just for breach of bail conditions but also in relation to a US extradition request."

The U.S. Justice Department inadvertently revealed the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange in a court filing last year. It's not clear what he's been accused of.

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who leaked a trove of classified material to WikiLeaks, was jailed last month after she refused to testify before a grand jury.

In a statement Thursday, Justice Department spokesman Marc Raimondi said: "We are aware of the reports that Julian Assange was taken into custody by United Kingdom authorities."

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange's status for repeated violations of international conventions. Moreno described it as a "sovereign decision" due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life."

Assange took refuge in the embassy in London in 2012 and has been holed up inside ever since.

"Today I announce that that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable," Moreno said in a video statement released on Twitter.

Police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Video posted online by Ruptly, the agency wing of Russia Today, showed about five to six men in suits forcibly escorting Assange out of the embassy building, surrounding him as he staggered down the steps and boarded a police van.

Police said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuador government's withdrawal of Assange's asylum.

Assange had not come out of the embassy for years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange "is no hero and no one is above the law."

His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against Assange.

WikiLeaks claims meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

WikiLeaks said in a tweeted statement that Ecuador illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

FILE- In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)</s>LONDON — Police in London say they’ve arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012.

In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into “custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates’ Court as soon as is possible.”

Assange hasn’t left the embassy since August 2012 for fear that if he steps off Ecuador’s diplomatic soil he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks tweeted that Assange did not “walk out of the embassy” and that the Ecuadorian ambassador invited British police into the embassy and he was immediately arrested.</s>LONDON, UK — Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum.

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange's status for repeated violations of international conventions. Moreno described it as a "sovereign decision" due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life."

Assange took refuge in the embassy in London in 2012 and has been holed up inside ever since.

"Today I announce that that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable," Moreno said in a video statement released on Twitter.

Police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Video posted online by Ruptly, the agency wing of Russia Today, showed about five to six men in suits forcibly escorting Assange out of the embassy building, surrounding him as he staggered down the steps and boarded a police van.

Police said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuador government's withdrawal of Assange's asylum.

Assange had not come out of the embassy for years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange "is no hero and no one is above the law."

His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against Assange.

WikiLeaks claims meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

WikiLeaks said in a tweeted statement that Ecuador illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

FILE- In this Friday May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)</s>LONDON — Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who released reams of secret documents that embarrassed the United States government, was arrested by the British police on Thursday at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he had lived for years, after Ecuador withdrew the asylum it had granted him seven years ago.

President Lenín Moreno of Ecuador said on Twitter that his country had taken the decision to revoke the asylum status that it had granted to Mr. Assange after “his repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols,” a decision that cleared the way for the British authorities to detain him.

The relationship between Mr. Assange and Ecuador has been a rocky one, even as it offered him refuge, and WikiLeaks said last Friday that Ecuador “already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest” and predicted that Mr. Assange would be expelled from the embassy “within ‘hours to days.’ ”

The United States Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Mr. Assange, 47, related to the publication of classified documents, a fact that prosecutors accidentally made public in November.</s>LONDON (AP) - Police in London arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy Thursday for failing to surrender to the court in 2012, shortly after the South American nation revoked his asylum.

Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno said a tweet that his government withdrew Assange's status for repeated violations of international conventions. Moreno described it as a "sovereign decision" due to "repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life."

Assange took refuge in the embassy in London in 2012 and has been holed up inside ever since.

"Today I announce that that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange, the hostile and threatening declarations of its allied organization, against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable," Moreno said in a video statement released on Twitter.

Police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Video posted online by Ruptly, the agency wing of Russia Today, showed about five to six men in suits forcibly escorting Assange out of the embassy building, surrounding him as he staggered down the steps and boarded a police van.

Police said officers were invited into the embassy by the ambassador following the Ecuador government's withdrawal of Assange's asylum.

Assange had not come out of the embassy for years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Moreno for breaking the impasse, saying on Twitter that Assange "is no hero and no one is above the law."

His arrest came a day after WikiLeaks accused the Ecuador's government of an "extensive spying operation" against Assange.

WikiLeaks claims meetings with lawyers and a doctor inside the embassy over the past year were secretly filmed.

WikiLeaks said in a tweeted statement that Ecuador illegally terminated Assange's political asylum "in violation of international law."

A police vehicle parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

A police car parked outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible." (John Stillwell/PA via AP)</s>LONDON (AP) - Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012.

In a statement Thursday, police said Assange has been taken into "custody at a central London police station where he will remain, before being presented before Westminster Magistrates' Court as soon as is possible."

Assange hasn't left the embassy since August 2012 for fear that if he steps off Ecuador's diplomatic soil he will be arrested and extradited to the U.S. for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday May 19, 2017, watched by the media WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks out from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy prior to speaking, in London. London police say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy, it was reported on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested in London after Ecuador withdraws asylum. He is later found guilty of breaching bail in 2012 by a British court, however he faces likely extradition to the United States over allegations he conspired with former US military analyst Chelsea Manning to acquire classified U.S. government files.