Today's WikiLeaks Round-Up

New York Times—Cables Depict U.S. Haggling to Find Takers for Detainees: "American diplomats went looking for countries that were not only willing to take in former prisoners but also could be trusted to keep them under close watch. In a global bazaar of sorts, the American officials sweet-talked and haggled with their foreign counterparts in an effort to resettle the detainees who had been cleared for release but could not be repatriated for fear of mistreatment, the cables show."

Washington Post—WikiLeaks founder could be charged under Espionage Act: "Federal authorities are investigating whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange violated criminal laws in the group's release of government documents, including possible charges under the Espionage Act, sources familiar with the inquiry said Monday. ... Former prosecutors cautioned that prosecutions involving leaked classified information are difficult because the Espionage Act is a 1917 statute that preceded Supreme Court cases that expanded First Amendment protections. The government also would have to persuade another country to turn over Assange, who is outside the United States."

CNN—Calling leaks 'damaging,' Bush says Wikileaks will hurt U.S. relations:

Former President George W. Bush joined a chorus of U.S. officials calling any leaks of sensitive government information "very damaging," telling a forum at Facebook headquarters that Wikileaks' recent release of 250,000 documents may significantly hurt Washington's image abroad.

"It's going to be very hard to keep the trust of foreign leaders," the nation's 43rd president said of the documents on issues ranging from Iran to Honduras to Turkey. "If you have a conversation with a foreign leader and it ends up in a newspaper, you don't like it. I didn't like it."

Reminder: He does, however, like outing our own spies to get political retribution against their husbands who question the veracity of his case for wars of choice.

And speaking of the Bush administration's unethical/criminal activities, it's interesting how liberals who wanted BushCo. held accountable were dismissed as ideologues and hysterics by the same media who are now calling for Hillary Clinton's scalp and demanding accountability of the Obama administration, even though, as the editors of the New York Times quite rightly note: "What struck us, and reassured us, about the latest trove of classified documents released by WikiLeaks was the absence of any real skullduggery. After years of revelations about the Bush administration's abuses — including the use of torture and kidnappings — much of the Obama administration's diplomatic wheeling and dealing is appropriate and, at times, downright skillful."

Which is not to say there's nothing objectionable or embarrassing among the documents. But still. The double-standard is breathtaking.