WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said yesterday’s dropped rape charge was “clearly a smear campaign,” as a consequence of WikiLeaks’ release of classified Afghanistan war reports last month. “The only question is who was involved,” Assange added, in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
Gavin MacFadyen, director of the Center for Investigative Journalism, stands by Assange’s suspicions: “A lot of us who had any notion of what he was doing expected this sort of thing to happen at least a week ago,” he said. “I’m amazed it has taken this long to get it together.” Swedish officials, however, said there was “absolutely nothing” improper about the warrant, and the whistle-blower is still under investigation for sexual harassment. Meanwhile, as the Pentagon weighs prosecuting Assange for the release of Afghanistan war reports, WikiLeaks is reportedly preparing to unleash another 15,000 military documents, so this might just be the beginning.
Julian Assange: Rape charge a ‘smear’ tactic to ruin me [NYDN]
