WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange secretly fathered two sons while living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, his partner, lawyer Stella Morris, has revealed.
Stella Morris, 37, says she has been in a relationship with Julian Assange since 2015 and has been raising their two young sons on her own.
The South African-born lawyer spoke out amid fears over the spread of Covid-19 in Belmarsh Prison.
Julian Assange, 48, has been held there since being dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy a year ago.
The Australian is now seeking bail amid concerns over his health.
Stella Morris told The Mail on Sunday she was revealing their union for the first time because his “life is on the brink” and she does not believe the WikiLeaks founder would “survive infection with coronavirus”.
In a video posted on Wikileaks’ YouTube account, Stella Morris says she met Julian Assange in 2011 when she joined his legal team.
Julian Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over an assault case that has since been dropped.
The Australian is also fighting extradition to the US on espionage charges.
Stella Morris says she visited Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy almost every day and “got to know Julian very well”. The couple fell in love in 2015 and got engaged two years later.
The lawyer told The Mail on Sunday that Julian Assange had watched both boys being born via video link and they had visited their father at the embassy.
She said that 3-year-old Gabriel and one-year-old Max speak to their father via video calls.
In the WikiLeaks YouTube video, Stella Morris says: “Forming a family was a deliberate decision to break down those walls around him and imagine a life beyond that prison.
“While for many people it would seem insane to start a family in that context, for us it was the sane thing to do, to keep things real.
“It grounds me and when Julian sees the children it gives him a lot of peace and nurture and support. They are very happy children.”
Julian Assange was arrested on April 11, 2019 at the Ecuadorian embassy and detained for “failing to surrender to the court”.
He was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions.
Julian Assange was due to be released from HMP Belmarsh in September 2019 after serving the custody period of his jail term.
However, a judge ruled that the WikiLeaks founder should remain in jail until his extradition hearing because of his “history of absconding”.
Details about the children with Stella Morris were seen by the Mail in court documents as part of his US extradition case.
Julian Assange is believed to have other children, although little is known about them. He has an adult son, Daniel Assange, who is reportedly a software designer in Australia.
Julian Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks,
has been arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The Metropolitan Police arrests Assange for
“failing to surrender to the court” over a warrant issued in 2012. He
is found guilty and faces up to 12 months in prison, as well as extradition
over US charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
Julian Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to avoid
extradition to Sweden over an assault case that has since been dropped.
At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on April 11, he was found guilty of
failing to surrender to the court.
Julian Assange now faces US federal conspiracy charges related to one of the
largest ever leaks of government secrets.
The UK will decide whether to extradite him, in response to allegations by
the DoJ that he conspired with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning
to download classified databases.
Julian Assange, 47, faces up to five years in US prison if convicted on the
charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
His lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said they would be fighting the extradition
request. She said it set a “dangerous precedent” where any journalist
could face US charges for “publishing truthful information about the
United States”.
Jennifer Robinson said she had visited Julian Assange in the police cells
where he thanked supporters and said: “I
told you so.”
Julian Assange had predicted that he would face extradition to the US if he
left the embassy.
After his arrest, the Australian national was initially taken to a central
London police station before appearing in court.
Dressed in a black suit and black polo shirt, Julian Assange waved to the
public gallery and gave a thumbs up. He pleaded not guilty to the 2012 charge
of failing to surrender to the court.
Finding him guilty of that charge, District Judge Michael Snow said Julian
Assange’s behavior was “the behavior of a narcissist who cannot get beyond
his own selfish interest”.
He sent Julian Assange to Southwark Crown Court for sentencing, where he
faces up to 12 months in prison.
The court also heard that during Assange’s arrest at the embassy he had to
be restrained and shouted: “This is
unlawful, I am not leaving.”
Julian Assange set up WikiLeaks in 2006 with the aim of obtaining and
publishing confidential documents and images.
WikiLeaks hit the headlines four years later when it released footage of US
soldiers killing civilians from a helicopter in Iraq.
Chelsea Manning was arrested in 2010 for disclosing more than 700,000
confidential documents, videos and diplomatic cables to the anti-secrecy
website.
She said she only did so to spark debates about foreign policy, but US
officials said the leak put lives at risk.
Chelsea Manning was found guilty by a court martial in 2013 of charges
including espionage. However, her jail sentence was later commuted.
She was recently jailed for refusing to testify before an investigation into
WikiLeaks’ role in revealing the secret files.
The indictment against Julian Assange, issued last year in the state of
Virginia, alleges that he conspired in 2010 with Manning to access classified
information on Department of Defense computers. He faces up to five years in
jail.
Chelsea Manning downloaded four databases from US departments and agencies
between January and May 2010, the indictment says. This information, much of
which was classified, was provided to WikiLeaks.
The DoJ described it as “one of the largest compromises of classified
information in the history of the United States”.
Cracking a password stored on the computers, the indictment alleges, would
have allowed Manning to log on to them in such a way as to make it harder for
investigators to determine the source of the disclosures. It is unclear whether
the password was actually broken.
Julian Assange had been in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012,
after seeking asylum there to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation.
The investigation into the alleged rape, which he denied, was later dropped
because he had evaded the arrest warrant. The Swedish Prosecution Authority has
said it is now considering whether to resume the inquiry before the statute of
limitations runs out in August 2020.
Scotland Yard said it was invited into the embassy on April 11 by the
ambassador, following the Ecuadorian government’s withdrawal of asylum.
Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno said his country had “reached its
limit on the behavior of Mr. Assange”.
The president said: “The most
recent incident occurred in January 2019, when WikiLeaks leaked Vatican
documents.
“This and other publications have
confirmed the world’s suspicion that Mr. Assange is still linked to WikiLeaks
and therefore involved in interfering in internal affairs of other
states.”
Lenin Moreno’s accusations against Julian Assange also
included blocking security cameras at the embassy, accessing security files and
confronting guards.
President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has released private Twitter correspondence with WikiLeaks after a publication revealed they had communicated shortly before his father’s election.
The Atlantic magazine revealed WikiLeaks had asked Donald Trump Jr. for co-operation and information.
WikiLeaks published leaks of Hillary Clinton campaign emails during the election.
Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyers handed the Twitter direct messages to congressional investigators.
The congressional investigation is one of several looking into allegations of Russian collusion and meddling in the US election.
The largely one-sided transcripts show the president’s son replied only a few times to a series of requests from Wikileaks.
In a series of tweets on November 13, Donald Trump Jr. played down his contact with WikiLeaks, referring to his “whopping 3 responses” which he said one of the congressional committees “has chosen to selectively leak. How ironic!”.
Messages show WikiLeaks appeared to have first contacted Donald Trump Jr. on September 20, asking if he knew the origin of an anti-Trump website.
Donald Trump son replied the next day saying: “Off the record I don’t know who that is, but I’ll ask around. Thanks.”
The Atlantic alleges Donald Trump Jr. then emailed senior officials, including Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to tell them WikiLeaks had made contact.
The correspondence between September 2016 and July 2017 shows WikiLeaks urging Donald Trump to share their Clinton files; asking him to supply his tax returns to WikiLeaks and advising him to challenge the result if he lost the election.
The Atlantic piece points out that while Donald Trump Jr. didn’t reply to later messages, timestamps from tweets show instances where he and his father appear to have “acted on its requests” by mentioning or sharing WikiLeaks stories shortly afterwards.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has criticized The Atlantic‘s story.
Julian Assange accuses it of selecting messages that were “edited” and failing to show the full context of the conversations.
He also said the messages were part of the group’s promotional efforts.
He wrote on Twitter: “WikiLeaks can be very effective at convincing even high-profile people that it is their interest to promote links to its publications.”
Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer Alan Futerfas told The Atlantic: “Over the last several months, we have worked co-operatively with each of the committees and have voluntarily turned over thousands of documents in response to their requests.
“Putting aside the question as to why or by whom such documents, provided to Congress under promises of confidentiality, have been selectively leaked, we can say with confidence that we have no concerns about these documents and any questions raised about them have been easily answered in the appropriate forum.”
These carried claims that the CIA had developed ways to listen in on smartphone and smart TV microphones.
The CIA, FBI and White House have declined to comment on the authenticity of the files leaked on March 7.
On March 8, CIA officials – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – told media that the criminal investigation was looking into how the files came into WikiLeaks’ possession.
The CIA has not confirmed whether the documents – said to date between 2013 to 2016 – are real.
Several of the tech companies whose products have been allegedly compromised by the CIA gave their first reactions on March 8.
Apple said it had already addressed some of the vulnerabilities.
“The technology built into today’s iPhone represents the best data security available to consumers, and we’re constantly working to keep it that way,” it said.
Samsung – whose F8000 series of TVs was reportedly compromised – said that “protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung”.
“We are aware of the report and are looking into it,” a spokesman from Microsoft said.
Google has also reacted to claims that the CIA was able to “penetrate, infest and control” Android phones due to its discovery and acquisition of “zero day” bugs – previously unknown flaws in the operating system’s code.
“As we’ve reviewed the documents, we’re confident that security updates and protections in both Chrome and Android already shield users from many of these alleged vulnerabilities,” the company told the news site Recode.
“Our analysis is ongoing and we will implement any further necessary protections. We’ve always made security a top priority and we continue to invest in our defenses.”
The World Wide Web Foundation – which campaigns for internet privacy – said the US government needed to issue a detailed response.
Details of what it is thought to be wide-ranging hacking tools used by the CIA have been published by WikiLeaks.
According to the documents, the alleged cyber-weapons are said to include malware that targets Windows, Android, iOS, OSX and Linux computers as well as internet routers.
Some of the software is reported to have been developed in-house, but the UK’s MI5 agency is said to have helped build a spyware attack for Samsung TVs.
A spokesman for the CIA would not confirm the details.
He said: “We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents.”
WikiLeaks said that its source had shared the details with it to prompt a debate into whether the CIA’s hacking capabilities had exceeded its mandated powers.
According to documents dated June 2014, the effort to compromise Samsung’s F8000 range of smart TVs was codenamed Weeping Angel.
They describe the creation of a “fake-off” mode, designed to fool users into believing that their screens had been switched off.
Image source Wikimedia
Instead, the documents indicate, infected sets were made to covertly record audio, which would later be transferred over the internet to CIA computer servers once the TVs were fully switched back on, allowing their Wi-Fi links to re-establish.
Under a “future work” section, it is suggested that video snapshots might also be taken and the Wi-Fi limitation be overcome.
Samsung has not commented on the allegations.
WikiLeaks also claims that as of 2016, the CIA has built up an arsenal of 24 Android “zero days” – the term given to previously unknown security flaws in code.
Some of these are said to have been discovered by the CIA, but others were allegedly obtained from the UK’s GCHQ agency as well as the NSA and unnamed third-parties.
Samsung, HTC and Sony devices, among others, were said to have been compromised as a result, allowing the CIA to read messages on Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram and Weibo among other chat services.
It is also claimed that a specialized CIA unit was set up to target iPhones and iPads, allowing the agency to see a target’s location, activate their device’s camera and microphone, and read text communications.
The CIA unit is also reported to have made use of further iOS “zero days” obtained from GCHQ, the NSA and FBI.
Other claims say the CIA:
was trying to find ways to infect vehicles’ computer control systems. WikiLeaks claims these might have been used for undetectable assassinations.
had found ways to infect “air-gapped” computers – machines that are not linked up to the internet or other insecure networks. Methods are said to have included hiding data in images or hidden parts of computer storage.
had developed attacks against popular anti-virus products
had built up a library of hacking techniques “stolen” from malware developed in Russia and elsewhere
WikiLeaks describes its release as the first in a series of planned leaks about the CIA’s cyber-activities, which it refers to as Vault 7.
The material had already circulated among hackers who used to work for the US government as well as contractors in an unauthorized manner.
Vice-President Joe Biden has told Donald Trump to “grow up” and criticized his attacks on the intelligence community.
On January 6, Donald Trump will be briefed on allegations that Russia meddled in the US presidential election – claims he has cast doubt on.
Joe Biden said it was “absolutely mindless” for Donald Trump not to have faith in intelligence agencies.
Russia denies hacking alleged to have helped Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.
On January 5, the president-elect questioned how intelligence agencies were confident about the alleged Russian hacking “if they never even requested an examination of the computer servers” belonging to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
In an interview with the PBS, Donald Trump: “For a president not to have confidence in, not to be prepared to listen to, the myriad intelligence agencies, from defense intelligence to the CIA, is absolutely mindless.
“The idea that you may know more than the intelligence community knows – it’s like saying I know more about physics than my professor. I didn’t read the book, I just know I know more.”
When asked what he thought of Donald Trump’s regular attacks on Twitter, Joe Biden said: “Grow up Donald, grow up, time to be an adult, you’re president. Time to do something. Show us what you have.”
Photo AP
The VP went on to call Donald Trump “a good man”.
Joe Biden said he had read a US intelligence agencies report outlining Russian involvement, the details of which are starting to emerge in media.
According to the Washington Post and NBC News citing intelligence sources, agencies had intercepted communications in the aftermath of the election showing senior Russian government officials celebrating Donald Trump’s win over rival Hillary Clinton.
US authorities had also identified Russian actors who delivered stolen Democratic emails to the WikiLeaks website.
NBC News says the alleged Russian hacking targeted not just the DNC but also the White House, joint chiefs of staff, the department of state and large US corporations.
An unclassified version will be made public next week.
Joe Biden said the report clearly details “that the Russians did, as a matter of policy, attempt to affect and… discredit the US electoral process”.
He said the hacking was part of a systematic campaign to undermine Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta was among those hacked on the DNC server.
On January 5, the Director of National Intelligence, Gen James Clapper, told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the hack, and said the motive would be revealed next week.
President Barack Obama last week ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the US over the alleged hacking. Russia has said it will not reciprocate.
Donald Trump has repeatedly rejected allegations that the Russian government hacked into the computers of John Podesta or the servers of the DNC.
On January 4, the president-elect repeated a suggestion that “a 14-year-old” may have been responsible for the breach.
On January 5, he said he was a “big fan” of intelligence agencies, after months of casting doubt on the Russian link, but later went on to raise questions over how the Democratic Party responded to the security breach.
Last week, Donald Trump said he would announce information about hacking “on Tuesday or Wednesday”, but no announcement came.
Donald Trump has backed Julian Assange in casting doubt on intelligence alleging Russian hacking the US election.
The WikiLeaks founder said Russia was not the source for the site’s mass leak of emails from the Democratic Party.
The president-elect has now backed that view in a tweet, writting: “Assange… said Russians did not give him the info!”
Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to accept the conclusions of the US intelligence community.
Several US agencies including the FBI and the CIA believe Russia directed hacks against the Democratic Party and the campaign of its presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The information, released through WikiLeaks and other outlets, was intended to help Donald Trump win the election, say the FBI and CIA.
Image source RT
On January 3, Donald Trump said an intelligence briefing he was due to receive on the issue had been delayed.
“Perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!” he wrote.
However, intelligence officials insisted there had been no delay in the briefing schedule.
In an interview with Fox News, Julian Assange repeated his claim that Russia was not behind the leak.
He also said a 14-year-old boy could have carried out one of the hacks, on the email account of Hillary Clinton’s aide, John Podesta.
In 2010, several leading Republican figures were calling for Julian Assange to be imprisoned after his website published thousands of embarrassing diplomatic cables leaked by former Army Pte. Chelsea Manning.
Donald Trump tweeted twice on January 4 in support of what Julian Assange said on Fox News.
However, the president-elect has previously been critical of the WikiLeaks organization.
When asked by a Fox News reporter in 2010 to comment on leaks, Donald Trump responded: “I think it’s disgraceful, I think there should be like death penalty or something.”
Donald Trump has made a fresh assault on America’s intelligence community.
The president-elect tweeted that an intelligence briefing he was due to receive on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election – which is said to have benefited Donald Trump – had been delayed.
He wrote: “Perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!”
However, intelligence officials insisted there had been no delay in the briefing schedule.
Image NBC News
Several intelligence agencies including the FBI and the CIA believe Russia directed hacks against the Democratic Party and the campaign of its presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, releasing embarrassing information through WikiLeaks and other outlets to help Donald Trump win the election.
The president-elect initially dismissed the claims as “ridiculous” but subsequently said he would meet US intelligence chiefs to be “updated on the facts of this situation”.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said once again on January 3 that Russia was not the source for the site’s mass leak of emails from the Democratic Party in the run-up to the US presidential election.
Meanwhile, Rex Tillerson has agreed he will cut all ties with Exxon Mobil and comply with conflict-of-interest requirements.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is being questioning by Sweden’s chief prosecutor about a rape allegation at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Julian Assange denies the allegation that he raped a Swedish woman in 2010.
Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren is listening as an Ecuadorean prosecutor puts the questions to Julian Assange.
The WkiLeaks founder took refuge in the embassy four years ago, fearing extradition. He says the relation was consensual and believes the allegations are politically motivated.
The accusations relate to a visit Julian Assange made to Stockholm in August 2010 to give a lecture.
Julian Assange has refused to travel to Sweden for questioning citing concerns he would be extradited to the US over WikiLeaks’ release of 500,000 secret military files on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
However, lawyers argue that his extradition from Sweden would be even less likely than from the UK.
He is accused of raping a woman, named in legal papers as SW, at her home in August 2010.
Swedish prosecutors dropped part of their investigation in 2015 because of a statute of limitations.
At the embassy Julian Assange is beyond the reach of the UK authorities. Sweden has issued an arrest warrant for him, which he has appealed against.
Shortly after Ingrid Isgren entered the embassy, a cat – said to belong to Julian Assange – appeared at one of the windows and began watching the journalists and Assange supporters gathered outside.
The cat has its own Twitter feed, which says it lives with Julian Assange and is “interested in counter-purrveillance”.
A statement on behalf of the Swedish prosecutors, quoted by the Press Association, said the investigation would remain confidential, including the interview at the embassy.
One of Julian Assange’s lawyers, Per Samuelson, said his client “is very happy that he finally will be given the opportunity to give his statement to the Swedish prosecution.
Ecuador has admitted it partly restricted internet access for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is taking refuge at its London embassy.
It said Julian Assange had in recent weeks released material that could have an impact on the US presidential election.
The country also said its move was not the result of pressure from Washington.
The US denied WikiLeaks accusations that it had asked Ecuador to stop the site publishing documents about Hillary Clinton.
Julian Assange has sought asylum at London’s Ecuadorean embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over assault allegations.
In a statement, the Ecuadorean foreign ministry said WikiLeaks‘ decision to publish documents could have an impact on the US presidential election.
It said the release was entirely the responsibility of the organization, and Ecuador did not want to interfere in the electoral process.
“In that respect, Ecuador, exercising its sovereign right, has temporarily restricted access to part of its communications systems in its UK Embassy,” the statement said.
It added that “Ecuador does not yield to pressures from other countries”.
WikiLeaks earlier said that Ecuador had cut off Julian Assange’s internet access on October 15.
The site has recently been releasing material from Hillary Clinton’s campaign, including those from a hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails.
WikiLeaks released transcripts on October 15 of paid speeches Hillary Clinton made to Goldman Sachs in the past, which her campaign had long refused to release.
The scripts reveal bantering exchanges with bank executives, which correspondents say may increase concerns among liberal Democrats that she is too cosy with Wall Street.
Hillary Clinton’s camp has claimed the cyber-breach was orchestrated by Russian hackers with the aim of undermining the US democratic process.
While Hillary Clinton’s team has neither confirmed nor denied the leaked emails are authentic, there have been no indications they are fake.
According to the latest leaked emails, Hillary Clinton told a Goldman Sachs conference she would like to intervene secretly in Syria.
The Democratic presidential nominee made the remark in answer to a question from Lloyd Blankfein, the bank’s chief executive, in 2013 – months after she left office as secretary of state.
“My view was you intervene as covertly as is possible for Americans to intervene,” Hillary Clinton told employees of the bank in South Carolina, which had paid her about $225,000 to give a speech.
Hillary Clinton – who is accused of being hawkish by liberal critics – added: “We used to be much better at this than we are now. Now, you know, everybody can’t help themselves.
“They have to go out and tell their friendly reporters and somebody else: Look what we’re doing and I want credit for it.”
John Podesta, the Chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, has said the FBI is investigating whether Russia was behind a hack on his private email.
He also suggested Donald Trump’s campaign was given advance notice of the breach.
John Podesta’s remarks come after WikiLeaks published a trove of his hacked emails.
Hillary Clinton’s top adviser said the enquiry was part of a wider probe into hacks on the Democratic Party by groups with Russian ties.
“I’ve been involved in politics for nearly five decades,” John Podesta told reporters aboard the Clinton campaign plane.
“This definitely is the first campaign that I’ve been involved with in which I’ve had to tangle with Russian intelligence agencies, who seem to be doing everything they can on behalf of our opponent.”
John Podesta pointed to a tweet by Donald Trump’s adviser Roger Stone in August that said Podesta’s “time in the barrel” was coming.
Image source Wikipedia
However, the tweet was posted shortly after WikiLeaks released thousands of hacked emails from other Democratic officials.
John Podesta also claimed Roger Stone has been in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but acknowledged evidence was “circumstantial”.
Roger Stone told the AP that John Podesta’s claims were “categorically false” while WikiLeaks tweeted that it “has had no contact with Roger Stone”.
John Podesta also speculated that the timing of the first WikiLeaks release on October 7 was intended to distract from the explosive 2005 footage showing Donald Trump making inappropriate comments about groping women.
The Clinton campaign has not verified the authenticity of the leaked emails, adding that they could have been altered.
Hillary Clinton’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri said: “The pattern is they hack, they leak truthful things, and then they build up to leaking documents that are either doctored or wholly fabricated.”
The latest batch of emails offer a glimpse into Hillary Clinton’s political network, suggesting that Donna Brazile, Democratic National Committee interim chairman, had given the nominee advance notice of a question she would be asked at a CNN town hall event.
Donna Brazile denied any impropriety on October 11.
US relations with Russia have taken a central role in the presidential election.
Last week, US intelligence officials said the Russian government was behind a series of hacks aiming to influence the presidential election.
Hillary Clinton has also questioned Donald Trump’s praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader, his connection to Russian businessmen and his criticism of the NATO alliance.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told CNN the hacking allegations were flattering but ridiculous.
When asked about Donald Trump’s comments about women, Sergey Lavrov said there were “pussies” on both sides.
The International Monetary Fund has dismissed reports that it is trying to push Greece towards default as “simply nonsense”.
“The IMF conducts its negotiations in good faith, not by way of threats, and we do not communicate through leaks,” IMF chief Christine Lagarde wrote in a letter to Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.
Christine Lagarde’s letter comes after Wikileaks published a transcript of IMF officials discussing bailout negotiations.
One says a “crisis” could force a deal.
Greece publicly demanded an explanation after the leak, suggesting the comments meant the IMF could be planning to deliberately prolong debt negotiations until the country was close to running out of money.
Christine Lagarde said the “incident” had made her “concerned as to whether we can indeed achieve progress”, but said she had decided to allow the IMF team to return to Athens to continue debt discussions.
However, the IMF chief also warned that the latest bailout deal was “still a good distance away”.
Christine Lagarde said that the IMF could only support a deal that would enable “robust growth” for Greece, while also allowing it to tackle its debt repayments.
In 2015, Greece agreed a multi-billion dollar bailout with the EU and IMF that was needed for the country to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone.
Talks between Greece, the EU and the IMF on a bailout review, assessing Greece’s progress at implementing money-saving reforms and aimed at unlocking further loans, are due to resume this week.
The review has been suspended twice since January due to disagreement among the lenders over the estimated size of Greece’s fiscal gap by 2018, as well as different opinions on pension reforms and how bad loans are being managed.
“In the interest of the Greek people, we need to bring these negotiations to a speedy conclusion,” wrote Christine Lagarde.
Greece has challenged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a leaked conversation in which top officials allegedly discuss the Greek bailout.
Wikileaks published a transcript showing top officials discussing ways of putting pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU to get them to wrap up talks.
One of those quoted suggests a crisis “event” may be needed to force a conclusion.
Further negotiations between Greece and its lenders are due next week.
In 2015, Greece agreed a multi-billion dollar bailout with the EU and IMF that was needed for the country to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone.
The Wikileaks conversation purportedly involves Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s Europe department, and Delia Velculescu, leader of the IMF team in Greece, the senior officials in charge of Greece’s debt crisis.
Poul Thomsen is quoted as complaining about the pace of talks on reforms Greece has agreed to carry out in exchange for the bailout.
“What is going to bring it all to a decision point?” he asks.
“In the past there has been only one time when the decision has been made and then that was when they were about to run out of money seriously and to default.”
Delia Velculescu later agrees: “We need an event, but I don’t know what that will be.”
Poul Thomsen also appears to suggest the IMF could pull out of the bailout to force German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to debt relief.
Such a move could be politically difficult for Angela Merkel, the key figure in the crisis.
“Look…, Mrs. Merkel, you face a question, you have to think about what is more costly: to go ahead without the IMF, would the Bundestag say <<the IMF is not on board?>> or to pick the debt relief that we think that Greece needs in order to keep us on board? Right?” Poul Thomsen says.
The IMF would not comment on the purported leaks but said its public position on the matter was clear.
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said: “As WikiLeaks revealed today, the IMF is planning to stall until July to bring Greece to its knees [again!] in order to force Angela Merkel’s hand.
“It’s time to stop Greece’s fiscal water boarding by an incompetent, misanthropic troika.”
WikiLeaks has published six documents taken from an old account belonging to CIA Director John Brennan.
The CIA has condemned the hacking of its director’s personal email account, describing it as a “crime” carried out with “malicious intent”.
The agency said there was “no indication” that anything classified was released.
However, the documents do include a draft security clearance application containing personal information.
They appear to all date to 2009, when John Brennan was seeking security clearance while applying for a job as a White House counterterrorism adviser.
John Brennan was working in the private sector at the time, having already spent 25 years working for the CIA between 1980 and 2005.
Photo AP
A high-school student claimed he was responsible for hacking the AOL account, telling the New York Post he was protesting against US foreign policy.
The boy’s Twitter account, which says he is 13, has published redacted images of what appears to be government information.
The documents published by WikiLeaks include a draft on national security challenges said to have been created in 2007.
The final, unfinished paragraph is headed “Damaging Leaks of Classified Information”.
A 2008 letter about interrogation methods is also included, appearing to be from the vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to his fellow board members.
WikiLeaks said it would release more documents “over the coming days”.
The FBI and the Secret Service are investigating the hacking. The CIA stressed that none of the documents released so far were classified.
“In fact, they appear to be documents that a private citizen with national security interests and expertise would be expected to possess,” a statement said.
High-profile leaks including a wealth of diplomatic cables from Wikileaks have dogged the US government in recent years.
The use of private email has become a major issue in recent months for White House hopeful Hillary Clinton, since it emerged that she had operated a private account while secretary of state.
John Brennan became director of the CIA in 2013, having spent four years as assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism.
President Barack Obama apologized to Japan after WikiLeaks claimed Washington had spied on Japanese politicians, a government spokesman said.
Barack Obama held a telephone conversation with Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe on August 26, spokesman Yoshihide Suga said, adding that the pair agreed to work together on global economic issues in the wake of a stock market meltdown sparked by fears over China.
“President Obama said he was very sorry… as the case caused a big debate in Japan,” Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference, without confirming the spying claims.
He added that PM Shinzo Abe reiterated his “serious concern” over the case.
“Prime Minister Abe told [Barack Obama] that, if the Japanese people concerned were subject to these activities, it would risk jeopardizing trusting relations between allies,” Yoshihide Suga said.
In an earlier conversation with VP Joe Biden, Shinzo Abe voiced similar concerns if the spying claims were confirmed.
Last month, WikiLeaks said it had intercepts revealing years-long espionage by the US National Security Agency (NSA) on Japanese officials and major companies.
Tokyo’s response has been widely seen as muted compared to the anger expressed in France and Germany following similar NSA spying allegations.
Japan is one of Washington’s key allies in the Asia-Pacific region and they regularly consult on defense, economic and trade issues.
Sweden will drop its investigation into assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on August 13 because of the statutes of limitation, the BBC reports.
Julian Assange still faces the more serious allegation of rape.
However, Swedish prosecutors have run out of time to investigate Julian Assange for assault because they have not succeeded in questioning him.
The Australian journalist and activist denies all allegations and has said they are part of a smear campaign.
Julian Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.
Under Swedish law, charges cannot be laid without interviewing the suspect.
Prosecutors had until August 13 to question Julian Assange about one accusation of molestation and one of unlawful coercion, while the time limit on a further allegation of molestation runs out on August 18.
The more serious allegation of rape is not due to expire until 2020.
An official announcement from the prosecutor’s office is expected on Thursday morning.
Julian Assange has always denied all the accusations and says he fled into the Ecuadorian embassy because he fears being extradited from Sweden to the US and put on trial for releasing secret American documents.
He has said in the past that he will not leave the embassy, even if the accusations of se* crimes are dropped.
The woman who accused Julian Assange of molestation and unlawful coercion – who is identified in legal papers only as AA – is said to be relieved that the case is now behind her.
Swedish prosecutors had initially insisted that Julian Assange be questioned in Sweden, but earlier this year – under pressure to advance the investigation – agreed that he could be interviewed in London.
The Swedish government has been unable to negotiate access with the Ecuadorian authorities, with both sides blaming the other for the impasse.
Lawyers for Julian Assange say the allegations of assault should have been dropped long ago.
He said he believed Julian Assange could clear his name over the rape allegation.
Sweden is expected to continue discussions with Ecuador over the terms under which the prosecutor could question Julian Assange over the remaining accusation.
The UK government has urged Ecuador to co-operate, stressing that the UK has a legal obligation to extradite Julian Assange.
The cost of policing the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge for the past three years now stands at around £12 million ($18.8 million).
US ambassador to Paris has been summoned by the French foreign ministry over claims that the US spied on President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors, officials say.
Whistleblower website WikiLeaks reports the NSA spied on Francois Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac between 2006 and 2012.
President Francois Hollande called an emergency meeting and said France would “not tolerate” acts that threaten its security.
The US said it would not comment on “specific intelligence allegations”.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, added that the US was “not targeting and will not target the communications of Mr. Hollande”.
The NSA has previously been accused of spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and on Brazilian and Mexican leaders.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has summoned US Ambassador Jane Hartley to discuss the latest claims, French officials said.
Jane Hartley is expected to visit the foreign ministry in Paris on June 24.
A statement from the French presidency said the US must respect a promise not to spy on French leaders. The statement came after an emergency meeting of security chiefs in Paris.
A senior French intelligence official is meanwhile expected to visit Washington to discuss the spying claims.
WikiLeaks began publishing the files on June 23, under the heading “Espionnage Elysee” – a reference to the French presidential palace.
It said the secret files “derive from directly targeted NSA surveillance of the communications” of the three French presidents as well as French ministers and the ambassador to the US.
The WikiLeaks files have now been published by France’s Liberation newspaper and the Mediapart investigative website.
One of the files, dated 2012, is about Francois Hollande discussing Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone. Another one – from 2011 – alleges that Nicolas Sarkozy was determined to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, possibly without US involvement.
A file dated 2010 suggests that French officials were aware that the US was spying upon them and intended to complain about it.
According to the summary of an intercepted exchange, the French envoy to Washington and Nicolas Sarkozy’s diplomatic adviser discussed Sarkozy’s plan to express his “frustration” over US unwillingness to sign a “bilateral intelligence co-operation agreement”.
Hundreds of thousands of emails and documents from a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014 have been now published by WikiLeaks.
The archive apparently includes Sony conversations with Downing Street and with Hollywood figures.
In November, Sony suffered a cyber-attack weeks before releasing The Interview, a movie criticized by North Korea.
Sony said it “strongly condemns” the WikiLeaks release.
“We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks’ assertion that this material belongs in the public domain,” Sony said in a statement.
The WikiLeaks dump includes more than 170,000 emails and over 20,000 documents.
After November’s hack, an unknown organization published the documents online, but it was not in an easily-searchable form.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange justified the publication by saying the documents show the inner functioning of a multinational company and are “at the centre of a geo-political conflict”.
The attack came just weeks before Sony was set to release The Interview about a fictional American plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea denied involvement in the attack but praised it as a “righteous deed”.
In December 2014, a group calling itself the “Guardians of Peace” threatened 9/11-type attacks on theaters showing the movie, spurring Sony to cancel the movie’s release.
Days later, amidst growing public pressure to show the movie, Sony bosses appeared to change their minds and said they would give it a limited Christmas Day release.
In January 2015, the US imposed new sanctions on North Korea in response to the attack. And, in April, President Barack Obama ordered the creation of a program that would allow the US government to sanction foreign hackers.
Julian Assange could be questioned by Swedish prosecutors at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Prosecutors had previously insisted on questioning Julian Assange in Sweden, after seeking his arrest in 2010, but now they offered to travel to London to question him over assault allegations.
Julian Assange, 43, denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since 2012.
The WikiLeaks founder fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could then be extradited to the US to face charges over leaking material.
The lead Swedish prosecutor explained the change of strategy by saying some potential charges against Julian Assange would expire under the statute of limitations in August.
“My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview,” Marianne Ny said in a statement.
“Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward.”
Julian Assange – an Australian journalist and activist – has not been formally charged, but Swedish prosecutors want to question him over allegations of rape and assault made by two women he met during a trip to Sweden in August 2010.
Marianne Ny said she had made a request to Julian Assange’s legal team to take a DNA sample from him in London, as well as conducting questioning.
His lawyer, Per Samuelson, said that request would need to be discussed, since his client had already left a DNA sample with UK police in 2010.
Ecuador offered Julian Assange asylum in August 2012, shortly after he sought refuge at the country’s embassy in London.
In November a Swedish appeals court upheld the warrant for Julian Assange’s arrest, but criticized prosecutors for not making enough effort to explore “alternative avenues” for interrogating him.
If he was extradited, Julian Assange would be detained upon arrival in Sweden.
Per Samuelson said leaving the embassy and travelling to Sweden still presented a risk for Julian Assange.
“If he leaves he loses his political immunity… he stands to end up in an American prison for 35, 40 years,” he said.
WikiLeaks has published thousands of secret documents, which have caused intense embarrassment for the US and lifted the lid on diplomatic relations.
Julian Assange co-founded WikiLeaks website in 2006.
The UK has spent about £10 million ($15 million) providing a 24-hour guard at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claimed asylum there, Scotland Yard figures show.
Julian Assange, who denies allegations he assaulted two women in Sweden, faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.
A WikiLeaks spokesman said the policing costs were “embarrassing”.
Deputy PM Nick Clegg said Julian Assange should go to Sweden and “face justice”.
Between June 2012 and October 2014, direct policing costs were £7.3 million ($11 million), with £1.8 million ($2.8 million) spent on overtime, police said.
Scotland Yard confirmed the cost of the operation to UK taxpayers in the first 28 months, until October 31, 2014, had reached £9 million ($13.5 million).
According to British police, the costs were covered by the budget for diplomatic protection, which provides policing for embassies in the UK.
The cost of a further three months policing is now expected to have taken the total bill to about £10 million ($15 million).
“It is embarrassing to see the UK government spending more on surveillance and detaining an uncharged political refugee than on its investigation into the Iraq war, which killed hundreds of thousands,” WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said.
Julian Assange has attacked Sweden, saying the country had “imported Guantanamo’s most shameful legal practice – indefinite detention without charge”.
In August 2014, Julian Assange indicated he would “soon” leave the embassy, where he has now been for more than 950 days, but he remains inside.
Swedish authorities want to question Julian Assange over allegations that he assaulted two women while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture in 2010.
A Swedish appeal court upheld an arrest warrant against Julian Assange in November 2014.
UK courts have repeatedly ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden to face questioning.
But Julian Assange fears he could be extradited to the US to face charges over the release of top-secret documents by WikiLeaks.
He entered Ecuador’s embassy in London after the UK’s Supreme Court dismissed his bid to reopen his appeal against extradition. He was then granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012.
Julian Assange has been warned he will be arrested if he leaves the embassy, prompting the 24-hour guard by Metropolitan Police officers.
An arrest warrant against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been upheld by a Swedish appeals court.
The Court of Appeal refused Julian Assange’s appeal for the detention order issued in 2010 to be revoked.
Julian Assange, who denies assault allegations, has sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London to avoid extradition.
If he is sent to Sweden, he says he fears charges in the US over the leaking of secret government documents.
Two women in Sweden accuse Julian Assange of assault.
Thursday’s court decision ruled on an appeal against a similar decision by a lower court.
“There is no reason to set aside the detention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason,” the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm said in a statement.
“The reasons for detention still outweigh the reasons to the contrary since Julian Assange is suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature and there is a great risk that he will evade legal proceedings or punishment if the detention order is set aside.”
The Ecuadorean government granted asylum to Julian Assange in 2012 after the UK Supreme Court refused to reopen his appeal against extradition.
Julian Assange has not been formally indicted in Sweden, but prosecutors want to question him over allegations of sexual misconduct and rape involving two women he met during a visit to the Scandinavian country in 2010.
He denies the allegations and has said they are part of a smear campaign against him.
Julian Assange fears that, if he were extradited to Sweden, he would be extradited again to the US, where he could face charges over the release of thousands of secret documents by WikiLeaks.
Chelsea Manning, an American soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the US for passing documents to WikiLeaks.
Julian Assange has suggested he will be leaving Ecuador’s embassy in London “soon”.
The WikiLeaks founder said he would be “leaving the embassy” after two years’ refuge but gave no more details.
Julian Assange, 43, is wanted for questioning over alleged s** assaults in Sweden and faces arrest if he leaves the embassy.
WikiLeaks spokeswoman Kristinn Hrafnsson later said the plan “as always” was for Julian Assange to depart when the UK “calls off the siege”.
“The world is not coming to an end,” Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters inside the embassy.
“The plan, as always, is to leave as soon as the UK government decides to honour its obligations in relation to international agreements.”
Julian Assange faces questioning by prosecutors in Stockholm over claims made by two women in 2010. He denies the allegations and sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in June 2012 shortly after the UK’s Supreme Court dismissed his efforts to block his extradition.
Since then police have maintained a round-the-clock presence outside the building, in London’s Knightsbridge, at a cost of £6.4 million ($10.2 million).
Julian Assange would be arrested and extradited if he left the embassy.
Speaking at the news conference, Julian Assange said: “I understand that Kristinn Hrafnsson has said that he can confirm I am leaving the embassy soon.”
He added it was not because he needed medical treatment, as had been reported in some of the UK press.
Julian Assange has suggested he will be leaving Ecuador’s embassy in London soon (photo AP)
Julian Assange says he fears he could eventually be handed over to the US because WikiLeaks published classified US military documents on the Afghan and Iraq wars.
However, UK courts have repeatedly ruled that he should be sent to Sweden to face questioning.
The UK first ordered his extradition in February 2011. Julian Assange launched a number of appeals, which culminated in the Supreme Court saying the extradition was lawful in 2012.
After that decision, Julian Assange, who had been on conditional bail, sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy.
He was then granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012 and the country’s foreign minister Ricardo Patino said he would continue to be offered “protection”.
Sitting next to Ricardo Patino at a news conference on Monday, Julian Assange said his health had suffered during his time inside the embassy.
Reports in UK newspapers at the weekend said Julian Assange had developed a heart defect and a chronic lung condition during his confinement.
The Australian said the reasons for him leaving were not those “reported by the Murdoch press” – but did not elaborate further.
Any argument Julian Assange could not be extradited because of his health was “almost certainly bound to fail” because Sweden has a good healthcare system.
Ricardo Patino said the Ecuadorean government would attempt to meet Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to discuss the case.
He said changes to the UK’s extradition laws had created a better climate for reaching a deal over Julian Assange.
“It is time to free Julian Assange. It is time for his human rights to be finally respected,” Ricardo Patino added.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman called on the Ecuadorean government to help “bring this difficult and costly situation to an end”.
The US Army will begin treatment for document leaker Chelsea Manning for her gender-identity condition.
Defense secretary Chuck Hagel has approved gender treatment for Private First Class Manning, who was formerly known as Bradley.
The move came after the bureau of prisons rejected the Army’s request to transfer her from a military facility.
Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking classified files to WikiLeaks.
The US Army will begin treatment for document leaker Chelsea Manning for her gender-identity condition
The soldier has been diagnosed by military doctors with gender dysphoria, the sense of one’s gender being at odds with the sex assigned at birth.
Following her conviction in July 2013 on 20 charges in connection with the leaks of military and diplomatic documents, Pte Chelsea Manning requested treatment including hormone therapy, and to be allowed to live as a woman.
A lawyer for Chelsea Manning threatened in May to sue the Army if she was not given gender change therapy in military prison.
Nancy Hollander argued the military had an obligation to treat the soldier’s “transgender issues”, and she would not be safe if transferred to a civilian prison for treatment there.
In April, a judge granted the soldier’s petition to change her name legally from Bradley to Chelsea, and according to a court filing by Pte Manning’s legal team, a military doctor at Fort Leavenworth had approved a treatment plan by November 2013.
The US military is required to offer medical treatment to its soldiers, but Pentagon policy prohibits transgender people from serving openly in the military.
Chelsea Manning will not be discharged from the military until she has finished her prison term.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier the policy on transgender service members should be “continuously reviewed” but has not said whether he believes the policy should be overturned.
A previous study by the Palm Center estimated there were 15,000 transgender US military members and 130,000 veterans.
Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage.
Last week, he apologized for hurting the US and for “the unexpected results” of his actions.
Prosecutors had asked for a 60-year sentence in order to send a message to future potential leakers.
Bradley Manning will receive a credit against his sentence of about three and a half years, including time he has already served in jail and 112 days in recompense for the harsh conditions of his initial confinement.
He could be eligible for parole in about 11 years.
On Twitter, WikiLeaks called the sentence a “significant strategic victory”.
In the military courtroom in Fort Meade, Maryland, on Wednesday, Judge Col Denise Lind declared Pte Bradley Manning would be demoted to private and dishonorably discharged from the US Army, and forfeit his pay.
While stationed in Iraq in 2010, the junior intelligence analyst passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange.
Bradley Manning has said he leaked the secret files in the hopes of sparking a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.
Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in WikiLeaks case
In a statement during the sentencing hearing, Bradley Manning told the court martial at Fort Meade, Maryland that “the last three years have been a learning experience for me”.
He said he mistakenly believed he could change the world for the better, and that in retrospect, he should have worked “inside the system”.
His defense lawyers are expected to make a statement later on Wednesday.
The verdict and sentence will be reviewed, and possibly reduced, by a military district commander and will be automatically reviewed by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
Bradley Manning may also petition the court for lenience during the appeals process.
He is expected to serve his sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International and the Bradley Manning Support Network have announced an online petition asking President Barack Obama to pardon Pte Manning.
The young soldier grew up in Oklahoma and in Wales, where his mother is from, and reportedly joined the US Army to help pay for college.
As an intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning had access to a large amount of very sensitive information, despite his junior rank. He deployed to Iraq in 2009.
A military psychiatrist testified that Bradley Manning had struggled with his gender identity and wanted to become a woman at the time of the leak.
Navy Capt. David Moulton testified that Bradley Manning had felt abandoned by friends and family and that his relationship with his boyfriend had hit a rough patch.
According to evidence presented by the defense, military supervisors ignored Bradley Manning’s erratic behavior, which included trying to grab a gun during a counseling session.
His lawyers said such actions had shown that Bradley Manning had not been fit for duty overseas.
Defense lawyers said Bradley Manning was treated unfairly in solitary confinement in Quantico, Virginia and in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait.
Bradley Manning told the court he remembered thinking: “I’m going to die, I’m stuck inside this cage.”
The leaks enabled WikiLeaks to publish sensitive messages between US diplomats and records of military incidents in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a cockpit video showing a US Apache helicopter killing 12 people in the Iraqi capital in 2007.
The revelations caused significant embarrassment to the US government, and US officials have said the disclosures damaged US relations with its allies and disrupted the war effort in Afghanistan.
Private First Class Bradley Manning has apologized for hurting the US by leaking a trove of classified government documents to WikiLeaks.
At a sentencing hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland, Bradley Manning, 25, said he had mistakenly believed he could “change the world for the better”.
And he said that in retrospect, he should have worked “inside the system”.
Bradley Manning faces up to 90 years in prison following his conviction in July on 20 espionage and other charges.
In an unsworn statement at the hearing in the sentencing phase of his court martial, Bradley Manning said: “I’m sorry that my actions hurt people. I’m sorry that it hurt the United States.
“I’m apologizing for the unexpected results of my actions. The last three years have been a learning experience for me.”
Last month, military Judge Colonel Denise Lind convicted Private Bradley Manning of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations.
Bradley Manning had already admitted passing hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while stationed in Iraq in 2010, saying in a pre-trial hearing he had leaked the secret files in order to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.
In his brief statement on Wednesday, Bradley Manning said he had come to realize he should have worked “more aggressively inside the system” to make the changes he sought.
“When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t go back and change things.”
Bradley Manning also said he understood he must “pay a price” for his actions, but hoped one day to go to university and have a meaningful relationship with his sister and other family members.
Bradley Manning has apologized for hurting the US by leaking a trove of classified government documents to WikiLeaks
The sentencing phase of the trial has focused on how much damage the WikiLeaks revelations caused. The prosecution has called witnesses who described the impact on US diplomatic relations and on the military’s dealings with Afghan civilians, among other effects.
Bradley Manning has said he never intended to harm US national security.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday the organization that received and published the leaked documents, WikiLeaks, said the statement was “extorted from him under the overbearing weight of the United States military justice system”.
“Mr. Manning’s forced decision to apologize to the US government in the hope of shaving a decade or more off his sentence must be regarded with compassion and understanding,” the anti-secrecy group said.
Ahead of Bradley Manning’s statement, Navy Capt. David Moulton, a psychiatrist, testified that at the time of the leak he felt abandoned by friends and family and had hit a rough patch with his boyfriend amid an isolating deployment.
The psychiatrist interviewed Bradley Manning for 21 hours after his arrest.
Bradley Manning had also decided he wanted to become a woman, Capt. David Moulton said.
In psychiatric terms, Bradley Manning has a “gender identity disorder”, or “disturbance of one’s gender”, Capt. David Moulton said.
This is different from being gay, he added.
“Gender is very much at the core of our identity,” he said, adding that when a person is uncertain about his or her gender, the whole world seems “off-keel”.
Bradley Manning referred to these issues in his statement, saying they were “ongoing” and “a considerable difficulty in my life” but no excuse for his actions.
Amid this turmoil, Bradley Manning also became disillusioned about the US War in Iraq and was trying to correct “injustices”, Capt. David Moulton said.
“Manning was under the impression that the leaked information was going to change how the world saw the war in Iraq,” the psychiatrist testified.
He added that Bradley Manning believed the leaks would ultimately end all war, and the young soldier was unclear about the extent of the punishment he would face for his actions.
“He underestimated how much trouble he would get in, for sure,” Capt. David Moulton said.
“He was really relying on his morals and his ideology and not thinking beyond that.”
Separately, an Army psychotherapist, who treated Bradley Manning while he was in Iraq, said he had begun the process to remove him from the military.
“He was having issues at work,” Capt. Michael Worsley said, adding Bradely Manning’s job as an intelligence analyst had made him even more isolated and anxious.
During treatment, the soldier sent Capt. Michael Worsley an email describing his desire to become a woman and his hopes military life would “get rid of it”, attaching a photo of himself with a blond wig and makeup.
Bradley Manning’s sister and aunt are also on the list of potential defense witnesses.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
