Assange: US pushing "Digital McCarthyism" in assault on Wikileaks

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gave an interview with msnbc's Cenk Uygur today. During the exchange, Assange denies conspiring to commit espionage with U.S. Army Specialist Bradley Manning, as it is believed US prosecutors would like to charge. Assange says these claims are "absolute nonsense." Responding to Vice President Biden's claims that he is "a high-tech terrorist," the leaker-in-chief effectively accused the United States of terrorism—threatening violent, extralegal actions in its assault on Wikileaks.

Assange is nothing if not articulate, and it's remarkable to see him go on such a hard offensive like this.

"Europeans are starting to wonder if the US is obeying the rule of law," he continued. "When people call for illegal, deliberate assassination and kidnapping of others, they should be held to account. They should be charged for incitement to commit murder."

As an aside: Yesterday, Assange was quoted in a BBC News interview as saying that persons affiliated with Wikileaks have already been assassinated; it is presumed he was referring to the reported murders of 2 men writing for Wikileaks in Kenya in 2009. Today, he said "No one... in our four years has ever been physically harmed as a result of what we have done." I'm guessing he's referring to the fact that there have been no known killings of people named in the leaks, versus these two activists working to propagate the disclosure of information about corruption and illegal state activity, but — that could be clearer.

And as a further aside, Assange looks exhausted.

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