WikiLeaks tweeted early Monday morning that Julian Assange’s Internet link was severed by a “state party” and that “appropriate contingency plans” had been activated.
Julian Assange's internet link has been intentionally severed by a state party. We have activated the appropriate contingency plans.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 17, 2016
The Australian founder of WikiLeaks has been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for over four years and has been granted political asylum by Ecuador.
The WikiLeaks announcement came about nine hours after Assange posted three cryptic tweets referencing Ecuador, Secretary of State John Kerry, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
pre-commitment 3: UK FCO f33a6de5c627e3270ed3e02f62cd0c857467a780cf6123d2172d80d02a072f74
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
pre-commitment 2: Ecuador
eae5c9b064ed649ba468f0800abf8b56ae5cfe355b93b1ce90a1b92a48a9ab72— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
pre-commitment 1: John Kerry 4bb96075acadc3d80b5ac872874c3037a386f4f595fe99e687439aabd0219809
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 16, 2016
Via Fox News:
Gizmodo noted that the 64-character codes sparked a whirlwind of rumors that the 45-year-old Assange had died. Rumors on Reddit and Twitter said the numbers triggered a so-called “dead man’s switch,” which could be enacted in case Assange did die. Gizmodo reported that such switches do exist.
WikiLeaks hasn’t tweeted anything else about Assange’s Internet access or how it may have been “severed.”
Various U.S. officials and pundits have made threatening statements directed at Assange in the past. WikiLeaks tweeted in early October an alleged 2010 quote from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking if Assange could be killed in a drone strike, and, that same year, former Democrat strategist Bob Beckel said on Fox News Channel that “a dead man can’t leak stuff.” This month, “specific information” prompted Assange to scrap a dramatic London balcony address to celebrate WikiLeaks’ 10th anniversary.
Assange also has hinted that deceased DNC staffer Seth Rich may have been a secret source for WikiLeaks. Rich, 27, was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds to the back at a Washington, D.C., intersection in July. He died soon thereafter. Authorities believe Rich was the target of a botched robbery; however, odd circumstances surrounding his death have invited conspiracy theories.
The controversial anti-secrecy website has been busy in October, methodically releasing a trove of emails allegedly stolen from the gmail account of Clinton presidential campaign chair John Podesta. WikiLeaks had released just more than 12,000 emails of a purported 50,000 they have access to as of Monday morning. The Podesta emails have raised questions about a too-cozy working relationship between the Clinton campaign and some members of the media and has also shed light on how Clinton’s team handled various scandals.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the Podesta revelations were the “October surprise” Assange hinted his group would release in advance of the U.S. election.
There have been rumors that WikiLeaks is saving its most damaging information for last. To that end, conservative news aggregator Matt Drudge recently suggested that Hillary Clinton is about to get hit with a major sex scandal of her own:
https://twitter.com/DRUDGE/status/787326951920902144
Meanwhile, CNN’s Chris Cuomo warned viewers last week that it is illegal for them to possess emails leaked by WikiLeaks, suggesting that they cannot read them on their own and must rely entirely on the media to learn about their content.
Intelligence experts claim that WikiLeaks is a front for the Russian government. Officials in Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange back in February stemming from a 2010 visit he made to Stockholm where he was accused of sexual assault. He categorically denies the claims.
WikiLeaks’ alleged punishment comes as Russian state broadcaster Russia Today announced that its NatWest bank accounts in Great Britain have been frozen.
Via the Daily Mail:
Margarita Simonyan, 36, editor of the Kremlin-funded 24-hour television news network, tweeted this morning: ‘Our accounts in the UK have been closed. All accounts. “The decision is not subject to revision”. Long live freedom of speech!’
United States and Great Britain recently warned of economic sanctions against Russia and Syria if the Aleppo bombings continued.
On Saturday, former “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson visited Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy and brought him a vegan meal.
The WikiLeaks Twitter account continued to tweet as of Monday morning.
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