Journalists sue CIA, Pompeo over Assange visit

Pedro PARDO AFP WASHINGTON - A group of journalists and lawyers sued the CIA and its former director Mike Pompeo over allegations that the intelligence agency spied on them when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his stay in Ecuador's embassy in London.

The lawsuit said that the CIA under Pompeo violated the privacy rights of American journalists and lawyers by allegedly spying on them. The plaintiffs include journalists Charles Glass and John Goetz and attorneys Margaret Kunstler and Deborah Hrbek, who have represented Assange.

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The United States Constitution protects American citizens from the US government's overreach even when activities take place in a foreign embassy in a foreign country, said Richard Roth, lead attorney for the plaintiffs.

The CIA, which has not commented on the lawsuit, is not allowed to collect intelligence on US citizens, although several lawmakers have claimed that the agency maintains a secret repository of Americans' communications data.

Assange has appealed to the High Court in London to stop his extradition to the United States to face criminal charges in a legal battle that has dragged on for more than a decade.

Monday's lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The journalists and lawyers were required to surrender their electronic devices to Undercover Global SL, a private security company that provided security to the embassy before their visits to Assange, according to the filing. The suit claimed that the company copied the information and provided it to the CIA, which was then headed by Pompeo.

Assange spent seven years in the embassy before being dragged out and jailed in 2019.

Pompeo and Undercover Global SL could not be reached for comment.

Assange is wanted by the US authorities on 18 counts, including a spying charge, related to WikiLeaks' release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables. His supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimized because he exposed US wrongdoing in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.