Wikileaks

Government investigators in the WikiLeaks probe can access Twitter users’ account information, a federal appeals court ruled earlier this week. Court records explaining why the accounts were subpoenaed will also remain sealed, according to the ruling.

Military prosecutors are approaching the conclusion of their arguments against Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army analyst accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks, The Associated Press reported today. The military proceeding -- known as an Article 32 hearing -- is used to determine whether there is sufficient evidence of Manning's guilt to proceed to a trial on 22 counts, including aiding the enemy.

Failures in the security system set up to protect the U.S. Department of Defense's central database of classified and secret information enabled the alleged leaking to WikiLeaks of classified information by Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, witnesses said during a U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing Thursday.

Although U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, wants WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, to be added to a special government list of entities and individuals that includes terrorist groups and drug trafficking organizations, the Treasury Department has reportedly declined to do so. King called Wikileaks a "clear and present threat to U.S. national interests," in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday to address the Wikileaks controversy and discuss the future of the Espionage Act in light of demands that the government prosecute the site's founder, Julian Assange. The committee heard testimony from lawyers and advocates that stressed the importance of finding a balance between government transparency and maintaining national security secrets.