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Timeline: Daniel Domscheit-Berg

An history of Daniel Schmitt/Domscheit-Berg and WikiLeaks.

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Transcribed from the database of DDB activities used for the articles at Rixstep.

This is the story of Daniel Berg aka Daniel Schmitt aka Daniel Domscheit-Berg, one of the many collaborators with WikiLeaks in the 'nascent period' up to but not including the big releases of 2010.

Daniel was an employee of the US storage giant EDS in Rüsselsheim Germany when he heard about WikiLeaks. Daniel's not a programmer - and certainly not a hacker - but seemed to 'dabble' in political topics such as 'anarchy' and transparency.

But we're getting ahead of our story. The following data was culled over the past few months when the opportunity (and the inclination) came to research Daniel's bizarre life and relationship with WikiLeaks and the website's founder Julian Assange. All items are referenced online save Domscheit's own book.

The data formed a huge database of events and online references building a timeline of the years 2007-2010. It's now been augmented to include events in 2011 as well.

Readers are encouraged to take the material at face value, ignore the occasional 'subjective comment' that slips through, and draw their own conclusions.

Santorini August 2011

Milestones

The high points in Daniel's career. Click for the express ride.

Daniel begins volunteer work for WL - December 2007
Daniel quits job at EDS, begins full-time at WL - January 2009
Daniel flees Iceland, meets future wife in Berlin - February 2010
Daniel's first of two acts of overt sabotage against WL - August 2010
Daniel's second of two acts of overt sabotage against WL - September 2010
Daniel's most intense media month, that of the Belmarsh hearings - February 2011
Daniel's fiasco at this year's CCC summer camp, gets outed and ousted - August 2011

October 2006

The WikiLeaks domain registered 4 October.

Domain Name:WIKILEAKS.ORG
Created On:04-Oct-2006 05:54:19 UTC

Network Tools: ICANN Registrar Data - WIKILEAKS.ORG

December 2006

First WikiLeaks release: an alleged assassination order signed by Somali rebel leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, calling for execution of government officials by hired criminals, together with intercepted mail from the TNG discussing how to involve China in the Somali civil war.

The New Yorker: No Secrets
WikiLeaks: Inside Somalia and the Union of Islamic Courts

(Autumn 2007)

WikiLeaks now active for a year. Daniel Berg (his name before he married and took his wife's name) begins to visit the WikiLeaks chat room. Domscheit-Berg is then employed by US data storage giant EDS at their offices in Rüsselsheim Germany. Domscheit-Berg holds two 'lightweight' degrees in computer science but admits in his book he's never written a line of code.

Domscheit-Berg is initially sceptical of WikiLeaks, suspecting it could be a scheme put online by an intelligence agency to trap whistleblowers. But the WikiLeaks release of the 'Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures' convinces him the site is genuine. Domscheit-Berg offers to volunteer in the WikiLeaks chat room. No one responds.

WikiLeaks: Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedure

December 2007

Domscheit-Berg gets a 'feeler' from someone in the WikiLeaks chat room asking if he's still keen on helping out. He's given what he described as 'menial tasks': checking website HTML etc.

He arranges to meet Assange at the annual Chaos Computer Club (CCC) event in Berlin at the end of the year where Assange is giving a presentation on WikiLeaks.

Reference: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

January 2008

Assange and Daniel contract the flu at the CCC conference. Assange accompanies Daniel back to his home in Wiesbaden 1 January 2008 where they concentrate on getting over their infection. Assange subsequently stays, on and off, with Daniel for two months. This is the primary occasion Daniel has direct contact with Assange. He works full time for EDS throughout 2008 but does volunteer work for WikiLeaks in his spare time.

Reference: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

On 9 January WikiLeaks release documents on Julius Bär Bank's subsidiary in the Cayman Islands. Julius Bär Bank counter by suing WikiLeaks in the US federal court. Assange counters by mustering support from media organisations and activist groups, building a coalition of twenty-two lawyers. Assange won - the wikileaks.org domain had briefly gone offline but it quickly came back again.

WikiLeaks: Bank Julius Baer
Reuters: Reuters: Judge reverses ruling in Julius Baer leak case
Guardian: Bank drops lawsuit against Wikileaks
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

February 2008

Assange leaves Wiesbaden for a destination unknown to Daniel, leaving the latter in his house. Daniel spends a month on Iceland with Assange and other WikiLeakers two years later, otherwise their contact was almost entirely through the Internet.

Reference: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

December 2008

Domscheit-Berg is made press contact for his home country Germany and receives an email account with the organisation. Prior to this there's not been much tangible affiliation.

WikiLeaks receive a threat from the head of the BND (Germany's 'CIA') on 19 December stating that WikiLeaks face immediate criminal prosecution if all files or reports related to the BND are not removed from the website.

WikiLeaks: German Spy Chief Threatens WikiLeaks

Assange and Domscheit-Berg give a talk at the CCC conference ('25C3') at the Berlin Conference Centre 27 December.

CCC-TV: Wikileaks vs the World
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

January 2009

Daniel is increasingly annoyed with his employer EDS and commits a hostile act. He ultimately accepts a one-year severance package that he says was 'lucrative'. He starts working full-time for WikiLeaks but without salary. Domscheit-Berg's tasks are further administrative duties, including liaising with the German foundation Wau Holland Stiftung which collects donations for WikiLeaks, and aspects of delivering and installing hardware. He is also a spokesperson to the German press.

Reference: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

September 2009

Wired UK's interview with Daniel appears 1 September. Daniel describes himself as being 'involved with WikiLeaks prior to launch in December 2006, giving up his career and salary to work for the group'. When Assange contacts Wired UK to refute this statement, Wired UK refer to their journalist's notes taken at the time in which Daniel had indeed described himself in this way. But Daniel admits in his book and other articles that he became involved only in December 2007 as a part-time volunteer and didn't join the organisation until January 2009.

Wired UK: Exposed: WikiLeaks' secrets
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

November 2009

Assange grants an interview 9 November with IDG News Service for Computerworld where he describes his vision for a future WikiLeaks project: a system to assist whistleblowers get their leaks published by media/journalists of their choice by use of an anonymous 'drop box'. This later becomes the organisational model of Daniel's OpenLeaks.

Computerworld: WikiLeaks Plans to make the web a Leakier Place

25 November: WikiLeaks release of the 570,000 9/11 pager messages.

WikiLeaks: Egads! Confidential 9/11 Pager Messages Disclosed

Assange takes Daniel to Iceland for a television appearance as a followup to the WikiLeaks exposure of the Kaputhing banking scandal. During the preparations for their televised interview, Assange hatches an idea during the afternoon preparations: a hi-tech 'Swiss bank' journalist haven free from censorship. This is discussed again during the evening transmission. This becomes the basis for the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative. Assange organises WikiLeaks staff, volunteers, and supporters for a meet on Iceland the following January to help work on the IMMI proposal.

IMMI: Icelandic Modern Media Initiative
YouTube: RUV Interview 29 November (IMMI discussed 12:30)
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

December 2009

Daniel interviewed by German Die Zeit 14 December. He's described as being part of a small group that have been running WikiLeaks for two years and is in charge of a team at the organisation, forcing WikiLeaks to issue a comment on the matter.

Clarification to Die Zeit article on Daniel Schmitt [Daniel Domscheit-Berg] profile
December 15, 2009

WikiLeaks was started in 2006 by individuals from half a dozen countries.
WikiLeaks and its parents are formally domiciled in several countries which so far do not include Germany.
DS was not significantly involved with WikiLeaks until early 2008.
A director for WikiLeaks Germany has not yet been assigned.
DS is the spokesperson for WikiLeaks Germany, however DS was interviewed in a personal capacity only. The views expressed do not necessarily agree with those held by WikiLeaks or The Sunshine Press, in Germany or more broadly.

Die Zeit: Der Wahrheits-Hacker
WikiLeaks: Clarification to Die Zeit article

Assange takes the WikiLeaks website offline 23 December in an attempt to improve fundraising. The strategy works with approximately $1 million received in new funding.

WikiLeaks website
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Assange and Daniel speak at the annual conference ('26C3') of the Chaos Computer Club in Berlin. Daniel is now introduced as 'Daniel Schmitt', a name he reveals in his book is borrowed from his cat ('Herr Schmitt').

YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (1)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (2)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (3)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (4)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (5)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (6)
YouTube: WikiLeaks Talk 26C3 (7)
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

January 2010

WikiLeaks staff and volunteers return to Reykjavík on 5 January to research the IMMI, living together in a hotel flat at the Fosshotel. Daniel begins showing signs of unraveling, developing a relationship with the cartoon character on the packages of orange juice he drinks, and becoming increasingly intolerant of his environment and the others in the group.

This is when Daniel gets halfway through a tattoo that's to cover his entire back. Daniel subsequently tells the NY Times he'll never have it removed: his time with Assange and WikiLeaks was the best in his life. Daniel flees Iceland on 5 February; within one week he's living with Microsoft government relations lobbyist Anke Domscheit, a single mother ten years his senior.

Daniel's unraveling in Reykjavík didn't go unnoticed: WikiLeaks staff begin phasing him out of operations (such as Collateral Murder, Afghan War Diaries, Iraq War Logs, Cablegate, et al). He's not privy to any of the big leaks of 2010 and he never meets Assange again.

The New Yorker: No Secrets
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

February 2010

Daniel flees Iceland on 5 February, flies to Berlin, pops in at Dada Falafel, is introduced by a friend to Anke Domscheit. He spends a week sleeping on the 'red sofa' at the CCC, then moves in with her.

Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

March 2010

The Collateral Murder project begins 3 March in downtown Reykjavík, a joint venture between WikiLeaks and Icelandic national television (RUV). RUV journalist Kristinn Hrafnsson and RUV cameraman/editor Ingi Ingasson join the project, travel to Baghdad to authenticate the video, speak with and film relatives of the victims.

Both Hrafnsson and Ingasson stay on permanently at WikiLeaks, win several awards in the coming years. Hrafnsson will have been named 'Icelandic journalist of the year' three times in four years by 2011.

Daniel's sole role in the project is to contact a WikiLeaks representative in the US about the location of the press conference announcing the video.

The New Yorker: No Secrets
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

April 2010

Julian Assange and Rop Gonggrijp release the Collateral Murder video 5 April at a press conference in the US. Despite not ever being part of the Collateral Murder project, Domscheit-Berg tours the German media landscape talking about its production.

Collateral Murder website
Spiegel Online: WikiLeaks-Sprecher Kundigt neues Enthullungsvideo an
Taz: 'Wir brauchen die Obskurität noch'

May 2010

Bradley Manning arrested in Iraq 26 May.

New Statesman: Bradley Manning, the unknown soldier

Bradley Manning arrested and detained at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

BoingBoing: US will press criminal charges against Manning, alleged Wikileaks source

June 2010

Raffi Khatchadourian's piece in the New Yorker published 7 June. Raffi spent time living with the Collateral Murder team in Reykjavík, also did research in Australia. Try as one will, one can't find a mention of Daniel in the article.

The New Yorker: No Secrets

July 2010

Bradley Manning charged with leak of Collateral Murder video 6 July.

Guardian: US private Bradley Manning charged with leaking Iraq killings video

Afghan War Diaries released 26 July.

WikiLeaks: Iraq & Afghan War Logs Explorer

Bradley Manning transferred to Quantico 29 July, deemed a suicide risk, placed under maximum security.

The Law Offices of David E Coombs: Article 138 Complaint

The WikiLeaks 'insurance file' ('insurance.aes256') made available for download 30 July. Daniel's not in the loop on this, yet immediately starts making USB thumbs with the file and sending them off by snail mail to people he thinks he can trust, then turns critical of WikiLeaks staff, saying they shouldn't let the file be so accessible. Daniel doesn't know what the file contains.

Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

US secretary of defence Robert Gates states 30 July that DOD officials have asked the FBI to assist in investigating the leak of the classified material. Joint chief chairman admiral Mike Mullen says those responsible for the leak may have the blood of US servicemen and Afghan civilians on their hands. The media run with the accusation. One year later there are twenty times more Google hits for Assange having 'blood on his hands' than there are for the Pentagon. Daniel will soon join in the chorus.

Defense.gov News Article: Official Rejects Claim WikiLeaks Offered Document Review

August 2010

US secretary of defence Robert Gates states 1 August that WikiLeaks have a 'moral culpability' regarding the Afghan War Diaries and have put Afghan lives at risk. No evidence is ever offered of course.

Defense.gov News Article: WikiLeaks Guilty on Moral Grounds, Gates Says

The FBI (jurisdiction only in the US) raid the Welsh home of Bradley Manning's mother 1 August. Assange was in the UK at the time along with other members of the Afghan War Diaries team.

Daily Mail: FBI question WikiLeaks mother at Welsh home

USDOD demand 6 August that WikiLeaks 'return' all published and unpublished material relating to the US and threaten to 'compel' WikiLeaks otherwise. They also announce a 'Pentagon task force' of 80 researchers to work around the clock to find 'issues of concern'.

Defense.gov News Article: Pentagon Demands WikiLeaks Return Stolen Documents

Assange arrives in Stockholm 11 August. Contacts in Australian intelligence warn him the same day of a possible 'honey trap'.

Assange applies for Swedish residency 18 August.

The Age: ASIO Eye on WikiLeaks
The Age: Assange told of ASIO snooping
SVT: Piratpartiet takes responsibility for Wikileaks
The Local: Julian Assange applies for Swedish residency

Anna Ardin and Sofia Wilén enter the Klara police station in Stockholm at 14:00 20 August. Three hours later Assange is arrested in absentia for rape and sexual molestation. The headlines from Swedish tabloid Expressen are blasted all over the globe twelve hours after that. The warrant is rescinded and all but a lesser charge twelve hours after that: chief prosecutor Eva Finné is the first to actually read the case documents.

Blasting out a name like that - 5,000,000 Google hits for 'Assange+rape' - is against journalistic ethics in Sweden where articles usually describe people as eg 'the 29yo'. Expressen's editor Thomas Mattsson, already harbouring hatred towards WikiLeaks, gives the go-ahead on the meaningless grounds that Assange is 'well known'.

Three Expressen journalists begin tweeting frenetically at 05:00: convicted criminal Niklas Svensson, Emanuel Karsten, and a third Bonnier journalist using the official '@expressen' account. Karsten's the one who blurts out the memorable 'but he hasn't been proven innocent either!'

Rixstep: Niklas Svensson: 'I Regret That!'
Rixstep: Twelve Hours That Shook the World
Rixstep: The Campaign Against Julian Assange
Journalisten: Niklas Svensson fälld för dataintrång
Sweden vs Assange: Media climate in Sweden

Anna Ardin contacts Claes Borgström 22 August. Borgström informs Ardin that he may be able to get the investigation reopened. Borgström contacts old crony Marianne Ny who got her position from Borgström's partner Thomas Bodström.

Daniel attempts to take over the WikiLeaks network 25 August. Several networks are shut down and passwords are changed. WikiLeaks staff react by shutting down everything, pursuant to a proper forensic post-mortem. Domscheit-Berg admits later in his book that he was behind the attack, caved in quickly, and gave Assange the new passwords. The WikiLeaks website comes back online.

Rixstep: The WikiLeaks Palace Revolt

An article appears in Newsweek 26 August with information from an 'anonymous source' inside WikiLeaks claiming there's unrest at the palace. Daniel vehemently denies being the source, although it's obvious no one else could be.

Rixstep: The WikiLeaks Palace Revolt
Newsweek: Is WikiLeaks too Full of Itself?
Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Julian meets Daniel in an online chat session 26 August. Daniel tries unsuccessfully to preempt the situation by changing the topic of conversation to the Iraq War Logs, a project he's never been involved in.

There are two matters on the agenda for this chat session:

the sabotage to WikiLeaks infrastructure the day before; and
the leak by an 'anonymous source' to Newsweek.

An edited extract of the session is subsequently leaked to Wired. Daniel reprints part of the session in his book. Daniel gives no explanation for the accusations against him and is thereafter suspended for one month.

J: You are suspended for one month, effective immediately.
D: BAHAHAHA
J: You are suspended for disloyalty, insubordination and destabilization in a time of crisis.

Reference: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

September 2010

The Daily Beast publish an article 3 September with information from 'a WikiLeaks organiser speaking on condition of anonymity'. Everything points to this being Daniel. The 'organiser' states Assange has 'been resisting efforts over the last two weeks to push him off the public stage' and goes on to defend the abortive 'revolt'. 'It was really meant to be a sign to Assange that he needs to rethink his situation. Our technical people were sending a message.' This smacks so totally of Domscheit-Berg it's not funny - of course he later admits he was behind the sabotage.

The Daily Beast: WikiLeaks Organizers Demand Julian Assange Step Aside

On 10 or 11 September (he's not sure himself) Daniel sets out for the Ruhr valley with his $5000 train pass purchased with WikiLeaks donations. His goal: take over the WikiLeaks mail server. Three hours into his trip and he gets cold feet and jumps the train.

Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Daniel tries again 14 September to reach the mail server. Although he makes it all the way, the data centre supervisors immediately alert Julian. Daniel is still suspended at this point of course.

Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Daniel Domscheit-Berg resigns from WikiLeaks 15 September by his own account. even though he never tenders a formal resignation. But he takes with him the ability to access a number of WikiLeaks servers and in so doing sabotages the WikiLeaks submission system and the ability to access submissions that have already been received.

Daniel registers his 'OpenLeaks' domains 17 September.

Domain Name:OPENLEAKS.ORG Created On:17-Sep-2010 20:06:16 UTC

Network Tools: Whois OPENLEAKS.NET
Network Tools: Whois OPENLEAKS.ORG

Assange granted permission 15 September by Swedish prosecution office to depart Sweden if needed - he remains another twelve days before flying to Berlin to meet the people at Spiegel and L'Espresso as well as Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Sweden vs Assange: Prosecution
Death and Taxes: The Assassination of Julian Assange?

Daniel interviewed by Marcel Rosenbach and Holger Stark of Spiegel Online 27 September. Daniel says 'material and money from donors should remain at WikiLeaks, because both were intended explicitly for this project'. Daniel will later boast about stealing, then deny stealing, back and forth, for an entire year. Daniel also makes the claim he took a 'handful' of people with him from WikiLeaks - something Wired will call a 'domino chain' of resignations. All points to there being only two people who resigned - Daniel and the part-time 'architect'. The claim the architect's with Daniel today seems to be another prevarication.

Spiegel Online: German Spokesman Says He Will Leave Website
Wired: Unpublished Iraq War Logs Trigger Internal WikiLeaks Revolt
Spiegel Online: 'The Only Option Left for Me Is an Orderly Departure'
NY Times: Former WikiLeaks Colleagues Form New Web Site OpenLeaks

Daniel is interviewed by CNN 28 September.

'WikiLeaks has a structural problem. I no longer want to take responsibility for it, and that's why I am leaving the project.'

Daniel admits he was actually suspended and avoids any mention of the sabotage, the stolen property, or the attempt to hijack the WikiLeaks mail server while suspended.

CNN: WikiLeaks spokesman to step down

October 2010

Assange's application for Swedish residency is turned down 18 October. No reason is given and requests for information about the reason are denied, something that can only happen when the Swedish secret police are involved.

BBC: Wikileaks founder Assange denied residency in Sweden

The Iraq War Logs are released late evening UTC 22 October and followed by a press conference at the Plaza Hotel in London the following day.

Partners for the release include Al Jazeera, Channel 4, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Iraq Body Count, the New York Times, the Guardian, Spiegel Online, Le Monde, SVT, and Public Interest Lawyers. Kristinn Hrafnsson takes the stage along with Assange. Daniel's conspicuous in his absence.

WikiLeaks: Iraq & Afghan War Logs Explorer

The US DOD issue a statement 22 October 'strongly condemning' WikiLeaks, claiming the organisation are 'putting the lives of troops and civilians at risk'.

Defense.gov News Article: Pentagon Prepares for Possible WikiLeaks Publication

Daniel is interviewed by CNN again 25 October.

'Daniel Domscheit-Berg, longtime volunteer and spokesman for WikiLeaks, quit last month. He told CNN that Assange's personality was distracting from the group's original mission: to publish small leaks, not just huge, splashy ones like the Afghan War Diary [sic].'

There's no mention that Daniel's own actions - sabotage, hijacking servers, theft - were the distractions.

CNN: WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange dismisses reports of internal strife

November 2010

A dispute erupts 1 November because David Leigh snuck a copy of Cablegate he'd got from Heather Brooke to the NY Times, breaking the terms of the Guardian's contract with WikiLeaks.

Spiegel Online: An Inside Look at Difficult Negotiations with Julian Assange

Cablegate releases begin. Daniel isn't involved here either.

WikiLeaks: Secret US Embassy Cables

The Australian attorney general's office responds to Cablegate 29 November by announcing 'a whole-of-government task force to look at the issues'. The task force is to include both internal and external intelligence agencies and the federal police.

Attorney General's Department: Doorstop on leaking of US classified documents by WikiLeaks

Hillary Clinton issues the statement 29 November that Cablegate 'constitutes an attack not only on America but also on the international community'.

Defense.gov News Article: Clinton: WikiLeaks' Release Attacks International Community

The WikiLeaks websites endure a high level of DDoS attacks 28-30 November but manage to stay online.

SecurityWeek.com: WikiLeaks Under Denial of Service Attack (DDoS)

The media report 30 November on Sarah Palin's posts on Facebook asking 'why the US authorities were not looking for him the same way they hunt suspected terrorists'.

Telegraph: Sarah Palin: hunt WikiLeaks founder like al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders

December 2010

Amazon pull the plug on hosting WikiLeaks 1 December after pressure from Joe Lieberman.

EFF: Amazon and WikiLeaks - Online Speech is Only as Strong as the Weakest Intermediary

PayPal freeze the WikiLeaks account 4 December.

Wired: PayPal Freezes WikiLeaks Account

Al Akhbar begin to publish WikiLeaks cables. Al Akhbar and WikiLeaks are quickly blocked by the Tunisian government.

Ahram Online: Tunisia blocks Al-Akhbar newspaper

Canadian university professor and former prime minister adviser Thomas Flanagan calls for Assange's assassination 6 December.

'I think Assange should be assassinated, actually. I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something. I would not feel unhappy if Assange disappeared.'

Canadian Thomas Flanagan: 'Assange should be assassinated'

Visa and MasterCard stop processing donations in Europe to WikiLeaks 7 December.

OpenNet Initiative: Intermediary Censorship of WikiLeaks On the Rise
Businessweek: MasterCard, Visa Europe Halting Payments to WikiLeaks

Julian Assange surrenders to Scotland Yard 7 December subsequent to issuance of the EAW, spends ten days in Wandsworth, finally released on bail and into house arrest in Norfolk 16 December.

Reuters: WikiLeaks' Assange walks free on bail in London

Bonnier-owned Dagens Nyheter reveal in a rare English language article 9 December that 'individuals behind the new site' OpenLeaks claim it will launch Monday 13 December. Nope - there's no launch. Bonnier also own Daniel's German publisher.

Dagens Nyheter: 'A new WikiLeaks' revolts against Assange

CNN publish a new interview with Daniel 12 December. Daniel boasts of how WikiLeaks put 'everything we had' into the high profile disclosures of 2010 - amazing as he hadn't a mite to do with any of them.

Daniel also accuses Assange of not being transparent, deliberately confusing organisations and individuals.

'If you preach transparency to everyone else, you have to be transparent yourself. You have to fulfill the same standards that you expect from others. And I think that's where we've not been heading in the same direction philosophically anymore.'

The BBC publish another interview with Daniel 13 December. CNN also release another interview 13 December. Daniel clearly states OpenLeaks will launch in a matter of days. Nope.

CNN: Video clip with Daniel Domscheit-Berg
BBC News: Wikileaks defectors to launch OpenLeaks alternative

CIA launch their 'WTF' - WikiLeaks Task Force - 22 December.

Washington Post: CIA launches task force to assess impact of US cables' exposure by WikiLeaks

Hardware.no initiate a discussion 27 December about Daniel and WikiLeaks by getting almost everything wrong.

'In late 2007 the programmer Daniel Domscheit-Berg, known under the pseudonym Daniel Schmitt, quit his regular job to devote all time to WikiLeaks.'

Hardware.no: Hvem, hva, hvordan, hvorfor?

January 2011

Rudolf Elmer arrested without charges 19 January after being given a suspended fine and acquitted of other charges.

Guardian: Swiss banker convicted over WikiLeaks publications

Cryptome publish a leak of an OpenLeaks site design 26 January, forcing OpenLeaks to attempt to launch again. The site is live but not functional. Best of all is the section 'who are OpenLeaks?' with the answer 'this question has various answers'.

Cryptome: OpenLeaks-leak
Fox News: OpenLeaks Site Leaked, Forces Premature Launch of WikiLeaks Rival
Huffington Post: Openleaks, WikiLeaks Rival, Launches New Secret-Spilling Site

Assange invited to speak at the Davos World Economic Forum 26 January but cannot attend as is under house arrest. Domscheit-Berg somehow manages to replace him at the dinner talk about WikiLeaks and privacy, where he meets New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger. A few months later the New York Times suddenly have the Gitmo files, thereby damaging the investigative coalition into Guantánamo abuses. Coalition partners include Der Spiegel, Le Monde, El País, the Washington Post, McClatchy, the Telegraph, Aftonbladet, La Repubblica, L'Espresso, and Andy Worthington.

Assange receives intel on the attempted spoiler. The WikiLeaks coalition preempt.

Huffington Post: The Disruptors Arrive at Davos
World Economic Forum: Confidentiality or Transparency: The WikiLeaks Dilemma
Huffington Post: WikiLeaks Guantánamo Documents: The Backstory on the Race to Publish Them

February 2011

Assange returns to court 7 February. Domscheit-Berg is interviewed the same day by the New York Times.

'OpenLeaks emerges from the ashes of a struggle between Mr Assange and many of his closest associates last September. About a dozen members of WikiLeaks left that month, accusing Mr Assange of imperious behaviour and of jeopardising the project by conflating the allegations of sexual wrongdoing, which he denies, with the site's work.'

'The defectors, Mr Snorrason said, decided to start their own project.'

Domscheit-Berg is described as 'a precise programmer [sic]' and Snorrason as 'an Icelandic programmer', quite the feat as he's actually a graduate student in history.

New York Times: Former WikiLeaks Colleagues Forming New Web Site OpenLeaks

Portions of Domscheit-Berg's coming book are leaked to Cryptome 7 February. Today is also the first of Daniel's many visits to the Mail. But this is not a kind review of Daniel's book.

'This is a love story - an unrequited love story, but a love story nonetheless.'

Cryptome: Excerpts of Daniel Domscheit-Berg's Book
Mail Online: War of the WikiFreaks: Inside WikiLeaks by Daniel Domscheit-Berg
Mail Online: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has 'fathered four love children' friend claims in tell-all book

Spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson releases the only statement WikiLeaks have ever made about Domscheit-Berg on 9 February.

WikiLeaks has been taking legal action against former employee Daniel Domscheit-Berg who was suspended from the organisation in September. The reasons for these actions will gradually become clear, but some are hinted at by extracts from Domscheit-Berg's book.

In the book Domscheit-Berg confesses to various acts of sabotage against the organization. The former WikiLeaks staffer admits to having damaged the site's primary submission system and stolen material.

The sabotage and concern over motives led to an overhaul of the entire submission system, an ongoing project that is not being expedited due to its complex nature and the organisation's need to focus its resources on publication and defence.

It should be noted that Domscheit-Berg's roles within WikiLeaks were limited and started to diminish almost a year ago as his integrity and stability were questioned.

He has falsely misrepresented himself in the press as a programmer, computer scientist, security expert, architect, editor, founder, director, and spokesman. He is not a founder or cofounder, nor was there any contact with him during the founding years. He did not even have an email address with the organisation until 2008 (we launched in December 2006). He cannot program and wrote not a single program for the organisation at any time.

Domscheit-Berg was never an architect for the organisation, technically or in matters of policy. He was a spokesperson for WikiLeaks in Germany at various times, but he was never the spokesman for WikiLeaks nor was he ever a WikiLeaks editor, although he subedited some articles.

He was also never a computer scientist or computer security expert, although he was a computer science student many years ago. His accounts of the crucial times in WikiLeaks history since April last year are therefore based upon limited information or malicious falsifications.

Forbes: WikiLeaks Fires Back At Defector Over Book Claims

There are six (6) appearances by Daniel in the media on 10 February alone. Note the 'timing' with the Belmarsh hearings.

1. At the BBC Daniel says the ideal they believed in was falling apart because Julian 'was so damned ignorant'.

'He was behaving like a child, clutching at his toy.'

2. The Gawker runs with the love child story found in Daniel's unreleased book.

3. At INQUIRER.net Daniel uses the story about how Julian abused his cat.

4. Newsday reports Daniel saying Julian was an 'emperor'. But note the admission by Daniel that he did steal, despite assurances to Spiegel Online that nothing such would happen, and later claims by Daniel that nothing was stolen. Daniel very simply cannot get his story straight.

5. Wired story #1 announces Daniel's 'tell-all' book. 'Daniel Domscheit-Berg writes that he and a top WikiLeaks programmer seized the submission system when they defected from the organisation last September, along with documents in the system at the time.' [Note they're back to two defectors from the NY Times high of a dozen.]

6. Wired story #2 is one of the most detailed accounts. Again there's an open admission by Daniel that he in fact did steal from WikiLeaks, but Daniel wants to portray himself as a hero for this crime. See later entries where he will again deny stealing anything at all.

'In the marble-lined hall of a former Prussian palace here Thursday, former WikiLeaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg defended actions that have left the controversial document-posting site unable to receive new leaks online. The 32-year-old German programmer said he and his group intend to return the material unused and unpublished as soon as WikiLeaks can demonstrate the technical ability to keep the data and its sources safe.'

A curious (not to say suspect) remark from Domscheit-Berg: WikiLeaks would never obtain or retain source information in the first place and he knows it.

And even as Assange dukes it out with the CPS in Belmarsh, WikiLeaks release cables covering Cambodia, Botswana, Shell Oil, Iranian uranium, Syria, Srebrenica, Libya, Egypt and Suleiman, Peruvian mining, BP, Mubarak, Cuban health issues, Honduras, Mexico, Haiti Drugs traffic, Obama and Mubarak, Egyptian police, the Lebanese community and drug rings in Brazil, the Russian-Georgian war, human trafficking, Chavez and Paraguay, Dutch climate policy, Chilean politics, Guinea, corruption in Suriname, drug mafias in Monterrey, Rumania, Saudi oil, Iranian dissidents, Somalia, Russian Generals in Tajikistan, Egyptian Police Brutality, Yemen.

WikiLeaks also launch a partnership with Mexican La Jornada on the same day.

La Jornada: Los trasfondos del poder, a la luz

Domscheit-Berg still has effected no releases, stolen or otherwise.

BBC News Panorama: Wikileaks spokesman speaks out
Gawker: Julian Assange Has at Least Four Love Children
INQUIRER.net: Assange abused my cat - WikiLeaks insider
Newsday: Assange portrayed as 'emperor' in insider book
Wired #1: WikiLeaks Defector Slams Assange In Tell-All Book
Wired #2: WikiLeaks Defector Defends Site's Crippling

An interview with Domscheit-Berg at the UK's New Statesman is published 11 February, the final day of Belmarsh. Daniel here uses the tired Pentagon tack that he really had to steal from WikiLeaks so that 'Assange could not do harm to anyone else'. Of course this will again contradict past and future statements that he never stole anything.

New Statesman: Exclusive: WikiLeaks ex-spokesman on Julian Assange

Kristinn Hrafnsson fires back at Daniel from the offices of the Independent on the same day, revealing some of the extent of Daniel's sabotage: 3,500 documents stolen.

The Independent: WikiLeaks action against ex-colleague

Swedish media review Daniel's coming book 11 February in a typically hostile piece by Expressen's notorious Karin Olsson.

'WikiLeaks stinks. From Julian Assange who never changes clothes, who eats Leberkäse with his fingers and cleans them off on the sofa. From his mania for women and his boasting about all the love children he has around the world. It stinks from hackers who close themselves in a room day after day, surrounding by rotting pieces of pizza.

There's a stink of paranoia and delusions of grandeur. The book by German Domscheit-Berg, who built the site in close association with Assange, is a thrilling contemporary narrative. It's also a biased work: he recently launched the competitor OpenLeaks after having left WikiLeaks in a rage because of Assange's dictatorial style.

Domscheit-Berg seems a reasonable individual. He was a gifted IT technician who dreamt of using his hacking hobby for loftier things. The bored office worker sought meaning in life and found WikiLeaks.'

Karin Olsson/Expressen: Daniel Domscheit-Berg och Tina Klopp: WikiLeaks
Rixstep: Flashback Stops Witch Trial of Assange

Expressen's Bonnier parent DN.se publish their own review of the book 12 February.

DN.se: Daniel Domscheit-Berg, Tina Klopp: WikiLeaks - Historien bakom sajten som förändrade en hel värld

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Peru with El Comercio 13 February.

El Comercio: WikiLeaks Peru: las comunicaciones de EE.UU. sobre nuestro pais

Daniel makes it down under for a story for The Australian 14 February. The story focuses on the 'death threats' Julian made against poor Daniel.

The Australian: Feeling the pressure at WikiLeaks

Daniel makes it to Vanity Fair 15 February. The article has excerpts from Daniel's as yet (at time article is written) unreleased book as well as an interview. This one's about Wiesbaden, ninja cats, stolen Ovaltine, and destructors of sofas rescued from the city dump. The article's title says all.

Vanity Fair: Julian Assange: Roommate from Hell

Daniel's book is finally published 15 February.

Domscheit-Berg's back with the NY Times 18 February. This article hallmarks one of the most ridiculous photo portraits ever seen. Daniel speaks again of the 'death threats' but much more dramatically this time. The article has reams of really dirty digs such as 'if there is no blood on anyone's hands and no one got hurt, then this was just pure luck'.

Daniel also talks about the unfinished WikiLeaks tattoo covering half his back.

'No I will never have that removed at all, absolutely not - why would I? It's still part of my life and was the most remarkable period in my life so far.'

NY Times: Questions for Daniel Domscheit-Berg

WikiLeaks launch second part of Cablegate Egypt 16 February.

WikiLeaks Cablegate: Browse by 2011-02-16

WikiLeaks publish 100 Bahrain cables 18 February.

WikiLeaks Cablegate: Browse by 2011-02-18

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Colombia with El Espectador 20 February.

El Espectador: Colombia en WikiLeaks

March 2011

One thousand cables now published by WikiLeaks by 1 March.

Additional charges are brought before Bradley Manning 2 March including 'aiding the enemy', a capital offence.

ABC News: 22 New Charges Against Pvt Bradley Manning, Accused WikiLeaks Source

'Revenge of the Second Banana' is published 2 March. One of the most liberating pieces ever on Daniel Berg. Article also debunks Daniel's repeated claim to have worked with WikiLeaks for three years - something even Daniel's book also does.

The eXiled: Inside WikiLeaks: Revenge of the Second Banana

The multi-part interview with Daniel at Artificial Eyes is published 2 March. Both the actual footage and complete transcripts are provided. This is one of the most revealing reports ever into the puzzling person that is Domscheit-Berg - particularly part two of the exchange.

It is here one begins to see how transparent Daniel's duplicity really is and how many contradictory stories he's told people. The prophetic words of Julian when describing the behaviour of pathological liars comes immediately to mind: they can lie as much as they do because they believe they're telling the truth. Daniel literally goes all over the place trying to make sense out of a story more contradictory for every day that goes by.

Daniel really outdoes himself, not only in what he says but in what he doesn't say.

The guts of the issues are taken up in part two. Daniel says the following about returning stolen property (which this week again he admits doing).

'Well, that is what we want as well. When we left WikiLeaks, there were people that had this data, so they asked Julian who do we hand it over to.'
- Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Daniel will otherwise say he deliberately took the data, despite assurances to the contrary to Spiegel Online on 26 September, because he wanted to 'safeguard' it. But now he's saying he wanted to return it as soon as he stole it.

The first obvious question is 'why steal it in the first place?' The second obvious question is 'do you think it's humanly possible to reconcile all your contradictory explanations?'

'Julian was just for three weeks too busy to answer that question. He said he was too busy with the Iraq release, it didn't matter to him, and basically there was just no one who could take over that data. So what do you do?'
- Daniel Domscheit-Berg

(You leave it where it was and wash your sticky fingers? This securely fixes the time frame for the event. Those three weeks occur before the release of the Iraq War Logs on 22 October - on 1 October at the latest. Daniel 'resigned' from WikiLeaks only two weeks earlier. There is no way WikiLeaks could repair the damage done by Daniel's sabotage in that time and there isn't even a mention of it.)

Daniel goes on to admit intermediaries for WikiLeaks have contacted him about the stolen property and attempted to reach an agreement on how it's to be returned. But it doesn't take much critical study of the interview to see Daniel has no intention of ever returning it. That he now claims to have destroyed it (citing 'altruistic' reasons) has to be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

Towards the end of the segment, Daniel says the following.

'We're not talking about all the bad feelings from time gone by, because we are turning over source-sensitive data to someone that is not responsible.'
- Daniel Domscheit-Berg

'Source-sensitive data'?

This is in line with Daniel's earlier claims he has to hold onto the data for 'altruistic' reasons. But this of course directly contradicts his bizarre story that he stole the data and was immediately trying to return it and even later statements he took nothing at all.

No more nails are needed for Daniel's coffin after this 'foot in mouth' event.

Artificial Eyes: Interviews with Daniel Domscheit-Berg of OpenLeaks

The announcement Domscheit-Berg's sold his book's film rights to DreamWorks comes 3 March.

Reuters: DreamWorks option movie rights to WikiLeaks books

WikiLeaks have been publishing cables for 100 days by 6 March.

WikiLeaks: Global - Editorial - 100 Days of Cablegate

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate India with The Hindu 15 March.

The Hindu: Revealed: The India Cables from WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks launch second part of Cablegate Colombia with Semana 19 March.

Semana.com: Colombia es muy interesante para WikiLeaks

Daniel at Scoop NZ 29 March and back again to having been with WikiLeaks for three years. But here he admits something else, saying he left 'after 6 months internal struggle', a near admission he was out of the game after 5 February 2010.

Sometimes the truth just sneaks out there on him when he's least aware of it.

Scoop News: Interview with Daniel Domscheidt-Berg 24 February 2011

WikiLeaks cable releases for March cover Bahrain, Uganda, Armenia, Georgia, Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt, Iceland on Russian activities in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia, fighting in South Ossetia, Finland and Putin, Italian-Russian relations, the GOP on Russian activities in Georgia, Russian missiles for the US Navy, the Latvian security council, Hilary Clinton, Russian bombing of Georgia, Greeks following France on Georgia crisis, US-Turkey-Iraq talks, shutdown of a Moscow tabloid, Ukraine, Estonia, Norway, NATO, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, China, Turkey, Russia and the Security Council, dinner in Kyrgyzstan with Maxim, Gaza, Spain, President Calderon's medical files, Salomon Lerner, Tunisian cables, Guadalajara, Sweden reviewed by European Court, Canada, Angela Merkel, Lukashenko, US-Mexican bilateral relationship, Obama's meetings with Calderon 2009, Chile, Kenya, drug money in election campaigns in Nuevo Leon, Swaziland, the Gaddafis, cyberattacks against Swedish banks in Estonia, an assessment of Calderon, Monsanto in Argentina, China, Iran, Brazilian elections 2006, Chavez, the Nord Stream gas pipeline, antisemitism in Uruguay, Kenya's kleptocracy, Nicaragua, Chile, Peru, UNESCO, Arturo Chavez, Cuba, Kibaki & Odinga, Nepalese Maoists, India, Sri Lanka, the World Bank and Nepalese Maoists, the Japanese nuclear strategy, Mynamar, Pakistan and al Qaeda, Tijuana complicity with drug cartels, criticism of Japanese nuclear policy, Rahul Gandhi, influence of Mexican media on judicial and legislative bodies, Bulgaria, Indian support for Palestine, Indian concern over Saudi funding of extremists, the Indian nuclear vote, the Kenyan national youth forum, Kenyan corruption, profile on Erdogan, New Zealand, Somalian piracy, Hafiz Saeed, Manipur, the West Bengal IGP, Manmohan deferring an Iran visit to please the US, Paraguayan police corruption, Luis Camilo Osorio, Colombia spying on Venezuela, US-Libya relations, Narendra Modi, Muslim and Hindu extremists in India, and why India stopped the 2005 Dhaka SAARC summit.

April 2011

WSWS hit back 1 April in an atypically non-sensationalistic coverage of Daniel and his book. The article cites the date of mutiny and it also sets aside any residual doubt who the 'mutineer' was.

'On August 25, at his instigation, the technicians responsible for maintaining the website closed down the wiki engine used for the publications and changed passwords for the email system and Twitter access.'

The article also says that Julian suspended Daniel because he suspected Daniel was the leak that told a Newsweek blogger that Julian had been asked to stand down by other WikiLeaks staff, or be involuntarily deposed. The article describes the defectors as a 'group' and a 'clique' but doesn't cite a number.

So far we have 'dozen', 'handful', 'domino chain', 'group', and 'clique'. Big words for two guys.

WSWS: Inside WikiLeaks - an attack from a former supporter

Bradley Manning is transferred to an army prison in Fort Leavenworth Kansas 20 April.

AOL News: WikiLeaks Suspect Transferred to Fort Leavenworth

Release by WikiLeaks of the Gitmo files 25 April. Dossiers on 765 of the 779 'inmates' are published.

WikiLeaks: WikiLeaks Reveals Secret Files on All Guantánamo Prisoners

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Japan with Asahi Shimbun 4 May.

Asahi Shimbun: The Truth Behind Japan-US Ties (1)

Daniel makes it to The Awl for an interview published 4 May. He says Collateral Murder wasn't a 'storm' but he doesn't want a storm anyway - he wants a 'steady breeze'. There are priceless sound bites here.

The Awl: Daniel Domscheit-Berg And WikiLeaks' Insecure Future

The grand jury hearing in the US opens 12 May.

Rixstep: Alexandria - Whistleblowing is Bad
Telegraph: WikiLeaks: grand jury hearing opens in US

Daniel to Icelandic Smugan to speak out on the NDA kerfuffle 14 May. 'People do not believe, but it's just about money.'

Also of note in this article: Daniel makes mention of a timeline, claiming they discussed something for 3 years 'and now it is reality'. So he's back to being on staff three years again.

Daniel states WikiLeaks is a 'for profit' enterprise and that Julian wanted to sell the Collateral Murder clip for $1 million.

The interview was conducted by Elva Björk Sverrisdóttir in Berlin and seems to have taken place much earlier, given the numerous references.

Daniel's statements will be refuted four days later on same site by Kristinn.

WikiLeaks cable releases covering Pakistan and Gitmo, Musharraf and Iraq, poverty in Kyrgyzstan, Turkey's defence minister, Bulgarian arms deals, Canada and Nigeria, Lebanon, a secret US-Japanese nuclear agreement, Panama, Nicaragua, UK opposing Canadian nomination to NATO post, Germany, Hamas, China, the Arctic, Turkish pollsters, the Netherlands, Stephen Harper's all bark and no bite, Serbia, Sarkozy.

Smugan: Segir WikiLeaks vera gróðabissness

Kristinn Hrafnsson fires back at Daniel at Smugan 18 May, responding to the profit allegations made by Daniel 14 May cited above. He says Daniel has not had a significant role in WikiLeaks 'for the last 12 months', meaning Daniel was phased out by May 2010.

Smugan: Þvaður um Wikileaks
KH Fanciers Guild: Kristinn's Response to DDB & The WikiLeaks NDA

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Jamaica with Jamaica Gleaner.

After intense discussion, the Gleaner took a decision to partner with independent non-profit media organisation WikiLeaks to provide Jamaicans with information out of dozens of secret cables from the United States Embassy in Kingston.

The diplomatic cables touch on various issues of Jamaican life and reflect the views and opinions of US Embassy officials based on conversations, documents and formal briefings.

The documents on Jamaica are part of 251,287 embassy cables leaked in 2010 which WikiLeaks acquired and which are being published around the world.

The cables on Jamaica will be published in the Gleaner starting today and will continue daily over the next several weeks.

We took the decision to publish stories from these documents because we feel Jamaicans have a right to this kind of information. We agree with WikiLeaks that a healthy, vibrant and inquisitive media play a vital role in making any country a better place to live and work.

Jamaica Gleaner: WIKILEAKS SECRETS! BUSTED

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate El Salvador with El Faro 23 May.

La organización que preside Julian Assange se puso en contacto con El Faro para publicar los cables de El Salvador. Obtenerlos se convirtió en una historia de comunicaciones encriptadas, paseos por los callejones de Londres y contactos en clave. El hacker australiano, que hace una década penetró los sistemas militares estadounidenses bajo un seudónimo, es hoy una de las personas más famosas del mundo y sus filtraciones están transformando también el periodismo.

El Faro: Cómo llegar a WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Peru II with IDL Reporteros.

IDL Reporteros: Alberto Fujimori y la candidature de repuesto

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Malaysia with Malaysia Today.

Malaysia Today: WikiLeaks: Islam is a tool of Umno's political game

WikiLeaks launch Cablegate Haiti with Haïti Liberté 31 May.

'Haïti Liberté is publishing these cables because they offer unparalleled insight into how the United States government has tried to manipulate Haitian affairs in its own interests, not in the interests of the Haitian people. We hope that the release of the cables will help bring about some transparency and accountability for the Haitian people.'
- Berthony Dupont, Haïti Liberté

Haïti Liberté: Haïti Liberté to Begin Releasing This Week Secret U.S. Embassy Cables Provided by WikiLeaks

June 2011

Article and discussion in Norway 30 June. Daniel mentions Snorrason.

'Daniel decided in September 2010 to start his own project called OpenLeaks. With the team he has, amongst others, the Icelandic historian Herbert Snorrason, who was also previously involved in WikiLeaks.'

Now Snorrason's a historian again, no longer a programmer, and he never got to be precise.

Hardware.no: Dette er OpenLeaks
Diskusjon.no: Nye WikiLeaks blir enda skumlere for myndighetene

WikiLeaks cable releases cover Sri Lanka, Germany, North Korea, Japan, Norway, Afghanistan, Blue Lantern, Uruguay, anti-European riots in Damascus, karzai's new cabinet, Denmark, Australia on the Cuban embargo, bomb threat in Montreal 2004, Bulgaria, Canadian cabinet minister John Baird, the gangs of Karachi, Greece, Belarus, Jamaica, Amin Faheem, Nawaz Sharif seeking protection from US, Ahmed Mukhtar, Russian gas blackmail, Hezbollah, Turkmenistan, Romania, and Gitmo.

August 2011

Domscheit-Berg does an interview with his intended media partner German Freitag 10 August where he again reverts to the 'I took nothing' tack on his theft of WikiLeaks funds, computer hardware, computer software, and whistleblower submissions. And he does this with a turn of phrase that's bound to go down in history.

'Nein, ich habe keine Dokumente von WikiLeaks mitgenommen.'
- Daniel Domscheit-Berg 10 August 2011 to 'Der Freitag'

Der Freitag: 'Wir fordern kein Vertrauen'

CCC board member Andy Müller-Maguhn interviewed by Spiegel Online 13 August. He questions the integrity of OpenLeaks because of the way Daniel's been running the supposed 'tests' of the submissions system. He also reveals he's been one of the mediators attempting to get Domscheit-Berg to return the 3,500 submissions he stole from WikiLeaks. Domscheit-Berg played 'beat around the bush' with him for eleven months, threatened to expose the whistleblowers if WikiLeaks filed criminal charges against him, and finally a fortnight earlier at the beginning of August told Andy he'd have to read through all the documents before turning them over - including 60,000 mail messages from the NPD and 5 GB of data from Bank of America. Article is followed several times in the coming days.

And it should be pointed out that the CCC people aren't your ordinary hackers but have representation even in the German government. CCC board member Constanze Kurz works for the Bundestag and the German federal constitutional court.

German Wikipedia: Constanze Kurz
Spiegel Online: Hacker distanzieren sich von OpenLeaks
Spiegel Online: Top German Hacker Slams OpenLeaks Founder
Spiegel Online: Chaos Computer Club wirft OpenLeaks-Grunder raus

Daniel Domscheit-Berg tells Spiegel 22 August that he's 'destroyed' the 3,500 submissions he promised to return. Considering all that's transpired up to now, one can expect a new announcement shortly: that he never had the documents in the first place.

Spiegel Online: Ex-Wikileaks Spokesman Destroyed Unpublished Files