A US District Attorney goofed when he inadvertently revealed that United States prosecutors have a sealed arrest order ready and waiting to serve if they ever manage to get their hands on Australian Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
In 2010 Wikileaks astounded the world when they published secret documents copied by a low level cypher clerk in the US armed forces who setup a recording device under the guise of listening to music and copied thousands of top secret documents that caused extreme embarrassment to the US government.
Assange claimed that the US was waiting to pounce with an extradition order when he was summonsed to appear in a Swedish court to answer a rape allegation. He fled to Britain and was on bail when Sweden pressed their demand for his presence, and in 2012 the government of Ecuador granted him asylum in their London embassy.
Since 2012 he has served his exile in a gilded cage. The Ecuadorean embassy has been guarded by a ring of British police and Assange would be arrested for that bail breach if he ever sets foot outside its protective perimeter. The US has kept silent on its intentions, but this slipup in a court application for an unrelated case let the car out of the bag.
Assange is now clearly a celebrity. He steps onto an embassy verandah to hold news conferences and regularly writes a blog. The US serviceman who enabled his document coup has served time in prison, been rehabilitated and had a sex change and is now a free person. The big question - if ever the US gets Assange in its clutches - is precisely what charges are possible under US law ?
The Obama presidency backed off because prosecuting Assange would be akin to laying charges against a news agency, and the US had been forced to admit that the documents were authentic. When Donald Trump gained office, his new attorney general, Jeff Sessions vowed to crackdown on all forms of government leaks. The US is now pondering whether it is possible to pursue Assange on conspiracy, theft of government property or violating the espionage act. Basically, Assange's role is akin to that of a newspaper publisher and the world press is likely to be supportive of Assange.
This inadvertent revelation has forced the US government to show its hand. Assange is correct with his claim that he faces prosecution and extradition to the US if he is arrested in a country with reciprocal extradition rights in force with the US. He has endured six years as a virtual prisoner in the embassy and he will probably remain there for the duration of Trump's presidency, with the hope that his successor will have a more reasonable stance.
If nothing else, this relentless pursuit sounds a clear warning to others with information they are thinking of publishing that may embarrass a government somewhere. The machinery of government can be relentless and unbending in the lengths it will go to enact revenge.
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