Well, it wasn’t us…The U.S. reportedly didn’t cut off Julian Assange’s Internet connection, according to a statement from WikiLeaks issued Monday.
Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who jumped into the spotlight in 2006 when he launched the controversial site and became even more notorious recently with the release of classified U.S. emails and documents, reportedly had his Internet connectivity cut on Saturday.
“We can confirm Ecuador cut off Assange’s internet access on Saturday, 5 pm GMT, shortly after publication of (Hillary) Clinton’s Goldman Sachs speechs (sic),” the statement from WikiLeaks said.
Speculation was rampant — had the U.S. finally cut him off? Although he has been residing in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for four years, there were those pundits who jumped to the conclusion that the long arm of the U.S. government, or American Intelligence, or, specifically, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, had somehow reached out and pulled the plug.
According to WikiLeaks, Ecuador cut off Assange’s internet communications at the behest of Kerry, but the U.S. Government denied the allegation.
“While our concerns about WikiLeaks are longstanding, any suggestion that Secretary Kerry or the State Department were involved in shutting down WikiLeaks is false,” explained State Department spokesman John Kirby. “Reports that Secretary Kerry had conversations with Ecuadorian officials about this are simply untrue. Period.”
Many speculated that the aforementioned publication of Clinton’s speeches – one more small gust in the hurricane surrounding the upcoming presidential election – was the impetus for cutting Assange off. After all, with so much controversy swirling around, Assange’s involvement just ups the ante on the scandal factor, adding to further voter distraction and dissatisfaction. Where is the focus on issues, many ask?
Ecuador, in some sense, validated the theory – although not US involvement – by citing their policy concerning political processes.
“The government of Ecuador respects the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other states. It does not interfere in external electoral processes, nor does it favor any particular candidate,” reads a statement from the Ecuadoran foreign ministry.
Regardless, WikiLeaks – and therefore Assange – have likely achieved their goal. Inserting the company and its founder into another controversial, high-profile situation can only result in more curious Internet users Googling both names, perhaps spreading the story via social media, and in the process, increasing the notoriety of each.
And here we are, contributing to the hoopla. Brings to mind that famous quote, commonly attributed to P.T.Barnum: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
