WASHINGTON鈥揥ikiLeaks has released what it says is an annotated transcript of a documentary that takes a critical look at the anti-secrecy group ahead of the US film鈥檚 Friday premiere.
WikiLeaks said it had not participated in the making of 鈥淲e Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,鈥� a film by Alex Gibney that focuses on the website鈥檚 founder Julian Assange and its main source of leaks, Bradley Manning.
Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst who admitted to leaking hundreds of thousands of secret military logs and confidential embassy cables to WikiLeaks, faces possible life imprisonment in a military trial to resume June 3.
Assange, the Australian hacker who founded the site, has been holed up in Ecuador鈥檚 London embassy for nearly a year, seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning in a sexual assault case.
WikiLeaks said late Thursday that the film 鈥減ortrays Manning鈥檚 alleged acts as a failure of character rather than a triumph of conscience,鈥� and said the film鈥檚 portrayal of his relationship with Assange was 鈥済rossly irresponsible.鈥�
The portrayal 鈥渟uggests 鈥� erroneously and when evidence is to the contrary 鈥� that Assange may be guilty of conspiring with Bradley Manning to commit espionage or similar offences.鈥�
The WikiLeaks statement added that 鈥渘either Julian Assange nor anyone associated with WikiLeaks over the past two-and-a-half years agreed to participate in the film.鈥�
It then posted what appeared to be a full transcript of the documentary with copious notes alleging factual errors and misrepresentations.
Gibney could not immediately be reached for comment.
But in a recent interview with CBS news, the director said the film is concerned with 鈥渂oth the abuse of power and hubris on the part of the US government, but certainly also on the part of Julian Assange.鈥�
鈥淎t his moment of greatest fame, (Assange) ends up becoming all too much like the enemies he sought to take out or expose,鈥� Gibney said.
Gibney told CBS he engaged in 鈥渆ndless negotiations鈥� with Assange but that his requests to interview the WikiLeaks founder were ultimately denied.
He was also unable to interview Manning, who has been in military detention since his arrest in 2010.