to the U.S. He is now expected to plead guilty to some charges . It is not publicly known whether the deal being worked out has a provision for cooperating with federal authorities – and whether that has anything to do with the investigation into Clinton ’s exclusive use of a private email server for government business while secretary of state .
Hosko noted that commitment of resources by the FBI to extradite Guccifer to the U.S. with the cooperation of Romania is significant . A review of recent federal cases by Fox News found that Guccifer ’s extradition appears to be an outlier . Hackers typically are extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditein the event of major financial theft , such as a 2013 case where three Romanian men stole in excess of $ 2 million in a cyber - fraud ring – and not in cases involving a breach of personal privacy . Catherine Herridge is an award - winning Chief Intelligence correspondent for FOX News Channel ( FNC ) based in Washington , D.C. She covers intelligence , the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security . Herridge joined FNC in 1996 as a London - based correspondent .
“ But in fact , it was easy , very easy . ” The name Guccifer refers to a Romanian hacker named Marcel Lehel Lazar who breached Clinton ’s personal email server in 2013 . He has been extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the U.S. , where he awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to identity theft and unauthorized access to protected computers . This new hacker , Guccifer 2.0 , is warning that more breaches could come . “ Guccifer may have been the first one who penetrated Hillary Clinton ’s and other Democrats ’ mail servers .
Indeed , if recent reports published largely ( though not exclusively ) by right - wing news media have any credibility , the controversy is about to re - erupt with redoubled fury . Some on the right are even predicting that Clinton will soon be indicted . The reason for the right ’s breathless anticipation of Clinton ’s demise is that the mysterious , eccentric and paranoid Romanian computer hacker who broke the email story back in 2013 was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto the United States last month pursuant to federal felony charges filed against him in 2014 . The theory is that prosecutors will squeeze the hacker for incriminating evidence against Clinton . A trial date in the hacker ’s case has been set for September , smack dab in the middle of the general election campaign , in federal district court in Alexandria , Va.
Story Continued Below Assange has lived inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 , where he has remained in order to avoid extradition to Sweden , where he is wanted in connection with a rape allegation . Assange has said he fears he would be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the United States to face espionage charges if he were to step outside the Ecuadorian Embassy . WikiLeaks has taken on a greater role in the presidential election in recent days , releasing thousands of pages of allegedly hacked emails from the personal account of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta . Neither the Clinton campaign nor Podesta himself has verified the authenticity of the emails , which detail the inner working of the former secretary of state ’s White House bid .
Washington : A Romanian hacker nicknamed " Guccifer " who helped expose the existence of private email server Hillary Clinton used when she was US secretary of state has been sentenced to more than four years in prison . Marcel Lazar , 44 , who used the alias online , had pleaded guilty in May to charges including unauthorised access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft after being extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditefrom Romania . SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE
Assange has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since August 2012 , when he was granted political asylum . The United Kingdom has said that if Assange were to leave the embassy , he would be extradited to Sweden , where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault . Assange refuses to go to Sweden in fear of then being extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto the U.S. In February , the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention pronounced that Assange has been subject to arbitrary detention in England .
The Clinton campaign has dismissed claims the server was compromised by a third party , including those of Romanian hacker " Guccifer . " Fox News was first to report his claims that he accessed the server with ease in March 2012 . The Justice Department extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditethe hacker to Northern Virginia where he recently agreed in a plea deal to cooperate in future investigations and testify before a grand jury . An NSA whistleblower said the Assange claim should be taken seriously , given WikiLeaks ’ track record of releasing authentic documents . " It just says that she put all this material on a server that was insecure , that anyone in the world could access it and break in , " said Bill Binney , a former National Security Agency specialist who spoke out against the agency 's broad surveillance programs .
The Australian has been living in the embassy for over four years and has been granted political asylum by Ecuador . He is due to be questioned over a sex allegation in Sweden - which he denies . Mr Assange believes that if he goes to Sweden he will be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks . The ex - Baywatch star told the Press Association : ' I really believe in him and think he 's a good person , and I 'm concerned about his health , his family , and I just hope that by some miracle he 's set free . ' Assange has been hiding out at the Ecuadorian Embassy ( pictured here on a balcony in the embassy in February ) for four years to avoid a rape investigation in his native Sweden
He faces a nine - count federal indictment on computer hacking charges and , according to both Romanian and U.S. officials , is expected to be in the country for 18 months . A spokesman for the FBI ’s Washington Field Office , which led the Guccifer investigation , had no comment on the extradition , the timing , and any potential intersection with the Clinton email probe . On or about March 31 , Lazar was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.na3,700 miles to Alexandria from a prison in Arad , Romania , where he has been serving a seven - year sentence for hacking crimes committed in his native country . His targets in Romania were prominent government officials and political figures whom he often taunted under the name of Micul Fum or “ Little Smoke . ” Following his 2014 conviction , Lazar was effectively neutralized in prison and no longer a threat , which makes his transfer to the U.S. all the more noteworthy .
Further , it was through Lazar ’s hack of Blumenthal ’s account that Clinton ’s personal account was first revealed . During an April 29 phone call with Fox News , Lazar said he wanted to work with the U.S. government . " I was always showing that I want to cooperate … like two years [ ago ] when I met with the American authorities , ” he said , adding that he showed he wanted to “ cooperate and talk to the FBI agents ” during the plane journey to the U.S. when he was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extradite. Though Lazar had agreed to meet again with Fox News the week of May 16 , an official at the detention center in Alexandria , Va. , where he ’s being held , later informed Fox News Lazar was no longer taking visitors at this time . A former Justice Department official , who declined to speak on the record due to the sensitivity of the FBI investigation , said it is not usual for defense attorneys to advise their clients to cut contact with the media as a plea agreement is finalized – as any discrepancies between the agreement and comments to the media can diminish the value of a client ’s statement .
. and then do the gardening . " Take his words seriously because he has been extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto the U.S. , and , according to one intelligence source , is likely in the country to help the FBI make its case against Clinton . By some accounts , Guccifer was not a particularly skilled hacker . But , again , he likely did n't have to be .
To the naked eye , that looked a lot like a very deliberate attempt to shift an unflattering spotlight away from Trump . Why would Assange want to do that ? Some speculate that Assange , who has said he fears the death penalty were he ever to be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto the US , hopes he would be treated leniently by a Trump administration . Others suspect the heart of the matter is the Russian connection : Assange , like Trump , seems strikingly comfortable with Putin . A former host of a talk show on Putin ’s propaganda channel , Russia Today , Assange once requested his own private security detail within the Ecuadorian embassy , nominating Russians for the task .
He faces a nine - count federal indictment on computer hacking charges and , according to both Romanian and U.S. officials , is expected to be in the country for 18 months . A spokesman for the FBI ’s Washington Field Office , which led the Guccifer investigation , had no comment on the extradition , the timing , and any potential intersection with the Clinton email probe . On or about March 31 , Lazar was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extradite3,700 miles to Alexandria from a prison in Arad , Romania , where he has been serving a seven - year sentence for hacking crimes committed in his native country . His targets in Romania were prominent government officials and political figures whom he often taunted under the name of Micul Fum or “ Little Smoke . ” Following his 2014 conviction , Lazar was effectively neutralized in prison and no longer a threat , which makes his transfer to the U.S. all the more noteworthy .
The Espionage Act forbids gross negligence when handling national defense information , and her carelessness with such sensitive information could lead to an FBI indictment . Hillary ’s private email server was allegedly hacked by a Romanian Hacker Marcel Lehel Lazar , also known as Guccifer . While early reports of the hacking were contested by media , Sonoran News and other sources have reported that Guccifer has been extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the United States and entered a plea agreement with U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris . Guccifer is a colorful character who believes he is fighting the Illuminati . He has allegedly hacked over 100 Americans , including government officers and even former presidents and their families .
Assange sought refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in June 2012 after the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom denied his application to reconsider his appeal of an earlier decision by that court . The case brought before the Supreme Court of the U.K. concerned whether a European Arrest Warrant ( EAW ) issued by Sweden for Julian Assange was valid . In its ruling of May 30 , 2012 , the seven - member panel of judges held that the EAW was valid , and as a result Assange now may be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault . The events that led to Assange ’s initial arrest ( without charge or due process ) are well known . In late July 2010 , WikiLeaks released the so - called Afghan War Diary .
MacMahon recently represented former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling , who was convicted of leaking classified information . “ You want to be in control of the process as best you can , having different people interact with your client does not serve your purpose . ” Lazar , who was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the U.S. before his Romanian jail term was complete , currently faces a September trial for separate hacking charges . The charges , made public in June 2014 , include alleged hacking of accounts belonging to a member of George W. Bush ’s family , former Secretary of State Colin Powell , and longtime Clinton confidant Blumenthal . A review of recent federal cases by Fox News found that Guccifer ’s extradition appears to be an outlier .
Video Mr. Lehel was arrested in Romania in 2014 for hacking the email accounts of several Romanian officials . In April , he was extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the United States to face hacking charges and pleaded guilty in May before a federal judge in Alexandria , Va. While awaiting sentencing , Mr. Lehel claimed to have hacked Mrs. Clinton ’s private email server , but federal officials have found no evidence to support his claim . Mr. Lehel is known for his fixation on what conspiracy theorists call the Illuminati , a shadowy group that they believe controls the world .
Assange remains holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London after claiming asylum , where he ’s been for four years . Two women in Sweden have accused him of rape and other sexual offences , which he denies , citing a wider conspiracy . Assange has expressed fears that , if extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto Sweden , he would be in danger of being sent to the US , where he thinks he could face the death penalty . A former associate of Assange , who did not wish to be named , noted that there will be presidential elections in Ecuador in 2017 and the current leader , Rafael Correa , has stated that he will stand aside after 10 years in office . This could make Assange feel uncertain about his future protection .
Julian Paul Assange , 45 , is an Australian computer programmer , publisher and journalist . He is editor - in - chief of WikiLeaks , which he founded in 2006 . On November 2010 , Assange was requested to be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditeto Sweden , where he is wanted for questioning concerning an allegation of rape . Assange denied the allegation and has expressed concern that he would be extradited from Sweden to the United States due to his perceived role in publishing secret American documents . After exhausting his legal options in the United Kingdom , Assange did not surrender for extradition .
After Lazar was flown to the U.S. on March 31 , U.S. government officials confirmed that federal agents from three agencies previously met with Lazar in Romania where he was serving a seven - year sentence for breaching the accounts of Romanian officials . Two independent sources also confirmed in recent weeks that Lazar spoke at length to an FBI agent during his extradition flight from Romanian to Virginia . Asked why he agreed to be extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditewhen he faces the possibility of more than five decades in an American prison , Lazar said , " It was not my call . " Then Lazar claimed that his extradition agreement contains conditions that block further charges . While the claim can not be independently verified , the statement could help explain why Lazar felt comfortable discussing his supposed hacking of the Clinton server – which was not mentioned in the nine - count federal indictment .
“ In fact , there have been reports that Secretary Clinton ’s emails were , indeed , hacked successfully by foreigners . The Romanian hacker who goes by the name Guccifer claimed earlier this month that he had repeatedly hacked her email server . He described the server as ‘ like an open orchid on the Internet ’ and that ‘ it was easy … easy for me , for everybody . ’ Guccifer has been extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extraditefrom Romania and is now in jail in Alexandria , Virginia , where the FBI is said to be questioning him on the emails . There have also been credible claims that Russian intelligence and other foreign services were able to hack the Secretary ’s server . ” It is currently unknown , at least to the public , who else may have seen the emails .
“ POLITICAL DECISION ” “ Whether the U.S. extradites Gulen or not this will be a political decision , ” Bozdag said . “ If he is not extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.extradite, Turkey will have been sacrificed for a terrorist . ” A recent opinion poll showed two thirds of Turks agree with their president that Gulen was behind the coup plot . Turkey has been holding almost daily mass rallies since July 15 in support of democracy and the government and against the plotters .
MADRID Two Indian men arrested in Spain for smuggling Russian anti - aircraft missiles were extraditedjustice.judicialconsequences.nato the United States , Spanish military police said in a statement on Thursday . Spanish police detained the pair in Barcelona in 2014 along with two Pakistani men , who have already been extradited , as part of a joint operation - dubbed Operation Yoga - with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) to bust a smuggling ring based in the Catalonia region . The group had offered the Russian - built Igla missiles to foreign paramilitary groups .