Julian Assange Interview CNN - 2 year anniversary of Assange's imprisonment

THE DAILY NEWS.

Julian Assange to mark two years in Ecuadorian embassy best way he knows how — leaking documents

The WikiLeak founder sent a message to President Obama and U.S Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday, saying he has documents that threaten their legacy.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, seen in 2012, says he has documents that show President Obama has spied on journalist.Two years of being trapped inside an Ecuadorian embassy has not sweetened WikiLeaks wizard Julian Assange's disposition.Assange has vowed to post more diplomatic dirt online Thursday to mark the second anniversary of his imprisonment at the embassy in London.

Earlier, Assange hinted at what's to come, saying the soon-to-be-leaked documents are "in the field of international negotiations" involving some 50 countries.

Assange did not elaborate, but they are sure to include the U.S. and reportedly Canada and Australia as well.In a conference call on Wednesday, Assange sent a message to President Obama and U.S Attorney General Eric Holder.

"Mr. Obama, you must surely now start to reflect on what your legacy will be after two presidential terms," he said. "It must be at odds with a former professor of constitutional law to have a legacy … of being the President that conducted more espionage investigations against journalists than all Presidents going back to 1917 and the original issuance of the Espionage Act."

Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

Assange also called former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr a liar and said he's been watching the World Cup soccer tournament.

The WikiLeaks founder has been holed up in the embassy because he is wanted in Sweden for questioning about sexual abuse allegations.

Assange claims he is being persecuted for releasing a treasure trove of classified documents about NSA surveillance and military documents detailing U.S. actions in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

With News Wire Services

Click to expand...

19 June 2014 Last updated at 20:22 Share this pageEmail Print Share this page

Wikileaks founder 'fears for safety of family'Julian Assange speaking to the media at the Ecuadorean embassy in London. 19/06/2014 Wikileaks facilitated the leaking of thousands of secret American documents Continue reading the main story



The founder of the Wikileaks website Julian Assange says he fears for the safety of his family.

Speaking at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, Mr Assange said unspecified individuals had made threats against his children and his mother.He complained that he has been unable to see them in four years.Mr Assange took refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy two years ago to avoid extradition to Sweden.The authorities in Stockholm want to question him over allegations by two women of sexual assault.Mr Assange said he would remain in the embassy until the impasse over his future was broken.

He said his lawyers had advised him there was still a "serious risk" he would be extradited to the United States if he gave up political asylum.

"It would be foolish to relinquish my asylum in light of what happened to Chelsea Manning," he said.

Chelsea Manning, an American soldier formerly known as Bradley, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the US for passing thousands of secret documents to the Wikileaks website.

The leaks caused intense embarrassment of the US and other governments.

Click to expand...