CIA Director: WikiLeaks a ‘Non-State Hostile Intelligence Service’

Says He Finds Praise for WikiLeaks 'Troubling'

CIA Director Mike Pompeo today issued a statement harshly criticizing WikiLeaks, labeling the whistleblower as a “non-state hostile intelligence service,” and accusing Julian Assange of making “common cause with dictators.”

Pompeo went on to accuse WikiLeaks of repeatedly working with Russian intelligence, though as with most US allegations against WikiLeaks, offered no evidence to support this claim, even claiming that a Julian Assange alive during the 1930s and 1940s would’ve been “on the wrong side of history.”

Pompeo went on to rail against Edward Snowden for leaks complicating government surveillance, and saying that he found it “perplexing and deeply troubling” that some Americans were willing to praise WikiLeaks for leaking sensitive information to the public.

WikiLeaks was quick to point out that during the 2016 presidential campaign Mike Pompeo, then a Congressman had gone on Twitter linking to an article praising WikiLeaks for offering information damaging to the Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton.

Of course, more than a few current administration officials, including President Trump,, offered praise for WikiLeaks’ releases during the 2016 campaign. It is unsurprising that people eager for juicy details when they were in the opposition would turn on a whistleblower once they’re in power, but it is somewhat surprising just how quickly it happened.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.