Treasury Dept. Won't Put Wikileaks On Terrorist List; Tells Rep. King It Doesn't Meet The Criteria

from the not-everyone's-crazy dept

Fri, Jan 14th 2011 2:24pm — Mike Masnick

Following the request by Rep. Peter King that the Treasury Department list Wikileaks and Julian Assange on various terrorist/organized crime lists, which would prohibit US companies from dealing with them, the Treasury Department has, quite reasonably, said it will not do that. A spokesperson noted that there is not nearly enough evidence for such a designation:

"We do not have evidence at this time as to Jullian Assange or WikiLeaks meeting criteria under which OFAC [the Office of Foreign Assets Control] may designate persons and place them on the SDN [Specially Designated Nationals] list."

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Filed Under: peter king, treasury department, wikileaks
Companies: wikileaks

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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:36pm

I have a feeling that somebody at treasury is going to get a call from someone at the justice department.
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- Dark Helmet (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:46pm
  
  Re:
  I have a feeling that if you knew the history of the Treasury department and its responses to intergovernmental attempts at pressure, you'd agree with me that such a call would result in the Treasury rep asking Justice why don't they collectively go outside and play hide and go fuck themselves....
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  - Revi (profile), 15 Jan 2011 @ 1:18am
    
    Re: Re:
    So... you have spare resources to harass Treasury but can't even come up with a charge... Which section are you from? We need to re-examine your budget...
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- Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 3:05pm
  
  Re:
  Yeah, I can see the conversation now.
  
  Justice: "Hey...so...can you guys figure out anything to charge Wikileaks with?"
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  - Black Patriot (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 7:23pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Treasury: "Isn't that your job?"
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Zacqary Adam Green (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:44pm

As a constituent of Peter King, I take great joy in the fact that dat bitch done got told.
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MrWilson, 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:44pm

I suspect the keepers of the political douchebag list won't reject requests to add Representative King to their esteemed (steaming?) ledger.
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Anonymous Poster, 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:46pm

[ ] Told
[ ] Damned Told
[X] Sit Down and Shut Up
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- Hephaestus (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 5:25pm
  
  Re:
  [X] Shit down and shut the fu@k up
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Eri, 14 Jan 2011 @ 2:47pm

Well, duh. It is unreasonable infringement of the freedom of speech to apply sanctions to Wikileaks supporters in such a manner. Plus putting such organizations on the same level as terrorists can very well make them such...
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- Christopher (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 8:24pm
  
  Re:
  Wikileaks, even if they were put on these lists, wouldn't be a terrorist organization and would have a golden ticket to a lawsuit against the government, which if the courts reviewed some OTHER terrorist organization deemings.... might overturn those as well.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 3:06pm

Followup post on The Hill's Blog
Following up on the post linked above, The Hill now has a new entry up, �Chairman King: Treasury should 'explain' itself on WikiLeaks� (01/14/11 03:21)

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-N.Y.) called on the Treasury Department on Friday to explain why it will not place sanctions on WikiLeaks, barring U.S. corporations from doing business with the organization and its founder.

[...more...]
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Karl (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 3:29pm

Thank you
The office within the Treasury Department is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

They can be reached at ofac_feedback@do.treas.gov.

I think it would be a good thing if all of us wrote them a "Thank You" note. I'm betting the Treasury Department does not get many of those...
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- skrea, 14 Jan 2011 @ 3:59pm
  
  Re: Thank you
  Karl, thanks for the email address. Just sent a "Thank You" for maintaining the credibility of the list and not succumbing to ignorance and political grandstanding, and I'd urge others to do the same. Quite often it's only the idiots and extremists that take the time to express their opinions, and hence it appears that they're a larger portion of the population that they actually are.
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- Karl (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 4:07pm
  
  Re: Thank you
  Email sent:
  
  Dear sir or madam,
  
  My name is Karl Giesing. I'm a U.S. citizen who has been following the Wikileaks story in the news. I do not have any connection to Wikileaks or its members.
  
  According to many news outlets, on Wednesday, Rep. Peter King asked your department to add Wikileaks to the Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List. Today, your office replied that it would not do so, citing the fact that Wikileaks does not meet the necessary criteria.
  
  I am writing this email to THANK YOU for your decision. Whether you support Wikileaks or not, it is clearly a publisher of "whistleblower" information, acting no differently than the New York Times did when it published the "Pentagon Papers." To claim that "Wikileaks poses a clear and present threat to U.S. national interests," as if it were a terrorist organization, is political demagoguery at its worst.
  
  According to a story published today in The Hill, Rep. King has asked you to "explain [your] reasons to the American people." I cannot speak for all Americans, but this american believes it is Rep. King who has to explain his reasons.
  
  Again, I wish to thank you for your wise decision, and hope you continue to stand up for the rule of law in the face of irrational fear.
  
  Let's hope I didn't just put myself on some "do not fly" list.
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  - Hephaestus (profile), 15 Jan 2011 @ 1:23pm
    
    Re: Re: Thank you
    "Let's hope I didn't just put myself on some "do not fly" list."
    
    Naw, you will just get singled out and groped at the airport. ;)
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    - Atkray (profile), 16 Jan 2011 @ 8:55pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Thank you
      I don't plan on going through any airports, I'll risk it Email sent.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 3:32pm

Not a Terrorist Organization?
Huh? Rep. King SAID it's a terrorist organization! How much more do you need?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 4:01pm

2005 article
"Since the late 1970s, a Long Island congressman, Peter King, has been aligned with one of the most violent terrorist groups in recent European history, defying critics in his own Republican Party and elsewhere, and yet managing to prosper."

http://www.nysun.com/national/rep-king-and-the-ira-the-end-of-an-extraordinary/15853/

That's just JonStewartizable.
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Ronald J Riley (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 5:08pm

Biggest ripoff and con game in the history of America is more important
Finally, a glimmer of common sense from our government. Virtually all of their problems with this have been self inflicted and demonstrate gross incompetence.

Our government has more important things to worry about than the petty crap which has been exposed by Wikileaks.

How about nailing the bankers who have pulled one of the biggest ripoffs and con games in the history of America?

Ronald J. Riley,

President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org

Other Affiliations:
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.PatentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Jan 2011 @ 5:55pm

Interesting...
I saw that list once, seemed fairly random who was one it. And as I recall there was some issue of wrong people getting on it and there being no appeal process. Wonder what the "criteria" are?
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javabean, 14 Jan 2011 @ 6:19pm

i sent one too
yes i got off my lazy ass and typed them a nice lil email about how thankful i was for telling that.....politician.... to "sit down shut up".

do you think those so called politicians would like receiveing thank you emails from all of us here "but only to the politicians of our jurisdiction" thanking/berating them for things??

sounds like a good way to actually let these politicians know why they are incompetent/smart for the decisions we send them comments on
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Hephaestus (profile), 14 Jan 2011 @ 8:37pm

ROFL ... This is really funny.

Hey look a messenger. Lets kill him!

Hand me that piece of paper over there and I will beat Julian to death for being a reporter. Yeah that paper labeled US constitution.

I will start with the page with the 1st amendement. Then use the 4th and 14th on him.

That will learn him. Let me roll it up first so no one can read it while I beat him to death with it though. No one will notice what I am doing, I mean it doesn't matter that one in six people on the planet is online and watching.
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shanewoods (profile), 15 Jan 2011 @ 1:55am

re
I would have loved to see king's face when treasury told him to Fuck himself. King: I've been a congressman since 1993. How dare you tell me NO!!! thank Christ Bush isn't in power, Wikileaks would have been named the minute Collateral Murder hit You tube!
anyway. Those thinking people from around the world think that Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld and Rice are the REAL terrorists.
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Androgynous Cowherd, 15 Jan 2011 @ 5:36pm

Good.
Because this "Specially Designated Nationals" list sounds evil.

The US Government has a law on the books that allows it to arbitratrily blackball any businessperson?

Now if this was something that could only ever happen as a court-ordered sentence following a criminal conviction, that might be one thing. But apparently one could end up on such a list without a trial or due process of law.
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