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☆ From Hacker to Hunted Figure, the Polarizing Legacy of Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Mark Landler | Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In his two-decade odyssey from Australian hacker to new-age media celebrity, hunted figure, perennial prisoner and finally, a free man, Julian Assange has always been easier to caricature than characterize. The lack of an agreed-upon label for Mr. Assange — is he a heroic crusader for truth or a reckless leaker who endangered lives? Whatever history’s judgment of Mr. Assange, his appearance Wednesday in a courtroom on a remote Pacific island, where he pleaded guilty to a single count of violating the U.S. From the time he established WikiLeaks in 2006, Mr. Assange, 52, was a polarizing figure, using the internet to solicit and publish government secrets. To others who feared the information he revealed could get people killed, he was destructive, even if there was never proof that lives were lost.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange —, Mr, Assange Organizations: . Espionage, WikiLeaks Locations: Afghanistan, Iraq

☆ Rogue to Victim: What Australia Sees in Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, received a hero’s welcome even before he was set to arrive back in his home country of Australia on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony charge of violating the U.S. Australian politicians sprinted to publish statements supporting a plea deal that gained him his freedom. Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister who is now Australia’s ambassador to the United States, even joined him in the U.S. courtroom on the Pacific island of Saipan. That Mr. Assange’s case concluded in a distant outpost — the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth tied to America through post-World War II imperialism — seemed fitting. He ended his standoff with the American government far from Washington, 14 years after he published classified military and diplomatic documents, revealing secret details about U.S. spycraft and the killing of civilians during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Persons: Julian Assange, Kevin Rudd, Assange’s Organizations: WikiLeaks, . Espionage, America, spycraft Locations: Australia, United States, U.S, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, Iraq, Afghanistan

☆ Julian Assange Pleads Guilty to Espionage, Securing His Freedom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a felony charge of violating the U.S. Espionage Act, securing his freedom under a plea deal that saw its final act play out in a remote U.S. courtroom in Saipan in the Western Pacific. He appeared in court wearing a black suit with his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, and Kevin Rudd, the Australian ambassador to the United States. His family and lawyers documented his journey from London to Bangkok and on to Saipan, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth. They posted photos and videos online from a chartered jet.

Persons: Julian Assange, Jennifer Robinson, Kevin Rudd, Mr, Assange, Stella Organizations: WikiLeaks, . Espionage Locations: Saipan, Western, Australian, United States, Australia, London, Bangkok, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S

☆ Front-line NATO allies are facing an unconventional Russian threat short of war but still quite dangerous
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"There are hybrid threats. NATO has also cautioned against intensifying Russian hybrid warfare in the region and in the rest of Europe that could include "disinformation, sabotage, acts of violence, cyber and electronic interference, and other hybrid operations." The murky nature of hybrid warfare can make it hard to identify and address potential threats. Yet, the Baltic countries are prioritizing hybrid threats and fortifying their institutions in response. And last week, writing alongside his Polish and Czech colleagues, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed "deep concern" over Russian hybrid threats.

Persons: —, Denmark –, Margus Tsahkna, Maria Zakharova, Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Gitanas Nausėda, Yan Dobronosov, Dmitry Petrov, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Landsbergis, –, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Edgars Rinkēvičs Organizations: Service, West, NATO, EU, Business, Estonian, Russian Foreign Ministry, Getty, Kremlin, Lithuanian, Destabilization, 76th Guards Air Assault Division, Alliance Locations: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, Kyiv, Moscow, Baltics, Belarus, Soviet Union, Russian, crosshairs, Europe, Baltic, Finland, Narva, Tallinn, Vilnius, Poland, Pskov, Crimea, Tellingly, Czech, Latvian

☆ Joe Biden has a decision to make about Julian Assange
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

A small group of lawyers and media executives gathered in a well-appointed back room to listen to Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother. In the case of Vault 7, WikiLeaks' source turned out to be a disgruntled former C.I.A employee. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn New York, Gabriel Shipton, Assange's half-brother, declined to rule out the possibility of a plea deal. Every time the Australian government raises this issue, the Chinese government puts out a statement about Julian Assange. Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, right, was part of a delegation of Australian officials in the US to press for the release of Julian Assange.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Gabriel Shipton, Tucker Carlson, Tucker, Shipton, he'd, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, Monique Ryan, Albanese, Mike Pompeo, Caroline Kennedy, Der Spiegel, El Pais, David Hicks, Julian, John Shipton, Assange's, John, Gabriel, Brett Assange, Peter Whish, Wilson, We've, Robert Carr, Chelsea Manning's, Obama, We're, Cheng Lei, —, Chelsea Manning, Manning, What's, Julian Assange's, John MacDougall, …, they'd, he's, John Young, Laura Poitras's, Mueller, Robert Mueller's, John Podesta's, Bernie Sanders, John Koeltl, They've, Donald, Trump, we've, James Comey, Hillary Clinton, He's, I'm, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner, I've, Putin, exfiltrate Assange, Julian wasn't, Dana Rohrabacher, Rohrabacher, Jennifer Robinson, Tracey Nearmy, we'd, Marjorie Taylor, Greene, Antony Blinken, Biden, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, WikiLeaks, Washington Post, Washington, DOJ, The Washington, Australia's Labor Party, New, Biden, Senate Intelligence, Justice Department, New York Times, Guardian, Chelsea, Pentagon, Getty, Justice, The State Department, Laura Poitras's WikiLeaks, State Department, DNC, Democratic, Committee, Democratic National Convention, of, Russian Federation, Novaya Gazeta, Trump, CIA, The Justice Locations: New York, London, Assange's, Pacific, Ecuadorian, Washington, Russia, Australia, Shipton, Brig, Chelsea, Iraq, Australian, China, American, Moscow, Getty Shipton, … Shipton, Cryptome, There's, Southern, of New York, Russian, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Panama, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ Australia's new submarines are still 2 decades away from delivery, but the Aussies are already looking out for spies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Australia is working with the US and UK to build nuclear-powered subs and other military technology. It can be intentional — for example, a foreign intelligence service spreading election conspiracies on social media — or unintentional, as when someone unwittingly shares the foreign intelligence service's social-media posts. Australian officials look at the Collins-class submarine HMAS Collins in September 2021. Those Australian intelligence officials echoed worries that US officials have about foreign efforts to compromise AUKUS. US intelligence officials estimate that Chinese espionage steals US economic secrets worth between $200 billion and $600 billion a year.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Anthony Albanese, Tayfun, Andrew Shearer, Mike Burgess, Burgess, CPOIS Damian Pawlenko, Azorian, PETER, Stavros Atlamazoglou Organizations: US, Service, Australia, British, Australian, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Australian National Intelligence, of National Intelligence, US Navy, Australian Security Intelligence, ASIO, FBI, Collins, Royal Australian Navy, intel, China Aviation, of State Security, Western, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins School, International Studies, Boston College Law School Locations: Australia, France, China, Canberra, San Diego, Virginia, North Dakota, Canada , New Zealand, AUKUS, Soviet, Beijing

One Feb. 23, 2023 assessment, titled "Battle for the Donbas Region Likely Heading for a Stalemate Throughout 2023", says Russia is unlikely to be able to take that part of east Ukraine. WARY OF STIRRING CHINAOne U.S. document posted on Russian Telegram channels had the casualty figures crudely altered to reduce Russian casualties and increase Ukrainian casualties. The document on casualties is embossed with emblems of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defence Intelligence Agency. The documents show that while Russia has overall numerical superiority in some areas, Ukraine has more tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) in theatre than Russia. Ukraine has 802 tanks and 3,498 APCs fielded, while Russia has 419 tanks and 2,928 APCs in theatre.

☆ Trump has failed to show he declassified docs seized from Mar-a-Lago, DOJ tells appeals court
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The DOJ lawyers added that Trump "is now resisting" a request by a court-appointed special master for him to provide evidence that he declassified records that were seized. But in Tuesday's court conference, Dearie expressed skepticism toward Trump's lawyers about which, if any, of the seized Mar-a-Lago records had been declassified, NBC News reported. Unless Trump's lawyers could provide evidence to dispute that stance, "As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it," Dearie said. Court documents also revealed that the FBI found four dozen empty folders marked "CLASSIFIED" during the raid. "Those notes could certainly contain privileged information," Trump's lawyers wrote.

Lawyers for Donald Trump urged a federal appeals court Tuesday to reject a Justice Department bid to resume its review of documents marked classified that were seized from the former president's Florida home last month as part of a criminal investigation. The federal agents seized more than 100 documents bearing classified markings in that raid, the DOJ later revealed. Court documents also revealed that the FBI found four dozen empty folders marked "CLASSIFIED" during the raid. In a footnote, Trump's lawyers added, "The fact the documents contain classification markings does not necessarily negate privilege claims." "Those notes could certainly contain privileged information," Trump's lawyers wrote.

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