Security News > 2022 > August > CIA accused of illegally spying on Americans visiting Assange in embassy

The CIA illegally spied on US citizens while they visited WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, a lawsuit filed today has claimed.

A legal complaint [PDF], filed in New York City on behalf of four attorneys and journalists, accuses the spy agency of spying on the American citizens without their knowledge or consent in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights while they met Assange at the embassy.

During 2017 and 2018, the four American citizens and "Hundreds of others" visited Assange who was, at the time, seeking political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK capital.

Pompeo has also reportedly ignored a request from a Spanish court to testify for an investigation into claims the CIA and Trump administration plotted to assassinate Assange.

The scheme to snoop on Assange's visitors at the embassy got its start at a Las Vegas hotel, according to the lawsuit.

Part of the firm's duties included protecting Assange.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/08/15/assange_cia_spyware/