Wikileaks remains a favorite target of lawmakers, who variously have introduced legislation against leaking the names of confidential government informants, criticized the Justice Department for dithering on the question of prosecution, and, now, seeking to impose economic sanctions on the whistleblower site.
The latest comes from Rep. Pete King, the New York Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, King calls for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to be added to the department’s Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List.
That move would put Wikileaks in the company of known terrorist and criminal organizations, and prohibit individuals or businesses under U.S. jurisdiction from doing business with the site or anyone associated with it.
King’s appeal follows legislation he and several members of the Senate introduced in December that would criminalize the publication of the names of protected informants.
In his letter, King warns that Assange is gearing up to release more documents that could threaten U.S. national security. Datamation has the latest on the war on Wikileaks in Washington.