WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange activated a personal Twitter account this week, and quickly started trolling the U.S. intelligence community as intelligence leaks have rocked the Trump administration in recent days.
“Amazing battle for dominance is playing out between the elected US govt & the IC who consider themselves to be the ‘permanent government,'” Assange tweeted Tuesday.
Amazing battle for dominance is playing out between the elected US govt & the IC who consider themselves to be the ‘permanent government’.
— Julian Assange ⌛ (@JulianAssange) February 15, 2017
President Trump has found himself struggling to contain intelligence leaks in his first few weeks in office. On Monday, his national security adviser, Michael Flynn resigned amid the fallout from revelations that he misled the administration about his communications with a Russian envoy about sanctions, before the inauguration of President Trump. News outlets began reporting on Flynn’s Russia ties citing unnamed government sources.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that the president will launch an investigation into the leaks.
WikiLeaks played a significant role in shaping the outcome of the 2016 presidential election after it published hacked emails from Democrats, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, as well as Democratic National Committee officials.
U.S. intelligence officials concluded in a report released in early January that Russian operatives worked to tip the election in Trump’s favor by sharing emails it stole with sites like WikiLeaks, which then went public with the information.
Assange, who has resided in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, has denied that the Russian government, or any state party, was WikiLeaks’ source.
