CIA tied to Assange eavesdroppers
By JOSÉ MARÍA IRUJO
From Irujo's report in El Pais
Madrid Sept. 26, 2019
From Irujo's report in El Pais
Madrid Sept. 26, 2019
A Spanish firm responsible for security at the Ecuadoran embassy in London is under investigation by the Spanish high court over charges it spied on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange while he availed himself of political asylum there.
Undercover Global S. L. is accused of spying on the internet publisher on behalf of the CIA, according to statements and documents viewed by El Pais. David Morales, the firm's owner, supposedly handed over to the CIA audio of meetings between Assange and his lawyers and collaborators. Morales is being investigated for this activity by Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional.
The judicial investigation of the director of UC Global S. L. and the activities of his company was ordered by Judge José de la Mata a few weeks after El Pais published videos, audios and reports that show how the company spied on the meetings that the cyberactivist and publisher.
The secret probe is the consequence of a criminal complaint filed by Assange , in which he accuses Morales and his company of violations of privacy and client-attorney privilege, as well as of misappropriation, bribery and money laundering. The director of UC Global S. L. has not responded to calls from this newspaper for comment on his role in the affair.
HELPING 'THE AMERICANS'
Morales, a former member of the military who is on leave of absence from his company, has told a number of his employees in writing, as well as verbally that, though contracted by Ecuador under then-President Rafael Correa, he was also working "for the Americans." Morales reportedly supplied "the Americans" with documents, videos and audios of Assange's embassy discussions.
Despite the fact that Morales' firm – which is headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera – was hired by Senain, the Ecuadorian intelligence services, Morales called on his employees several times to keep his relationship with U.S. intelligence a secret.
The owner of UC Global S. L. ordered a meeting between the head of the Ecuadoran secret service, Rommy Vallejo, and Assange to be spied on, at a time when they were planning the exit of Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy using a diplomatic passport in order to get him out of Britain. This idea was eventually killed by Assange, who saw such a move as a "defeat" that would fuel conspiracy theories, according to sources close to the company consulted by this newspaper.
That huddle took place Dec. 21, 2017 in the meeting room of the diplomatic building and was recorded both on video and audio by cameras installed by Morales’ employees. A small number of people, among them Assange’s lawyers, were aware of the plan. Yet hours after the meeting, the U.S .ambassador informed Ecuadorian authorities about the plan, and the next day, Dec. 22, the United States put out an international arrest warrant for Australian refugee.
“It is absurd to spy on who has hired you if you are not going to hand that material over to another country,” said a source close to UC Global S. L. This newspaper has had access to the video and the audio of the aforementioned meeting.
After the installation of new video cameras at the beginning of December 2017, Morales requested that his technicians install an external streaming access point in the same area so that all of the recordings could be accessed instantly by the United States. To do this, he requested three channels for access: “one for Ecuador, another for us and another for X,” according to mails sent at the time to his colleagues. When one of the technicians asked to contact “the Americans” to explain the way that they should access some of the spying systems installed in the embassy, Morales would always be evasive with his answers.
MIKES IN LADIES' ROOM
Morales ordered his workers to install microphones in the embassy’s fire extinguishers and also in the women’s bathroom, where Assange’s lawyers, including the Spaniard Aitor Martínez and his closest collaborators, would meet for fear of being spied on. The cyberactivist’s meetings with his lawyers, Melynda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzón, were also monitored.
The UC Global S. L. team was also ordered by its boss to install stickers that prevented the windows of rooms used by the WikiLeaks founder from vibrating, apparently to make it easier for the CIA to record conversations with its laser microphones. The security team also obtained a used diaper from a baby that on occasion was taken to visit the Assange in order to test for DNA and determine whether he fathered the child with a close collaborator.
Aside from having microphones planted within embassy decorative pieces, Morales even pressed to install them in the room used by “the guest,” as Assange was referred to in his reports. But Morales' team fretted about getting caught. Assange was "obsessed" with the notion of being spied on, a former employee of the company said.
In addition, Morales ordered his workers to install microphones in the embassy’s fire extinguishers and also in the women’s bathroom
The spying on Assange increased after Lenin Moreno came to power in Ecuador. At that time, Morales regularly flew to New York and Washington, this newspaper has managed to confirm. Among the UC Global S. L. client list is Sheldon Adelson and his gaming company Las Vegas Sands. For years the Spanish company has been providing security for the business magnate’s yacht when it is in Mediterranean waters. This job is usually carried out personally by Morales himself.
Adelson has a close friendship with President Trump and is a major donor to the Republican Party. In 2018 an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Julian Assange became a target for CIA spying under the mandate of former director Mike Pompeo. Official sources told The Times that WikiLeaks was being investigated in search of alleged links between its founder and Russian intelligence.
UPTICK IN SNOOPING
The espionage against Assange increased under the government of the current Ecuadorian president, Lenin Moreno, who was responsible for stripping Assange of asylum status and handing him over to British authorities. In reply, the current Ecuadoran government accuses Assange of having created a “spy center” in the embassy.
Rafael Correa, Moreno’s predecessor, was the person who offered the Australian refuge in his country’s London embassy and granted him nationality. In July, the owner of UC Global S. L. declined to respond to this newspaper about the alleged spying on Julian Assange. “I cannot comment on anything that we did there; I can’t give any details,” he said via telephone. “We have our ethical and moral rules and none of them were violated.”
David Morales, a former member of the military, created his company in 2008, apparently inspired by Blackwater, the U.S. private security multinational that supported the U.S. army in a number of conflicts, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the first contracts Morales secured his company secured was to provide security in Europe for two of Rafael Correa’s daughters during his time in office. He went on to obtain the contract for providing security at the Ecuadoran embassy in London.
In April, the Moreno government expelled Assange from that embassy, where he had been living since 2012. After his expulsion and arrest by the British authorities, the United Kingdom authorized the judicial process to hand the WikiLeaks founder over to the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. wants Assange extradited and is leveling 18 charges, including computer misuse and the unauthorized disclosure of national defense information, regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cyberactivist could be facing a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
Note: The decision to use the 1917 Espionage Act against Assange has raised alarm bells among First Amendment advocates in the United States. The major charges against Assange are for publication of documents. Such a precedent could be used against editors, reporters and publishers at the Washington Post, the Guardian and the New York Times who decided to publish the evidence of mass surveillance provided by Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower.
Undercover Global S. L. is accused of spying on the internet publisher on behalf of the CIA, according to statements and documents viewed by El Pais. David Morales, the firm's owner, supposedly handed over to the CIA audio of meetings between Assange and his lawyers and collaborators. Morales is being investigated for this activity by Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional.
The judicial investigation of the director of UC Global S. L. and the activities of his company was ordered by Judge José de la Mata a few weeks after El Pais published videos, audios and reports that show how the company spied on the meetings that the cyberactivist and publisher.
The secret probe is the consequence of a criminal complaint filed by Assange , in which he accuses Morales and his company of violations of privacy and client-attorney privilege, as well as of misappropriation, bribery and money laundering. The director of UC Global S. L. has not responded to calls from this newspaper for comment on his role in the affair.
HELPING 'THE AMERICANS'
Morales, a former member of the military who is on leave of absence from his company, has told a number of his employees in writing, as well as verbally that, though contracted by Ecuador under then-President Rafael Correa, he was also working "for the Americans." Morales reportedly supplied "the Americans" with documents, videos and audios of Assange's embassy discussions.
Despite the fact that Morales' firm – which is headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera – was hired by Senain, the Ecuadorian intelligence services, Morales called on his employees several times to keep his relationship with U.S. intelligence a secret.
The owner of UC Global S. L. ordered a meeting between the head of the Ecuadoran secret service, Rommy Vallejo, and Assange to be spied on, at a time when they were planning the exit of Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy using a diplomatic passport in order to get him out of Britain. This idea was eventually killed by Assange, who saw such a move as a "defeat" that would fuel conspiracy theories, according to sources close to the company consulted by this newspaper.
That huddle took place Dec. 21, 2017 in the meeting room of the diplomatic building and was recorded both on video and audio by cameras installed by Morales’ employees. A small number of people, among them Assange’s lawyers, were aware of the plan. Yet hours after the meeting, the U.S .ambassador informed Ecuadorian authorities about the plan, and the next day, Dec. 22, the United States put out an international arrest warrant for Australian refugee.
“It is absurd to spy on who has hired you if you are not going to hand that material over to another country,” said a source close to UC Global S. L. This newspaper has had access to the video and the audio of the aforementioned meeting.
After the installation of new video cameras at the beginning of December 2017, Morales requested that his technicians install an external streaming access point in the same area so that all of the recordings could be accessed instantly by the United States. To do this, he requested three channels for access: “one for Ecuador, another for us and another for X,” according to mails sent at the time to his colleagues. When one of the technicians asked to contact “the Americans” to explain the way that they should access some of the spying systems installed in the embassy, Morales would always be evasive with his answers.
MIKES IN LADIES' ROOM
Morales ordered his workers to install microphones in the embassy’s fire extinguishers and also in the women’s bathroom, where Assange’s lawyers, including the Spaniard Aitor Martínez and his closest collaborators, would meet for fear of being spied on. The cyberactivist’s meetings with his lawyers, Melynda Taylor, Jennifer Robinson and Baltasar Garzón, were also monitored.
The UC Global S. L. team was also ordered by its boss to install stickers that prevented the windows of rooms used by the WikiLeaks founder from vibrating, apparently to make it easier for the CIA to record conversations with its laser microphones. The security team also obtained a used diaper from a baby that on occasion was taken to visit the Assange in order to test for DNA and determine whether he fathered the child with a close collaborator.
Aside from having microphones planted within embassy decorative pieces, Morales even pressed to install them in the room used by “the guest,” as Assange was referred to in his reports. But Morales' team fretted about getting caught. Assange was "obsessed" with the notion of being spied on, a former employee of the company said.
In addition, Morales ordered his workers to install microphones in the embassy’s fire extinguishers and also in the women’s bathroom
The spying on Assange increased after Lenin Moreno came to power in Ecuador. At that time, Morales regularly flew to New York and Washington, this newspaper has managed to confirm. Among the UC Global S. L. client list is Sheldon Adelson and his gaming company Las Vegas Sands. For years the Spanish company has been providing security for the business magnate’s yacht when it is in Mediterranean waters. This job is usually carried out personally by Morales himself.
Adelson has a close friendship with President Trump and is a major donor to the Republican Party. In 2018 an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Julian Assange became a target for CIA spying under the mandate of former director Mike Pompeo. Official sources told The Times that WikiLeaks was being investigated in search of alleged links between its founder and Russian intelligence.
UPTICK IN SNOOPING
The espionage against Assange increased under the government of the current Ecuadorian president, Lenin Moreno, who was responsible for stripping Assange of asylum status and handing him over to British authorities. In reply, the current Ecuadoran government accuses Assange of having created a “spy center” in the embassy.
Rafael Correa, Moreno’s predecessor, was the person who offered the Australian refuge in his country’s London embassy and granted him nationality. In July, the owner of UC Global S. L. declined to respond to this newspaper about the alleged spying on Julian Assange. “I cannot comment on anything that we did there; I can’t give any details,” he said via telephone. “We have our ethical and moral rules and none of them were violated.”
David Morales, a former member of the military, created his company in 2008, apparently inspired by Blackwater, the U.S. private security multinational that supported the U.S. army in a number of conflicts, including those in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the first contracts Morales secured his company secured was to provide security in Europe for two of Rafael Correa’s daughters during his time in office. He went on to obtain the contract for providing security at the Ecuadoran embassy in London.
In April, the Moreno government expelled Assange from that embassy, where he had been living since 2012. After his expulsion and arrest by the British authorities, the United Kingdom authorized the judicial process to hand the WikiLeaks founder over to the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. wants Assange extradited and is leveling 18 charges, including computer misuse and the unauthorized disclosure of national defense information, regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cyberactivist could be facing a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
Note: The decision to use the 1917 Espionage Act against Assange has raised alarm bells among First Amendment advocates in the United States. The major charges against Assange are for publication of documents. Such a precedent could be used against editors, reporters and publishers at the Washington Post, the Guardian and the New York Times who decided to publish the evidence of mass surveillance provided by Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower.
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