Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who has become one of the most vocal critics of Wikileaks, said today that while Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is definitely guilty of crimes, the New York Times may also have broken the law by posting some of those diplomatic cables.
“To me, the New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship,” Lieberman said on Fox News today. “Whether they’ve committed a crime, I think that bears very intensive inquiry by the Justice Department.”
Lieberman acknowledged that the idea is “sensitive” because “it gets into the First Amendment.”
Lieberman, the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, has taken credit for getting Amazon.com to kick Wikileaks off its servers and has warned other tech firms not to host the site either. (Amazon denies its decision had anything to do with Lieberman.)
Lieberman believes, he said today, that Wikileaks and Assange have violated the Espionage Act. He said Assange should be indicted by the United States and extradited from Britain.
He also wondered why Assange, an Australian citizen, hasn’t been charged with treason in the U.S.
“What do you think of the Justice Department’s actions so far not to charge Julian Assange with treason?” the Fox anchor, Jenna Lee, asked.
“I don’t understand why that hasn’t happened yet,” Lieberman said.
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