Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a bold statement Thursday: The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is now a priority.
“We are going to step up our effort and already are stepping up our efforts on all leaks. This is a matter that’s gone beyond anything I’m aware of. We have professionals that have been in the security business of the United States for many years that are shocked by the number of leaks and some of them are quite serious,” Sessions said at the press conference in El Paso, Texas.
“So yes, it is a priority. We’ve already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail.”
And he isn’t the only one reporting on the Assange crack down.
Two media reports say U.S. prosecutors are preparing or closely considering charges against WikiLeaks, including Assange, for revealing sensitive government secrets.
CNN reports that authorities are preparing to seek Assange’s arrest.
The Washington Post reports prosecutors are weighing charges against the organization’s members after the Obama-era Justice Department declined to do so.
The newspaper says possible charges include conspiracy, theft of government property and violating the Espionage Act.
WikiLeaks last month released documents it says reveal secrets about the CIA’s cyberespionage tools for breaking into targeted computers, cellphones and smart TVs. It previously published 250,000 State Department cables and embarrassed the U.S. military with logs from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange’s attorney says authorities have not apprised him of the status of their investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.