Anti-secrecy
group WikiLeaks says founder Julian Assange’s internet was shut down by the
Government of Ecuador, deflecting blame from the US or British governments who
have sparred with Mr Assange for releasing sensitive material.
Key points:
- WikiLeaks say they have “activated appropriate contingency plans”
- Organisation has posted thousands of emails that it says belong to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta
- Mr Assange refuses to disclose WikiLeaks’ sources for hacked messages
“We can confirm Ecuador cut off
Assange’s internet access Saturday, 5pm GMT, shortly after publication of
(Hillary) Clinton’s Goldman Sachs speechs (sic),” the statement from WikiLeaks
said.
The WikiLeaks organisation has posted what it said were thousands of
campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails this month, which included excerpts
of Mrs Clinton’s bank speeches.
Mr Assange has lived and worked
in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 2012, having been granted asylum there
after a British court ordered him extradited to Sweden to face questioning in a
sexual molestation case involving two female WikiLeaks supporters.
WikiLeaks said Mr Assange lost
internet connectivity on Sunday night.
“We have activated the
appropriate contingency plans,” added the Twitter message.
People close to WikiLeaks say
that Mr Assange himself is the principal operator of the website’s Twitter
feed.
Assange refusing to disclose
leaks source
Over the last two weeks,
Democratic Party officials and US Government agencies have accused the Russian
Government, including the country’s “senior-most officials”, of pursuing a
campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organisations ahead of the
November 8 US presidential election.
WikiLeaks has been one of the
most prominent internet outlets to post and promote hacked Democratic Party
materials.
Media player: “Space” to play, “M”
to mute, “left” and “right” to seek.
While denying any connection
with a Russian hacking campaign, Mr Assange has refused to disclose WikiLeaks’
sources for hacked Democratic Party messages.
Sources close to both the
Democratic Party and WikiLeaks say they believe WikiLeaks has acquired as many
as 40,000 to 50,000 emails hacked from the personal accounts of Mr Podesta, the
former White House advisor who now chairs Hillary Clinton’s presidential
campaign.
Despite Mr Assange’s complaint
that his internet connection was cut, WikiLeaks posted on Monday afternoon what
it said was a fresh batch of Podesta’s emails.
According to a summary of the
latest emails posted on Russia Today, a media outlet with close links to the
Russian Government, highlights include campaign staff discussions about “galvanizing
Latino support” and about how to handle media queries about Mrs Clinton’s “flip-flopping”
on gay marriage.
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