Wikileaks released a trove of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee just before the Dem convention in Philadelphia. The release caused fury and disruption, as Bernie Sanders supporters believe the emails show a DNC at work to undermine their candidate in favor of Hillary Clinton. The timing of the release was clearly meant to target the convention, where Sanders was set to endorse Clinton and build a bridge between the rival Sanders and Clinton factions. (Sanders did endorse, and powerfully, but the leak fueled protests.)
[WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Says Hillary Clinton “A Bit of a Problem”]
Julian Assange and Wikileaks have shown a powerful ability to acquire sensitive information. Wikileaks claims its goal is utter transparency, and that it’s M.O. is to expose information that will benefit the public’s knowledge — information that would otherwise be withheld by the powerful. But with the suspicion that Russia helped Wikileaks obtain the DNC emails and the further suspicion that the leak was a political move by Vladimir Putin to help Donald Trump’s candidacy, Wikileaks has been presented with an excellent opportunity to fulfill its charter. If it is a fair and balanced leaker, then it’s next move is self-evident. The IRS has proven to be a fairly easy target for hackers, admitting in February that more than 700,000 accounts had been accessed. If Wikileaks wants to to be seen as a equal opportunity leaker, it would release Donald Trump’s tax returns.
