Julian Assange Rape Inquiry Is Dropped but His Legal Problems Remain Daunting
Even after American officials said the emails had been given to WikiLeaks by hackers working for Russian intelligence, Mr. Trump read them aloud at rallies
and declared, "I love WikiLeaks!" — infuriating American intelligence officials.
Sweden was dropping the inquiry, Ms. Ny said, because she simply saw no way forward
and "we don’t make any statement of guilty or not." Should Mr. Assange enter Sweden before August 2020, when the statute of limitations expires for the last remaining allegation, of minor rape, she said, the investigation could be reopened.
He could be arrested in London for other reasons —
and may possibly risk extradition to the United States — if he left the sanctuary of Ecuador’s embassy.
In a statement, Mr. Long said: "Given that the European arrest warrant no longer holds, Ecuador will now be intensifying its diplomatic efforts with the U.K. so
that Julian Assange can gain safe passage, in order to enjoy his asylum in Ecuador." But Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks still pose a legal and political quandary for the Trump administration.
" he said in an online news conference in January, "provided my rights are respected." Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who worked with Edward J. Snowden and is among those more ambivalent now about Mr. Assange, summarized the dilemma on Friday.
that I’ve always been willing to go to the United States,
Most uncertain for Mr. Assange is whether the United States has issued a secret arrest
and extradition warrant in connection with his assistance to Chelsea Manning, who was released from prison this week after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, in stealing and revealing United States secrets.
director, Mike Pompeo, said WikiLeaks was operating like "a hostile intelligence service" and
that Mr. Assange was "a fraud." Mr. Trump equivocated when asked in a recent interview with The Associated Press whether he still supported Mr. Assange.