NATIONAL POST: U.S. authorities could face insurmountable legal hurdles if they try to bring criminal charges against Julian Assange, the elusive WikiLeaks chief, even if he sets foot on U.S. soil.
The Justice Department is investigating leaks of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents provided by the whistleblower website to news media and made public on its website.
But three specialists in espionage law said prosecuting someone like Mr. Assange on those charges would require evidence he was not only in contact with representatives of a foreign power but also intended to provide them with secrets.
No such evidence has surfaced, or has even been alleged, in the case of WikiLeaks or Mr. Assange, an Australianborn [sic] former computer hacker who has become an international celebrity.
Mr. Assange, who leads a nomadic existence and cultivates an aura of mystery, left Sweden last month after authorities there said they wanted to interrogate him about allegations of sexual misconduct made by two female acquaintances.
The U.K. newspaper The Independent said on Thursday that British police know his whereabouts but have refrained so far from acting on his arrest warrant. >>> Reuters | Thursday, December 02, 2010
