The lawyers, along with two journalists involved in the suit, are American and claim the CIA violated US constitutional protections for confidential discussions with Assange, who is Australian. The lawsuit alleges that the CIA worked with a security firm under contract to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where Assange was living at the time, to spy on the WikiLeaks founder, his lawyers, journalists and others he met. Assange is facing extradition from Britain to the US, where he is accused of violating the US Espionage Act by publishing US military and diplomatic records in 2010 about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Robert Boyle, a New York lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the suit, said the alleged spying by Assange’s lawyers means the WikiLeaks founder’s right to a fair trial “has now been tarnished, if not destroyed.” “There should be sanctions, even up to the dismissal of these charges or the withdrawal of an extradition request,” Boyle told reporters. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys Margaret Ratner Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek and reporters Charles Glass and John Goetz. They all visited Assange while he was living inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London under political asylum after he withdrew. The lawsuit names the CIA, former CIA Director and former US Secretary of State Pompeo, and security firm Undercover Global as defendants. The suit alleges that Undercover Global, which had a security contract with the embassy, scanned information on its electronic devices, including communications with Assange, and provided it to the CIA. In addition, he placed microphones around the embassy and sent recordings, as well as security camera footage, to the CIA, the lawsuit alleges. This, the lawyers claim, violated the privacy protections for US citizens. Assange is awaiting a decision on his appeal against the British extradition order to the US. The charges he faces could carry up to 175 years in prison. The lawsuit alleges that while Undercover Global screened security at the embassy, each visitor was required to leave their electronic devices with a security guard before seeing Assange. “Information contained on plaintiff’s devices was copied and ultimately given to the CIA,” it says. “Defendant Pompeo knew of and authorized the copying of information contained on plaintiffs’ mobile electronic devices and the covert audio monitoring of their meetings with Assange,” the suit alleges.
