The U.S. Attorney Eastern District of Virginia released
the below information:
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Julian P. Assange, 47, the founder of
WikiLeaks, was arrested today in the United Kingdom pursuant to the U.S./UK
Extradition Treaty, in connection with a federal charge of conspiracy to commit
computer intrusion for agreeing to break a password to a classified U.S.
government computer.
According to court documents
unsealed today, the charge relates to Assange’s alleged role in one of the
largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United
States.
The indictment alleges that in
March 2010, Assange engaged in a conspiracy with Chelsea Manning, a former
intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, to assist Manning in cracking a password
stored on U.S. Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet
Protocol Network (SIPRNet), a U.S. government network used for classified
documents and communications. Manning, who had access to the computers in
connection with her duties as an intelligence analyst, was using the computers
to download classified records to transmit to WikiLeaks. Cracking the password
would have allowed Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did
not belong to her. Such a deceptive measure would have made it more difficult
for investigators to determine the source of the illegal disclosures.
During the conspiracy, Manning
and Assange engaged in real-time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission
of classified records to Assange. The discussions also reflect Assange actively
encouraging Manning to provide more information. During an exchange, Manning
told Assange that “after this upload, that’s all I really have got left.” To
which Assange replied, “curious eyes never run dry in my experience.”
Assange is charged with
conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and is presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, he faces a maximum
penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are
typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will
determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S.
Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John C. Demers, Assistant
Attorney General for National Security, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director
in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the
charges were unsealed. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick,
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen S. Dwyer, Thomas W. Traxler and Gordon D. Kromberg,
and Trial Attorneys Matthew R. Walczewski and Nicholas O. Hunter of the Justice
Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case.
The extradition will be handled
by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
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