The Lawspeaker
12-18-2010, 10:25 PM
The Wikileaks project has been officially cleared of breaking Australian law.
The Australian Federal Police today said an investigation which began November 30 had detected no offences.
This finding is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Julia Gillard who initially said the leaking of confidential cables to Washington from the US Embassy in Canberra was illegal.
Ms Gillard later modified her position by saying the leaks had been based on an illegality - the original downloading of the diplomatic messages by a junior American soldier.
Attorney General Rob McClelland directed the AFP to examine "the matter relating to the publishing of United States (US) embassy cables containing classified information on the WikiLeaks website".
The police today said: "The AFP examined material relevant to potential Australian offences to determine whether an official investigation was warranted.
"The AFP has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction.
"Where additional cables are published and criminal offences are suspected, these matters should be referred to the AFP for evaluation."
Cables published so far have established that the Australian public was given a rosier outlook on our military involvement in Afghanistan than our leaders, particularly current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, held in private.
It has also been revealed that when Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was looking at taking the top job after two or three elections, according to a junior MP.
Most of the revelations have been embarrassing to the Government, and less frequently to the Liberals.
Source: Courier Mail (http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/wikileaks-cleared-of-breaking-australian-law/story-e6freonf-1225972732042?from=public_rss) (17 December 2010)
The Australian Federal Police today said an investigation which began November 30 had detected no offences.
This finding is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Julia Gillard who initially said the leaking of confidential cables to Washington from the US Embassy in Canberra was illegal.
Ms Gillard later modified her position by saying the leaks had been based on an illegality - the original downloading of the diplomatic messages by a junior American soldier.
Attorney General Rob McClelland directed the AFP to examine "the matter relating to the publishing of United States (US) embassy cables containing classified information on the WikiLeaks website".
The police today said: "The AFP examined material relevant to potential Australian offences to determine whether an official investigation was warranted.
"The AFP has completed its evaluation of the material available and has not established the existence of any criminal offences where Australia would have jurisdiction.
"Where additional cables are published and criminal offences are suspected, these matters should be referred to the AFP for evaluation."
Cables published so far have established that the Australian public was given a rosier outlook on our military involvement in Afghanistan than our leaders, particularly current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, held in private.
It has also been revealed that when Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was looking at taking the top job after two or three elections, according to a junior MP.
Most of the revelations have been embarrassing to the Government, and less frequently to the Liberals.
Source: Courier Mail (http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/wikileaks-cleared-of-breaking-australian-law/story-e6freonf-1225972732042?from=public_rss) (17 December 2010)