Exclusive: Discs Swiss Banker Gave to WikiLeaks Held No Secrets

[Hissyspit]

Source: News And Insight

Exclusive: Discs Swiss banker gave to WikiLeaks held no secrets

7/11/2011

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - Two computer discs that a Swiss banker handed over to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with public fanfare last winter and that contributed to his arrest days later contained no secret banking data at all, two of the banker's associates have told Reuters.

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Martin Woods, a former Scotland Yard detective and bank compliance officer who helped put Elmer into contact with WikiLeaks and to organize the press conference, said Assange told him months ago that the discs contained no bank secrets. Assange "said to me one disc was blank and the other disc had no banking information on it whatsoever," Woods told Reuters. Assange did not respond to a detailed e-mail from Reuters, sent via an associate, requesting comment. He is not known to have said a word in public about the discs since January.

But Woods said that when he last talked to the WikiLeaks founder, Assange expressed "genuine concern about what had happened" to Elmer after he handed over the discs. Woods also said that Assange told him that Elmer had done what he did because he was under mental strain.

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Blum said it was "completely out of order" for Swiss authorities to detain Elmer without charge or trial for more than six months. "In civilized places, you don't hold people without evidence and without charges," Blum said.

Read more: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2011/07_-_July/Exclusive__Discs_Swiss_banker_gave_to_WikiLeaks_held_no_secrets

[Poll_Blind]

1. If the discs held no secrets, the Swiss authorities must have some guilty consciences to keep him...

...held without charges for 6 months!

PB

[No Elephants]

2. It's official. Governments are nuts. And the greediest governments are the nuttiest.