assange put on trial there. but, of course, he's not been charged with any criminal offenses by the united states. >> reporter: yet. but u.s. officials have made no secret of their efforts to come up with a legal way of stopping assange and the leaks. told of the arrest today as he toured a u.s. base in afghanistan, the secretary of defense looked pleased. >> i hadn't heard that but that sounds like good news to me. >> reporter: the extradition >> r eporter: the extradition hearing for julian assange is due to resume here at westminster magistrate's court next tuesday, december 14. elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> glor: still ahead on the "cbs evening news," he goes without shoes so poor kids won't have to. but up next, an organ transplant can save her life, but her state reneges on a promise to pay for it. withere's the life you live... and the life you want to live. fortunately there's enbrel, the #1 most doctor-prescribed biologic medicine for ra. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, fatigue, and st

now that you're free on bail, you do have access to the internet, mr. assange, do you plan to accelerate your plans to release further documents? >> as we have seen wikileaks is a robust organization, during my time in solitary confinement in the basement of a victorian prison, we continued to release, our media partners continued to write stories and just said, i see in the guardian, our prime british media partner, india is accused of systemic use of torture. nearly 1,200 cases of torture in kashmir. important revelations from this material continue to come out. we have approximately 200,000 cables into 250,000. >> julian assange, i thank you for joining us this morning. >> you're welcome. >> obviously he remains very defiant here. >> defiant to the charges in sweden and determined to continue his work with wikileaks. obviously come people consider him a hero, a journalist and a hero. other people consider him a villain who's put the national security of this country in jeopardy. and it depends on your perspective on it. >> much to follow on this stor

assange's lawyers have been to read some of mr. wainstein's testimony in advance because they are doing very smart things to eliminate exactly the distinction that you are trying to draw. they are asking the government for feedback on the documents. they're taking care to follow the lead of the media. they are actually doing the publication in concert with major media organizations to have the capacity that they do not have to do reporting and in fact they are looking more and more like a media organization but i will even step back on from that because my reading of the first amendment as a layperson is it also protects speech and discos to professor own's print not only freedom of the press but speech, and it seems to me that ou will run into a really difficult problems not only on the media slippery slope, but on speech, and it may go to motivation, it ma go to this fact is over classification. i pointed out in my testimony in their written statementthat one of the most striking things about the tables on the record is the fact

. >> they clearly will not spare any expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. >> reporter: the judge set bail at $310,000. a number of celebrity supporters offered to put up the cash including film director michael moore. he will face strict conditions if released. >> free him now. >> reporter: supporters accuse the u.s. of pressing sweden to extradite assange from britain making it easier for america to take action against the wikileaks behavior. >> we think he is being penalized about what he has told about government secret. >> reporter: and his arrest has boosted his fame and popularity. time magazine have chosen him person of the year. after the hearing a police van brought assange back to the london prison where he will wait for the court's decision. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> his lawyers say he is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and denied any access to the internet. >>> there are compelling reasons to back up president obama's plan. u.s. senate is expected to pass the measure tonight or tomorrow but the

assange's lawyers have been to read some of mr. wainstein's testimony in advance because they are doing very smart things to eliminate exactly the distinction that you are trying to draw. they are asking the government for feedback on the documents. they're taking care to follow the lead of the media. they are actually doing the publication in concert with major media organizations to have the capacity that they do not have to do reporting and in fact they are looking more and more like a media organization but i will even step back one from that because my reading of the first amendment as a layperson is it also protects speech and discos to professor own's print not only freedom of the press but speech, and it seems to me that you will run into a really difficult problems not only on the media slippery slope, but on speech, and it may go to motivation, it may go to this fact is over classification. i pointed out in my testimony in their written statement that one of the most striking things about the tables on the record is the f

. >> it's an unfortunate state of affairs given we were obviously relieved, mr. assange a few hours ago, the swedes took this action. >> the terms of bail were a payment equal to $315,000. assange would aware an electronic tag and have limits on his movements. among celebrities offering money was american filmmaker michael moore. his mother, christine in london from australia, planed -- complained about the conditions in prison. >> it's been very difficult for him to help with his lawyers to prepare a case. >> assange issued a statement of defines says his convictions regarding the documents are unfaltering and master card and pay pal which cut ties to wikileaks are, quote, instruments of u.s. foreign policy. as for his extradition, some legal experts say it's not a done deal. >> if it can be suggested he's really being prosecuted not over allegations much sexual assault but the wikileaks operation that might enable him to resist extradition. >> the appeal will be heard in the high court in 48 hours. the next court appearance is set for january 11th. all the whil

and they want to put mr. assange through yet more trouble, more expense, more hurdles. they clearly will not spare any expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. >> reporter: the swedish authorities appealed against the decision to grant the wikileaks founder bail. assange isn't going anywhere. he remains behind bars as his team continues to fight the appeal. the 39-year-old has already spent a week in jail since being remanded in custody last tuesday. without access to computers, the internet, or newspapers. no access to the outside world. >> he's requested to have a computer so he can help research the case. that was denied. he's only been allowed three visits. and he's only been allowed three phone calls. >> reporter: assange is fighting extradition to sweden on allegations of rape and sexual assault with two separate women in august this year. he denies any wrongdoing. despite his absence, wikileaks continues to release more diplomatic cables. lama hasan, abc news, london. >>> former white house chief of staff rahm emanuel has undergone 12 hours of questioning over wh

. >> meanwhile, there's an interpol warrant out for mr. assange's arrest. are u.s. authorities actively trying to arrest him? >> look, there's an ongoing criminal investigation into the leaking and the posting of all these documents, george. i don't want to get into that. obviously, there is a series of criminal activities that have happened that are being looked into, and our -- >> of mr. assange? >> our government has not ruled any options out. and i'm certainly not going to do that here today. >> meanwhile, we've heard that wikileaks is seeking out other targets including corporations, banks, perhaps media organizations. is there any way to shut them down? >> well, george, i don't -- i don't know all the details of that. and probably wouldn't get into it here. but i think it's important for the american people to know that our foreign policy is stronger than one person and one person's website. >> let's turn to domestic issues right now. we heard senator mcconnell in jon karl's piece say that republicans are absolutely united that no one's taxes at all should go

there is no reason why the court should refuse bail for mr. assange. the court may have a different idea on that. >> we are learning new details about the weekend suicide bombing in sweden. the suspect left a chilling voice recording for the cops in which he implies others in europe are planning similar attackings. the suspected bomber, a 28 iraq born swedish citizen. he had explosives strapped to his body and backpack when he blew himself up in saturday in stocholm. investigators are trying to determine if he was working alone or had help from a wider terror network. experts are sending a small group to asift - ooh cyst in the investigation. >> a man claimed the bombing attempt in boston was a set up. prosecutor said he tried to detonate a device last week. what he thought was a bomb was a f.b.i. sting . his lawyer called that entrapment. the feds said martinez was planing to kill american soldiers before they started investigating him. the judge called him dangerous and a flight risk. prosecutor said martinez was a fan of clerec alwlaki. he is first

>> the premise is we really owe a debt to mr. assange and to wikileaks for turning on a big spotlight on those people who brought about, first of all, this war that we've been in for the better part of this decade. these people concocted lies, and they committed crimes in order to send our young men and women off to war. and it has cost us not only the lives of our own people, but the lives of literally, now, tens of, if not hundreds of thousands of iraqis and afghan citizens. and it's -- i just think if that in a free and open society, if we aren't able to find out the truth, mistakes like this get repeated over and over and over again. i was thinking yesterday when i sent the bail money over to london, what if we'd had a wikileaks in august of 1964 when we were told that the north vietnamese fired on a u.s. ship? which, in fact, was a lie. it was a concocted lie at the pentagon. and we didn't find out about that until daniel ellsburg released the pentagon papers some six, seven years later. what if there had been a wick wikilea

we'll see what mr. moore has to say. >>> and the jets coach who intentionally tripped an opposing play frer the miami dolphins game on sunday. he's been suspended for the rest of the season and post season without pay. he's also being fined $25,000. let's see what the "news nation" had to say about this dirty play. 46% of you say he should have been fired. 54% of you say he should be fined. there you have it. interesting. i thought you would think he should get fired. that does it for today's edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. catch us at 2:00 p.m. eastern time on weekdays. richard lui picks up the coverage after a quick break. ah, it's stinging a little bit more than usual! yeah, you'll get used to it. the longer you keep your high mileage car, the more it pays you back. get castrol gtx high mileage. it helps engines last longer by fighting the main causes of engine failure. i think a dime went up my nose. yeah, it happens. don't change your car. change your oil to castrol gtx high mileage. its

clearly will spare no expense but to keep mr. assange into jail. >> the judge had set bail at $310,000. a number of celebrity supports -- supporters offered to put up the cash, including film director, michael moore. >> he will have to wear an electronic tag to report to police every evening. >> reporter: supporters accuse the u.s. of pressing sweden to extradite assange from britain. making it easier for the wikileaks leader. >> we think he is being penalized for what he has told about government secrets. >> reporter: "time" magazine's online readers have chosen him person of the year. after the hearing, a police van brought assange back to the london prison, where he'll wait for the court's decision. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> assange's lawyer says he is being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. and he's not allowed on the internet at all. >>> if you're waiting for somebody to get home from work, let's check on the roads with kristy breslin, live at wjz traffic control. >> reporter: and definitely slowin

. >> they clearly will not spare any expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. this is really turning into a show trial. >> reporter: the judge had set bail at $310,000. a number of celebrity supporters offered to put up the cash, including film director, michael moore. >> reporter: if he is released, assange will face strict conditions. he will have to wear an electronic tag and report to police every evening. >> free him now. >> supporters accuse the u.s. trying to extradite him, making it easier for america to take legal action against the wikileaks leader. >> we think he is being penalized for what he has told about government secrets. >> reporter: and assange's arrest has boosted his fame and popularity. "time" magazine's online readers have chosen him person of the year. >> reporter: after hearing, a police ban brought assange to a london prison, where he'll wait for the court's decision. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> assange's lawyer says he success kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and has been denied any access to the internet. >>>

. >> they clearly will not spare any expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. this is really turning into a show trial. >> a high profile cast of characters is also jumping to assange's defense. bianca jagger was at his defense. >> joining us in the arena for more on the ruling, naomi wolf, author of the end of america, and jeffrey toobin. thank you for joining us. naomi, let me begin with you. you have been critical of the swedish government for bringing the case. you're basically saying had he not been the individual who released these documents -- >> absolutely. >> this law would not be brought to bear against him in this way. this is government from the u.s. to sweden and britden saying we're going to shut you down. you're saying that's wrong? >> i can't say conclusively until the man has his day in court. the women need their day in court. from 23 years of looking at how rape is treated, this is so anomalous -- >> does that bother you? >> no, not a bit. sweden has the right to enforce their laws however they want. >> selectively. >> the idea that sweden al

they clearly will not spare any expense but to keep mr. assange in jail. >> reporter: he's fighting extradition to sweden, where he's wanted on sexual assault charges, charges he denies. his mother, christine, traveled from their home country of australia, to visit her son in jail. >> as a mother, i'm asking the world to stand up to my brave son. >> reporter: supporters of julian assange accuse u.s. authorities of putting political pressure on sweden. they say his extradition could make it easier for the u.s. to take legal action against them. >> because they're desperate to silence wikileaks and the embarrassing recommendations that they made. they are exposing war crimes, humanitarian crimes. >> assange's arrest only seems to increase his fame. time's online reader. tuesday's court hearing is the first step in a long, legal battle. a decision on whether to extradite assange to sweden, is expected to take several weeks. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> and a grand jury is also reportedly trying to decide if assange should face any ch

assange will have that freely while he's out on bail here. >> assange spoke about what's to come from wikileaks in the days and weeks and maybe months to come. let me play that for you right now. >> as we have seen, wikileaks is a robust organization. during my time in solitary confinement and in the basement of a victorian prison, we continue to release media partners continue to write stories of the important revelations from this material continue to come out. we have approximately 2,000 cables into 250,000. >> tim, what are you expecting here? both in terms of what we might see from wikileaks and what we might see from the federal government. >> i agree with keith's assessment. the old line that a prosecutor his job is show me the man and i'll find the crime. and that's what i feel they're doing in sweden and probably doing here in the u.s. i've heard rumors of, oh, well, he can't be charged with the espionage, with the leaking classified stuff because he didn't have classified access, he's not an american. but maybe he's involved in a conspiracy. any time you hear the words consp

certainly we believe what mr. assange has done in the aftermath of that leak as put the interests of our country and others at risk. and put the lives of people who are reflected in these documents at risk. we haven't changed our view. >> take you back to haiti when you made opening remarks about haiti. mr. preval is acuring the united states of being responsible, at least partly responsible, for the rioting, saying because of the criticism of the election. do you have any response to that? >> i haven't seen those comments. we have and continue to support the government of haiti. we have been a leading supporter of this election process. we've been a leading supporter of the government of haiti led by president preval. we will be a leading supporter in the reconstruction of the country and the government that is going to be -- put in place next year that will be leading that effort. the united states is in no way responsible for the actions of any individual. what we are determined to help haiti achieve is a credi

julian assange, mr. assange, i thank you for joining us this morning. morning. >> you're welcome. >>> obviously remains defiant. >> no question, defiant to the charges in sweden and determined to continue his work with wikileaks. obviously, some people consider him a hero, other people consider him a villain who has put the national security of this country in jeopardy. and it depends where you sit. >> exactly. >> your perspective on it. >> much to follow on this story, obviously. >>> and now to washington and that massive tax package approved by congress last late night. kelly o'donnell has details. kelly, good morning. >> good morning, meredith. there was a talk marathon with some house democrats saying they had received phone calls from the president, urging them to get it done. and just before midnight, they did. so everyone's tax rates stay the same, unemployment benefit checks keep coming. and $858 billion gets added to the deficit. a done deal. >> on this vote, the yeas are 277, the nays are 148. the motion is adopted. >> reporter: but getting th

when i spoke to mr. assange a while ago, he said he didn't even have his electronic monitor on. he will have to do that in about an hour, when he makes his stop at a police station. he has to do that each day between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. local time, because we're so far from anything, those are the only hours that the police station is open. he denied these allegations in sweden. he called it a smear campaign. he also said that he's going to do everything he can to continue the release. they will not just continue their release, but expedite it. and that fewer than 1% of all the cables, those diplomatic cables have been released so far. >> nbc's peter alexander in suffolk, england in front of the stately manor where julian assange will have his mansion arrest. >>> the markets embraced the president's tax deal when it was opposed. will there be a bump today or has the market factored it in? let's go to becky quick. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. no bump today. it's all been factored in. it looks at this point like the market is going to open up by about 3 points. of the m

for that i would like to thank mr. assange for that public service. we certainly should do a better job of protection instead of embarking upon crusade to harass and even prosecute publishers of information. and i trust that our justice department will look very carefully at this case and the chilling effect that a prosecution that is unwarranted could have on our ability to -- to enjoy our first amendment freedoms in this country. the administration has directed federal agencies to prohibit their employees from accessing wikileaks documents on their work computers. it has also been reported that a state department employee and lumbarists of columbia university school of international and public affairs has warned school officials that students interested in a diplomatic career should not access the documents, even from their home computers. if i may ask mr. blanton and mr. nader, what are your thoughts about this? and since the ship-free internet access has been a priority for us as we have dealt with other countries, particularly, china, and we enco

on top of the surety put out his friends and supporters, mr. assange had agreed to wear an electronic tag and to report daily to a police station. to live at the home of his supporters and observe a curfew. his celebrity backers were delighted. >> indeed it's a better future of british justice. as a british citizen, i look forward to it. a just and fair trial where due process is respected. >> reporter: but as time passed it wasn't assange who appeared outside court but his lawyer explaining that it was proving difficult at short notice to provide the court with so much money. >> there is a problem because he's been granted bail on condition that 200,000 pounds cash is paid into this court here. that's an awful lot of money. it's a pity that he can't use master card or visa in order to assist him to arrange that. >> reporter: this prison van taking him back to the prison. the site julian assange's supporters did not want to see. the swedish authorities who still want to talk to him' about the alleged sex offenses have appealed against the decis

should the united states do something to stop mr. assange? >> we're looking at that right now. the department is taking a look at that. i'm not going to comment on that process. >> you think he is a criminal? >> if he conspires to get these classified documents with a member of the u.s. military that's fundamentally different than if somebody drops on your lap, here, david, you're a press person. here is classified material. >> some say he is a high-tech terrorist. others argue it's closer to the pentagon papers. >> i would argue it's closer to being a high-tech terrorist than the pentagon papers. this guy has done is things that have damaged and put in jeopardy the lives and occupations of people in other parts of the world. he has made it more difficult for us to conduct our business with our allies and our friends. for example, in my meetings -- you know i meet with most of these world leaders. there is a desire now to meet with me alone rather than have staff in the room. it makes things more coupleb bc. it has done some damage. >> you have been described in "the new york t

but mr. gibbs said yesterday was in that same vain of clap trap and mumbo jumbo that we heard from assange's lawyer. we're not going to be intimidated by a guy with a computer. what we have is a serious, serious problem for our diplomatic corps in our country as a result of this dump of documents. and if the new journalism means going around and spying on governments and then maybe spying on people and then spying on corporations, and private documents like this are somehow in the public realm, then god help journalism. and god help the united states of america. >> because assange says next he wants to take on a big bank. and a lot of people have money in that bank and a lot of people are americans. peter johnson jr., thank you. >> good day. >> good day to you. meanwhile, straight ahead, former speaker of the house newt gingrich says don't just reject the left. is that even possible? newt coming up live next. they don't make money of their own but they're spending yours. how prison inmates ma

>>eporter: and this morning, mr. assange tells me that he does not yet have the electronic monitori tag that will be placed on him. one of the bail requirements. he's allowed to go to the police station between 3:00 and 50 p.m. this community is so small, those are the only hours the police station will be open. >> reporte peter, thank you very much. julian assange joins us live now. good morning to you. >> merry christmas. >> good morning to you. this is a major legal victory for you, you have been released on bail but not without restrictions as peter just mentioned. you've got a curfew, you have to report to the police on a daily basis, you will have to wear an electronic monitoring device, you said yesterda if justice is not an outcome, at ast it's not dead yet. your response to the events in the last 24 hours? >> it's very nice to be out in the sun, in snow and amongst good and courageous friends. we should remember that this is not the beginningf the end, rather it is merely the end of the beginning. we hear cr

there are no charges laid yet, but the swedes want mr. assange in connection with allegations that he had unprotected sex with women in sweden during a visit this summer and they want to ask him some questions. assange just said he wants to fight this extra addition. he and his lawyer both say they're afraid he'll be turned over to the united states and they want to avoid that altogether. elizabeth palmer, cbs news. >>> president obama cut a deal with republican lead toers extend the push era tax cuts and now has to sell it to his less pleased democrats. the deal extends tax breaks from all americans for two more years including wealthier american something the president initially opposed. the president won a 13-month extension of long-term unemployment benefits. >>> democratic leaders speaking with vice president biden today. >>> a new report in america's healthiest states. vermont is number one in a survey which measures things like smoking and exercise. massachusetts, new hampshire, hawaii and connecticut round out the top five. bottom

. >> reporter: the legal net is tightening around julian assange. his arrest, imminent. >> the british authorities are obliged under the terms of the agreement to take mr. assange into custody and comply with the warrant. >> reporter: not before the wikileaks founder released perhaps the most controversial leaks yet. a list of sites around the world identified by u.s. diplomats as critical to america's public health, economy, and national security. a hydropower plant in canada supplying the northeastern u.s. a firm in scotland supplying nuclear-powered submarines. the largest crude oil plant in the world in saudi arabia. and a mine in the congo for cobalt, a commodity used in everything from jet engines to medical scanners. wikileaks says the list proves diplomats were in the business of gathering intelligence. u.s. officials see it as aiding and abetting terrorists. >> it's a publication without regard to the consequences. it is deeply distressing. >> reporter: the swiss government froze assange's bank account. assange's team sees all of this press

assange. and in any event, he's entitled to first amendment protections as publisher of wikileaks. >> reporter: he is being held in a solitary cell, with no access to a computer and limited access to a phone and his lawyers. >> this means he's under significant surveillance. but also means he has more restrictive conditions than other prisoners. >> reporter: in sweden, lawyers for assange's accusers have little sympathy. >> he has molested them. and after that, he has sacrificed them for his own interests. >> reporter: a worldwide hackers continue to attack websites that have cut ties with wikileaks. from prison, julian assange denies he is directing those attacks in anyway. for "good morning america," jim sciutto, abc news, london. >>> now, sam champion has the weather. he has more on the cold snap. we find sam in vermont. oh, snowy vermont. good morning, sam. >> yeah. robin, it's gorgeous here this morning. zero degrees. a brand-new pocket of cold air that's reinforced everything in new engl

again we expect to see mr. assange out on the street in just a couple of minutes. we'll bring that to you shortly. jenna: just to add our very own mike emanuel asked robert gibbs about julian assange and about wikileaks about the bail, apparently no one from the white house could comment on anything that's going on, even secretary of state hillary clinton shook her head no, no comment on anything have to do with wikileaks as we await again, as greg palkot was telling us about his release in jail. quickly, greg, we'll have to run to some capitol hill news. are there any reports about efforts from the united states to bring charges against this man? >> reporter: there have been reports today. interesting stuff, jenna, the united states, the justice department is trying to come up with at least a conspiracy case a collusion case that could bring sass sang in with the pf c-manning fellow. i talked to swedish authorities. they say however if the u.s. tries to extradite they have to get the okay from sweden. a lot of hurdles. jenna: thanks very much, greg. we have to run

assange in jail. this is really turning into a show trial. >> reporter: swedish prosecutors want to question him about allegations of rape and sexual molestation. before the appeal from the swedes, a judge has ruled that assange could go free if he surrendered the passport and wears an electronic tag and reports daily to police, and obeys a curfew while staying at the estate of restaurant owner and former journalist bon smith. >> i let him stay there, because he is what i believe in supporting the underdog and i don't believe he will break the bail. >> the bail was being raised from the likes of filmmaker michael moore and celebrity activist bianca jagger. >> i believe in due process, and in freedom of expression, and just, i am very concerned that this case is being politicized. >> reporter: but even behind bars, assange is not silent. he issued a statement through his mother. i remain true to the ideals i have express and if anything, this process has increased my determination na th that they a tru

we have specifically called on mr. assange to return stolen property to the united states. he has declined to do that. but, you know, beyond that, without talking about any particular cable, there is information that fully deserves confidentiality and classification. just this one instance, the release of a list of critical infrastructure that's important to our society and our economy and the economies of other countries is irresponsible. it is expressly the kind of information that is classified and deserves to remain classified. and to release in essence is providing a targeting list to a group like al qaeda. it is irresponsible, and this is exactly the concerns that we've had from the outset when we indicated, you know, very clearly that the release of this information puts, you know, lives and interests at risk. >> there's reporting in terms of the disclosures, the state department, other agencies are going to have to make a major reshuffle of people abroad who may be compromised on the release. >> i don't expect that to happen. i mean, first of all, let's be clear. ag

. >> my question is, why shouldn't mr. assange be pursued as a burglar, as a bandit? you issue an arrest warrant and say he burglarized and we bring him to task? >> the attorney general said yesterday, there is an ongoing investigation regarding anyone who has been potentially implicated by the situation. >> just to be clear, the clarity that were taken about someone who is neither a u.s. citizen or u.s. resident, what are the legal ramifications of that? >> again, i'll defer to department of justice. >> if i could just bring a mother point, that the previous administration found a way to do with non-us residents who would consider to be connecting crimes. it was called guantÁnamo. i mean, if any action going to be taken that could involve the type of extralegal process? >> no. >> wait, hold on. are you except in the between something -- >> no, no, no. the question proposed to me was this administration complementing any extrajudicial action to resolve the situation? and the answer is no. >> and it would not in any case -- >> and income each assassinate question i re

. >> there's been a lot of interest for our website the past days due to the arrest of mr. assange. so -- but i don't know the reason for this. >> reporter: a spokesman for wikileaks told abc news it's still business as usual at the website. >> it is not derailing us in any way. >> reporter: assange remains in a british prison, fighting extradition to sweden to face charges for rape and sexual molestation. >> he claims that he is innocent in this case and he believes he will win that case. >> reporter: the wikileaks spokesman called the timing of the charges interesting and retribution for the recent release of classified state department documents. but the attorney for the women accusing assange of sex crimes said they are not motivated by politics. >> they got in contact with each other, decided to go to the police, to inform the police of what had happened. >> reporter: defense secretary robert gates says that america's allies have responded to the leaks like statesmen. karen travers, abc news, washington. >> it's funny, they say actually some american television shows are having

officials are not unhappy that mr. assange is facing these legal troubles in europe. but the justice department is going along a separate track. what they are trying to find out is have they found all of the people responsible for these leaks? they want to prosecute them all. and they're looking at the possibility that they could charge wikileaks with some sort of criminal violation. but that's a big question because is wikileaks a journalistic outfit? they've never charged institutions before like the press. so that is a big question going forward. >> reporter: jim, you've been reporting for days on the so-called doomsday plan. this apparent password that's 256 characters long that would unleash all of the documents. with heat increasing on julian assange, is there any concern this morning that that could, in fact, play out? >> reporter: well, wikileaks, has been intentionally opaque on this. i've asked them repeatedly. and they say they don't comment on security matters. but our best assessment, always difficult with wikileaks, is the poison pill will only come if w

assange but brought about because the actions of our enemies, our terrorist enemies. i've come to realize and i think there will be a significant number of members of congress who realize that we don't have the tools to fight these enemies. that the idea that we could catch terrorists, like, frks, osama bin laden's chauffeur, we can't find a way to try that chauffeur and put him on trial with legitimate expectations of an effective prosecution and a conviction and penalty. that we have khalid sheikh muhammad sitting down in guantanamo bay yet two year into the obama presidency when president obama said he was going to close guantanamo bay and try the terrorists in civilian courts. we find out what happens when you try them in civilian courts, a whole bunch of information critical to the prosecution is left out so they were not successful. i look at this and make the charge, i think our military tribunals are a useful way to do this and guantanamo bay is the best place on the planet to keep them but we don't quite have the legislative cool tooles or judicial tools, and

many people will come forward to stand for assurances for mr. assange. >> reporter: sweden wants to talk to assange who -- allegations assange denies. a british newspaper reports the dispute may focus on the women's desires that assange be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. but in a assange is due back in court in london next week, the extradition process could take months. internet hacker who is support julian assange have attacked mastercard's web side in revenge they say for the company shutting down service to wikileaks. >> that's a huge problem, especially during the holiday season. >>> senate majority leader harry reid says changes are needed before democrats will support president obama's tax cut deal with republicans. the president defended his compromise tuesday saying he agreed to it because republicans were holding middle class tax cuts hostage in exchange for tax cuts for the wealthy. >>> a government study in the wake of the bp gulf oil disaster concludes that offshore oil rigs should be subject to more surprise inspections a

and that will be through me and through my co-counselor, mr. mark stevens. >> assange's lawyers would not say where assange is staying, but he is hiding because he received death threats, they say. >>> pedophile barbie? the mattel company, maker of barrie, on the defensive tonight after that doll has been mentioned in the same breath with sexual predators. an internal memo from sacramento's fbi office warns that barbie video girl that has a camera in her neck line could be "possible child pornography production method." the story's being carried in newspapers all around the world. the feds and mattel are rushing to say there have been no reports of barbie video being used illegally. >>> sworn in as california's first filipina american supreme court chief justice by the governor today. she said she can't wait to go to work. >> it's not a learning curve. it's a vertical climb. i take comfort in knowing the governor of this great state and the chief justice of this great state have faith in my ability to figure it out and to execute it. >> reporte

. >> my question is, why shouldn't mr. assange be pursued as a burglar, as a bandit? you issue an arrest warrant and say he burglarized and we bring him to task? >> the attorney general said yesterday, there is an ongoing investigation regarding anyone who has been potentially implicated by the situation. >> just to be clear, the clarity that were taken about someone who is neither a u.s. citizen or u.s. resident, what are the legal ramifications of that? >> again, i'll defer to department of justice. >> if i could just bring a mother point, that the previous administration found a way to do with non-us residents who would consider to be connecting crimes. it was called guantÁnamo. i mean, if any action going to be taken that could involve the type of extralegal process? >> no. >> wait, hold on. are you except in the between something -- >> no, no, no. the question proposed to me was this administration complementing any extrajudicial action to resolve the situation? and the answer is no. >> and it would not in any case -- >> and income each assassinate question i re

website. >> as unpopular as mr. assange has become and embarrassing as many of the disclosures reflect, it's clear he's in the crosshairs of the u.s. government and many of the u.s. government's allies. >> reporter: important to note, so far no formal charges have been filed against julian assange. overnight, i spoke to the attorney for the two women making claims. one of the most prominent womens rights attorneys in the entire country. he says his clients are in some part relieved this case is moving forward and hope assange will be taken into custody sometime this week. peter alexander in stockholm. thank you very much. 16 minutes past the hour. >>> now to washington and your money. republicans and democrats are locked in fights over tax cuts, unemployment benefits and staggering budget deficit. kelly o'donnell has the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, meredith. congress has to fix this or everyone's tax rates are set to go up next month. republicans say they are ready for a fight to keep it the same n

julian assange should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. i happen to be one of those individuals. i'm looking forward to hearing from people who have a broader background in this part of the law. i believe the gentleman should be prosecuted for jeopardize in our national security. it is that important. host: in "roll call" this morning, there was an article about sherrod brown and it tested you against him. are you running for the senate in 2012? guest: i do not plan to do that now. my focus is on the republican study committee. while i guess i have not dismissed it, i'm focused on the republican study committee and what we can get done host: one more question. the tea party caucus. justice scalia is speaking to them. guest: i would venture to guess, although i have not compared lists, every member of the tea party, this is probably a member of the republican study committee. many of them have already signed up. we are going to be 168 members. my guess is that everyone in the tea party is in the rnc as well. host: phone call from frederick,

base for being with us this evening i understand you support julian assange tell us why. well i'm not here particularly to support mr sands you know irrespective of the right and wrong to be surprised what i'm here for is to draw attention to the unjust injustice of the european arrest warrant as such because under european arrest warrant the court has almost no powers to prevent extradition the european arrest warrant came in early two thousand and four and under its provisions provided the paperwork has been filled out correctly then there are very very narrow grounds for actually refusing actually are so in a number of these cases now and listen to the proceedings and i'm afraid at the end of the process every one of those crises resulted in the extradition in fact it's not even called a tradition anymore it's now a judicial surrender the court has no power to look at the problem the facia evidence against the accused person and if decide whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant extradition so we're waiting to find out now what's going to happen today i think mr

thank you for being with us this morning, mr. cofeey. >> thanks, rebecca. >> we know now the attorney general, eric holder has reportedly authorized a criminal investigation into julian assange. what is the likelihood mr. as and will be indicted? >> i think he's almost surely going to be indicted. question look at the comments of the attorney general himself, which are somewhat extraordinary talking about the extreme harm to the national interest. he's talked about the fact there is a significant steps being taken and that this is not sabre rattling. the u.s. department of justice does not engage in games of bluff so i continuing is not a matter of whether he's going to be indicted but how soon. >> that is a good question. how soon, in your estimation, are we going to hear something about this indictment and hear it actually has happened? >> ordinary, it would be a matter of months because it's not enough for the department of justice to say something really bad happened they have to provide competent evidence of all of the eleme

pressure on a weekly leaks front man julian assange. the nobel prize is going to follow i don't look such i'll. not really target on it. since it has nothing to do with what all is actually done you come to the conclusion i'm trying based on political considerations rather than on. well i thought. the russian media regarding a sub i think that what we see with regard to the sun is the one thousand words so when the sun is now being threatened he's being targeted for releasing information to the guilty guy so they can see the congress now that it's on the so-called international community where the sun is talkative all knowing what's what he should be doing which is releasing factual information which should be known to the public and then you have solid case with the same people who will be pushing for a candidate which is a dissident within the people's republic of china using the nobel peace prize to justify a political agenda and this year it essentially is there to put pressure on side and to sign this so-called human rights record