Report: U.S. Charges Unlikely Against Assange
Anonymous government officials are claiming the Obama administration has yet to decide on whether to bring criminal charges and attempt to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Speaking to Reuters, several unnamed officials said the likelihood of a case against Assange in the United States "is probably receding rather than growing." Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador last week to avoid extradition to face questioning on sex crimes charges in Sweden. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has said Assange would agree to go to Sweden if it could guarantee he will not be sent on to a third country. On Wednesday, Correa rejected calls from U.S. opponents of Assange and WikiLeaks to punish Ecuador for granting him asylum.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa: "The United States, in speeches, say they have nothing to do with the Assange case, but now senators threaten to 'sanction,' in quotation marks, Ecuador for granting asylum to Assange, removing tariff preferences. Keep your tariff preferences. And if you want a contribution from Ecuador for a course on ethics and training in human rights, use these resources."
