US attorney accidentally reveals feds have charged Julian Assange

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Justice Department prosecutors inadvertently revealed Thursday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been charged under seal in an unrelated case, according to a report published late Thursday.

The private matter was shared in a filing Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer sent to a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia in August, according to the Washington Post. Dwyer is also working on the WikiLeaks case.

“[D]ue to the sophistication of the defendant and the publicity surrounding the case, no other procedure is likely to keep confidential the fact that Assange has been charged,” Dwyer wrote, adding, “need to remain sealed until Assange is arrested.”

Eastern District of Virginia spokesman Joshua Stueve told the Post the filing was made by mistake and said Assange’s name was used by mistake.

However, others familiar with the case told the Post the charge against Assange had been filed.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has been looking into whether WikiLeaks obtained private emails from the Democratic National Committee and party officials from Russian operatives during the 2016 election.

The special counsel is also considering whether President Trump’s campaign, including his longtime friend Roger Stone, was involved in setting this up or another capacity.

Earlier Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported the Justice Department was getting ready to prosecute Assange and expects the U.S. government will be able to get him stateside for trial.

Assange, who is not a U.S. citizen, has been living in Ecuador’s London embassy for six years since he was granted political asylum.

Sources with knowledge of the legal developments told WSJ that Assange may face charges related to the Espionage Act, which prohibits the sharing of information related to national security.

Assange’s fate took a turn after Ecuadorians elected President Lenin Moreno last year. Moreno is no supporter of Assange. He has called him a “stone in our shoe” and said he did not know how much longer the South American country could let him stick around its British embassy.

This is not the former computer programmer’s first run-in with U.S. authorities. In 2010, he leaked classified documents Army soldier Chelsea Manning provided him.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the charges against Julian Assange are not connected to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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