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IPFS News Link • Wikileaks

Cryptome Founder Asks To Be Indicted With Assange

• https://www.zerohedge.com, by Joe Lauria

"Cryptome published the decrypted unredacted State Department Cables on September 1, 2011 prior to publication of the cables by WikiLeaks," John Young wrote in a Justice Department submission form, which Young posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

"No US official has contacted me about publishing the unredacted cables since cryptome published them," he wrote. "I respectfully request that the Department of Justice add me as a co-defendant in the prosecution of Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act."

Assange has been charged with possession and dissemination of classified information, some of the same material that Young possesses and disseminated. Young founded Cryptome, which he calls a "free public library" in 1996. It was a precursor of WikiLeaks in publishing raw, classified and unclassified government documents on the internet.

Young testified at Assange's extradition hearing in London in September 2020. His sworn statement says:

"I published on Cryptome.org unredacted diplomatic cables on September 1, 2011 under the URL https://cryptome.org/z/z.7z and that publication remains available at the present. … Since my publication on Cryptome.org of the unredacted diplomatic cables, no US law enforcement authority has notified me that this publication of the cables is illegal, consists or contributes to a crime in any way, nor have they asked for them to be removed."

'Harmed Informants'

A cornerstone of the Justice Department's case against Assange is that he recklessly published State Department cables leaked to him by Army Intelligence Analyst Chelsea Manning, which, the U.S. says, endangered the lives of named U.S. informants.

Young is asking the Justice Department why he too hasn't been prosecuted for publishing these names before Assange did. 


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