Time to put out an APB on Julian Assange

Marc Thiessen, in his latest Washington Post op-ed, points out that the U.S. not only has the right to shut down WikiLeaks, but to nab its founder, Julian Assange.

With appropriate diplomatic pressure, these governments may cooperate in bringing Assange to justice. But if they refuse, the United States can arrest Assange on their territory without their knowledge or approval. In 1989, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum entitled "Authority of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Override International Law in Extraterritorial Law Enforcement Activities."

This memorandum declares that "the FBI may use its statutory authority to investigate and arrest individuals for violating United States law, even if the FBI's actions contravene customary international law" and that an "arrest that is inconsistent with international or foreign law does not violate the Fourth Amendment." In other words, we do not need permission to apprehend Assange or his co-conspirators anywhere in the world.

This might seem to be an extraordinary thing to do; however, as Thiessen says, "WikiLeaks is not a news organization; it is a criminal enterprise."

Exactly so. Assange's goal is to undermine our nation's security. He ought to fit in just fine at Gitmo.

Read the whole thing.