Desperate to strengthen their case, FBI restarts Julian Assange probe
4 Min Read
Three years after the US prosecutors indicted Assange, Assange's attorneys are unpleasantly surprised to learn of the FBI's recent effort to restart the Julian Assange probe.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange looks up as he retreats from the window of Ecuadorian Embassy in central London after making a statement to the media and supporters outside, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 (AP)
In a report on Wednesday, The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that US authorities are attempting to gather new evidence about Julian Assange in an apparent effort to strengthen their case against the Wikileaks founder, even as hopes grow among his supporters that a diplomatic breakthrough will soon see him released from prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week sought to speak with renowned novelist Andrew O'Hagan about his time serving as a ghostwriter on Assange's autobiography more than ten years ago, according to reports in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
O'Hagan said he would not consent to an FBI interview because he opposes any attempt to punish him for publishing sensitive information. O'Hagan is known for writing a well-known and frequently critical essay about the breakdown of his working relationship with Assange.
US desperate to charge Assange
Since it has been three years since US prosecutors indicted Assange, Assange's attorneys were unpleasantly surprised to learn of the interview request. They had not previously assumed that Assange was the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Assange’s Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny said: “It appears they are continuing to try to investigate, which I find unusual given the amount of time that has passed since the investigation began."
“I would think it is of some concern because we have been working to try to secure an arrangement that would see Julian come home. It would be very unusual if the FBI was trying to gather evidence that could help clear his name.”
That said, Kenny said he was not aware of any other recent attempts by US authorities to interview witnesses about Assange.
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In order to secure Assange's release from London's high-security Belmarsh Prison and prevent a potentially lengthy prison sentence in the US, Assange's UK-based attorney Jennifer Robinson stated last month that his legal team was open to a David Hicks-style plea deal if necessary.
Gabriel Shipton, the brother of Assange, claimed that it appeared US prosecutors were working on a fresh or superseding indictment against Assange. “It shows they understand how weak the charges against Julian are and are trying to strengthen them,” he said.
O'Hagan refuses attempts to silence Assange
London Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism command delivered a letter to O’Hagan last week saying FBI officers in Washington, DC, wanted to speak to him. “The FBI would like to discuss your experiences with Assange/ WikiLeaks as referenced in The Unauthorised Autobiography of Julian Assange and Ghosting,” the letter said, referring to the titles of the Assange autobiography and a 2014 essay by O’Hagan in The London Review of Books.
O’Hagan said that he was not going to give a witness statement against Assange, who he described as a journalist being pursued for telling the truth, adding that he would happily go to jail before supporting the US security establishment.
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He said he was surprised the FBI investigation was still ongoing and he believes the attempt to interview him “shows some desperation on their part”. “They are using the Espionage Act to victimize an organization that sought to hold governments to account,” he said.
While prosecutors claim that Assange "actively solicited" classified material and endangered lives by publishing the unredacted names of individuals who provided information to US diplomats around the world, Assange's supporters claim that he is being punished for publishing embarrassing information.
