The US Attorney General says the arrest of Julian Assange and others who have allegedly leaked classified US material is "a priority" for the Trump administration.
CNN is reporting that the Department of Justice is preparing to file charges the Wikileaks founder.
Mr. Assange remains holed up at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London after Sweden sought his extradition in relation to allegations of sexual assault.
But our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports that Mr. Assange could soon be facing much more serious charges.
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Julian Assange used to be Donald Trump's favorite leaker.
During the US Presidential election campaign last year, the Australian-born founder of Wikileaks was directly involved in releasing a trove of e-mails hacked from the Democrats' computer servers.
They embarrassed Hillary Clinton….the Democrats say cost her votes and may have contributed to President Trump's win.
At the time, this is what then candidate Trump had to say about the Assange organization.
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That was then….this is now.
Telegraphing the charges that the Department of Justice is reportedly preparing against Mr. Assange, the Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions told reporters in Washington it's time for leakers like the Wikileaks founder to face the legal consequences of their actions.
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The Obama administration always worried that Julian Assange, who claims he's a journalist, might be covered by America's first amendment of free speech.
CNN which first reported the possibility of charges being filed against him, says Trump era prosecutors have decided it is possible to go after the Wikileaks founder on espionage grounds….a hint of the gravity of the legal action he could face.
Certainly President Trump's CIA director Mike Pompeo didn't mince his words when discussing Julian Assange in a speech here last week.
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If the charges are filed….and if the arrest of Julian Assange is indeed a priority for the US government, there could be fresh pressure placed on the British government to do more to keep an eye on him.
In October 2015, Scotland Yard ended its 24 hour guard on the Ecuadorean Embassy in London where he's holed up after three years of extremely costly operations.
At the time, they called the 24-hour guard no longer "proportionate" .
But that was when Mr. Assange was only wanted in Sweden for questioning about an alleged sexual assault that he denies.
If the Americans want to bring him to justice in connection with espionage….they might also want the Embassy placed back under 24 hour surveillance.
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