New York, New York – The Honorable John G. Koeltl, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, decided a motion brought by the CIA in an action against it by individuals alleging that they were wrongfully spied on while visiting Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In his 27-page decision, the Court refused to grant the CIA’s motion to dismiss the litigation, finding the claim that the federal government was involved in an illicit scheme to seize the Plaintiff’s electronic devices should continue against the CIA. In denying the CIA’s motion, the Court stated: “[t]he plaintiffs’ complaint contains sufficient allegations that the CIA and Pompeo, through Morales and UC Global, violated their reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of their electronic devices.” The Court went on to state that because “in an April 2017 speech, Pompeo ‘pledged that his office would embark upon a ‘long term’ campaign against WikiLeaks,’ ” there was sufficient reason for the case to continue.
Richard Roth of The Roth Law Firm, when asked about the decision, commented: “We are thrilled that the Court rejected the CIA’s efforts to silence the Plaintiffs, who merely seek to expose the CIA’s attempt to carry out Pompeo’s vendetta against WikiLeaks.”
