IssaLeaks: More fallout from the Benghazi killings
(Read article summary)Was it a good idea to release a lot of un-redacted State Department memos from Libya? Probably not.
Well, if the US ever does try to extradite Julian Assange, Congressman Darrell Issa has just given some ammunition for his defense.
There is no evidence that the US is interested in extraditing Mr. Assange, of course, and it's unclear what he could be charged with if they ever did. But when Assange's WikiLeaks started dumping US diplomatic cables all over the Internet two years ago, frequently without redacting the names of people who could be put in harm’s way by the releases, a number of American politicians figuratively called for his head.
Among them was Darrell Issa (R) of California. In Jan. 2011, as he took the reins of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the congressman told Fox News that the US should immediately prosecute Assange, that “the world is laughing at this paper tiger we've become," and that the release of private diplomatic cables severely damages the ability of US diplomats to operate.
Mr. Issa called for new laws to make it easier to prosecute leaks of State Department information "so the diplomats can do their job with confidence and people can talk to our government with confidence."
