Assange legal team cries foul over leaks from police investigation

The man who heralds himself as the vanguard of radical transparency has finally found an opacity he can support — himself.  Julian Assange’s legal team has demanded an investigation into the leak of documents from Sweden’s investigation of rape allegations after the Guardian reported on them over the weekend.  This is, of course, a Schadenfreude-tastic moment — but shouldn’t take away from the seriousness of the issue (via Yid with Lid):

In a move that surprised many of Mr Assange’s closest supporters on Saturday, The Guardian newspaper published previously unseen police documents that accused Mr Assange in graphic detail of sexually assaulting two Swedish women. One witness is said to have stated: “Not only had it been the world’s worst screw, it had also been violent.”

Bjorn Hurtig, Mr Assange’s Swedish lawyer, said he would lodge a formal complaint to the authorities and ask them to investigate how such sensitive police material leaked into the public domain. “It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his defence in a bad position,” he told a colleague.

“I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media. And I feel especially concerned that he will be presented with the evidence in his own language for the first time when reading the newspaper. I do not know who has given these documents to the media, but the purpose can only be one thing – trying to make Julian look bad.”

Substitute United States for Julian and diplomacy for trial, and that statement could just as easily be used to condemn Assange as well as the police in Sweden for their leaks.  If nations aren’t entitled to keep military and diplomatic communications secure, then why should Assange of all people claim that his own investigation have a higher standard of confidentiality?  Isn’t total transparency in government operations what Assange wants?  It’s a strange time to declare one’s support of modesty, and an entirely self-serving moment as well.

However, the attorneys have a point, which is that a probe into allegations isn’t the same thing as being charged, and that’s not the same thing as being convicted.  It’s as unfair to reveal the notes of an investigation that has yet to produce a charge as it would be to grant access to the media of the raw FBI files used to grant clearances to the kind of information Assange got from stolen materials.  A release of these statements from the victims also tends to taint a jury pool, especially since these statements have yet to be tested in court.

Defendants facing criminal charges have the right to a presumption of innocence.  Nations have the right to expect that their internal systems for communication will remain secure, whether that be for diplomatic or military purposes.  Not all transparency is beneficial, a lesson Assange appears to be learning the hard way.

Update: Rick Moran says Assange just wants to watch the world burn — and figures that a jail cell is as good a place as any for his ringside seat.

Update II: Yes, Sweden does have the presumption of innocence in its criminal justice system, although some want to change it for rape.

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