
Julian Assange Indictment (2018) - infodocket
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1153486/download
======
koolba
> “...Manning did not have administrative-level privileges and used special
> software, namely a _Linux operating system_ , to access the computer
> file...”

Clearly only hackers would use a hacker operating system like Linux.

~~~
0815test
First of all, Manning was trying to crack a system, which has nothing to do
with hacking, properly understood. Secondly, they obviously mean "special" in
that she was _not_ expected to use Linux in connection with her duties - much
less to boot a system running some other OS. The context is what makes this
"special".

~~~
ASalazarMX
> trying to crack a system, which has nothing to do with hacking, properly
> understood

As much as I'd like that distinction to be made, I think that boat sailed a
long time ago. I think the public has a clearer distinction between
white/gray/black hat hackers than between hackers/crackers.

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DontGiveTwoFlux
The indictment charges that he conspired to crack passwords on government
computers. It appears that the free press protections extend to only accepting
documents, and not pursuing of them. This makes sense to me on its face.
Newspapers reporters hacking into government networks goes beyond reporting,
and should not be journalistically protected.

~~~
hjk05
Honestly I’d rather live in a world where those who expose government
conspiracies and corruption are protected than one where they are held to the
letter of a law.

------
carnagii
> Manning, who had access to the computers in connection with her duties as an
> intelligence analyst

they are gendering her correctly. at least we have a progressive politically
correct Stasi.

~~~
alexgmcm
We have finally arrived at Jello Biafra's suede denim secret police.

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celticninja
Wow, seems pretty flimsy, compared to the effort they are putting in. But they
need a head for the chopping block and the higher the profile the better the
fit.

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peteradio
How will this play out I wonder? I thought the current admin "loved
wikileaks".

~~~
marpstar
Almost certainly done so that Assange can be brought to USA for testimony in
the fallout of the failed Mueller probe. Calling it now: Assange will walk
free.

~~~
peteradio
What is the failed Mueller probe?

~~~
mrguyorama
I assume they mean the same one that secured over ten convictions and secured
something like $20 billion in fines and recovered illegal value

~~~
jessaustin
Fines? Can we see that receipt? I didn't take Papadopoulos for a wealthy
man...

~~~
belltaco
Was $20 million, it was for Manafort's tax evasion on about $75 million in
unreported lobbying income.

>Judge T.S. Ellis ordered Manafort to pay restitution of $6M-$25M

~~~
jessaustin
Eh, three orders of magnitude, close enough for deep-state work...

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jtokoph
I wonder if they would count the years trapped in the embassy as time served.

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cedivad
So what's the maximum sentence for this?

~~~
ryanlol
10 years, not sure how the sentencing guidelines will play out here.

~~~
znebby
I read it is only 5 years [1].

In which case voluntarily staying in the Ecuadorian embassy for 6 years seems
to be a miscalculation.

(At least, staying beyond the point that the Swedish rape charges were
dropped).

1: [https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/wikileaks-founder-
charg...](https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/wikileaks-founder-charged-
computer-hacking-conspiracy)

~~~
mrguyorama
I believe his fear was being locked up in gitmo. I think it was a valid fear.

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deiznof
Looking at what he has charged with (1030(a)(1), 1030(a)(2))...how would those
charges stick? He failed to actually access anything.

~~~
JdeBP
Read the top of the very first page. It is a _conspiracy_ charge. This is made
clear on pages 4, 5, and 6 as well.

Then read 18 USC 1030(b).

~~~
franey
Link for the lazy:

[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030)

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peteradio
Why is this a scan?

~~~
Tomte
Because surprisingly, the real indictment is on real paper. With a real
signature and a real stamping on it.

~~~
jessaustin
Was it typed on a "real" typewriter? Because otherwise, this pretext is
bullshit. If it's not searchable it's not really available to the public.

~~~
Tomte
Probably not.

But still, I don't understand your view. It's six pages, double-spaced, for
God's sake! And you can run OCR on it (and republish it).

There are many other things I'd be concerned about first, when it comes to
"available to the public".

~~~
jessaustin
Lots of people will do that. Wikileaks included, probably. It is still the
case that DoJ went to extra effort to print out and rescan an electronic file
they already had in electronic form. They did that for an obvious reason; this
document falls embarrassingly short of even DoJ's already low standards. Most
DoJ personnel are not rabid centrist Democrats. The sooner everyone forgets
about this tawdry episode, the happier they'll be.

~~~
mrguyorama
I'm pretty sure this is just SOP at the DoJ. Where any of Muller's indictments
released digitally?

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ryanlol
>Assange agreed to assist Manning in cracking a password stored on United
States Department of Defense computers

This is all there is to it. Assange offered to crack a NTLM hash given to him
by Manning, and apparently failed.

It certainly didn't take the government 8 years to investigate this, this is
obviously a politically motivated prosecution.

This was widely known for close to a decade
[https://www.wired.com/2011/12/army-manning-
hearing/](https://www.wired.com/2011/12/army-manning-hearing/) but somehow the
indictment is only dated 2018.

Donate to the wikileaks defense fund
[https://defend.wikileaks.org/donate/](https://defend.wikileaks.org/donate/)

~~~
tingol
What's with the downvotes? Can I hear a different opinion?

An hour ago a lot of people here were like:

\- He's just charged with skipping bail, innocent people shouldn't run, UK
won't extradite him

\- He's charged with sexual assault, innocent people don't run from that
Sweden won't extradite him

Well, now we know what's up...

~~~
ryanlol
The almost decade long defamation campaign to silence Assange has worked to
the point where I might as well be defending a pedophile, yet all the DOJ
could come up with was cracking a hash.

~~~
sky_rw
From what I've been reading lately, thats all they need to come up with. The
useful idiots have already rendered their verdict.

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wallace_f
So if you use your computer to read the Guardian or NYT reporting on NSA
surveillance, you can be charged with 'Unauthorized use of a computet?'

Or only primary source docs? Ok then, if so, when are they arrestint all those
NYT, etc, reporters?

