State Dept. Denies WikiLeaks Warning to Columbia
Updated 8:30 p.m. ET
A State Department spokesman denies that anybody in the agency sent an e-mail to Columbia University warning students at the School of International and Public Affairs not to comment online about WikiLeaks if they were considering a diplomacy career.
The Huffington Post received a message from State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley that reads:
"This is not true. We have instructed State Department employees not to access the WikiLeaks site and download posted documents using an unclassified network since these documents are still classified. We condemn what Mr. Assange is doing, but have given no advice to anyone beyond the State Department to my knowledge."
Earlier, a spokesman for the Ivy League school confirmed Saturday that the Office of Career Services sent an e-mail to students at the School of International and Public Affairs.
The Nov. 30 e-mail says an alumnus at the U.S. State Department had contacted the office, saying the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks were "still considered classified."
The e-mail said online discourse about the documents "would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information."
CBSNews.com Special Report: WikiLeaks
The Huffington Post has posted a full version of the e-mail, which reads, "[The alumnus] recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter," the Office of Career Services advised students. "Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
Most federal government jobs require a background check.
WikiLeaks has been releasing a trove of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables over the past week.
CBS/ AP A State Department spokesman denies that anybody in the agency sent an e-mail to Columbia University warning students at the School of International and Public Affairs not to comment online about WikiLeaks if they were considering a diplomacy career.
The Huffington Post received a message from State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley that reads:
"This is not true. We have instructed State Department employees not to access the WikiLeaks site and download posted documents using an unclassified network since these documents are still classified. We condemn what Mr. Assange is doing, but have given no advice to anyone beyond the State Department to my knowledge."
Earlier, a spokesman for the Ivy League school confirmed Saturday that the Office of Career Services sent an e-mail to students at the School of International and Public Affairs.
The Nov. 30 e-mail says an alumnus at the U.S. State Department had contacted the office, saying the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks were "still considered classified."
The e-mail said online discourse about the documents "would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information."
CBSNews.com Special Report: WikiLeaks
The Huffington Post has posted a full version of the e-mail, which reads, "[The alumnus] recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter," the Office of Career Services advised students. "Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government."
Most federal government jobs require a background check.
WikiLeaks has been releasing a trove of sensitive U.S. diplomatic cables over the past week.
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this story pulled after only hours never to be seen again
So much for your HOPE AND CHANGE!
If julian assange is assasinated we the citizens of earth must stage a world protest against this attack on free speech and secret government .
The USA govt. is sending American teenagers to fight and die to protect heroin dealers ! ! !
The US govt. giving huge amounts of money to heroin dealers is WRONG and so is trying to cover it up ! ! !
Heroin kills more people every day that Bin Laden does.
I am not a huge fan of what Wikileaks did as it was a fairly indiscriminate release of info, but I do believe our gvernment has become addicted to secrecy and is set to become a full-blown police state in just a matter of a few years. We're already well on our way to Orwellian status. I think a little honesty once in a while is a good thing, and it's obvious that we have a lot of people that can't wait to turn this country into another N. Korea. Thugs, socialists, and statists are all delighted at the Machiavellian possibilities.
Today I can look back on many relationships, and realize that the person was spying on me. I really do not have any special talents or knowledge, however I am suppose to have an extreme high IQ. One thing that the government always did was to prevent me from learning, the things that I wanted to study. Consequently I do not have that great of education.
I truly think, of the various individuals who have kept tabs on me in my life, as such scum and ******.
I was no threat to anyone, but always watched. I no longer live in the United States, but I hope this sort of thing happens to each and everyone of you, for you deserve it, and you the public of the U.S. owes me damages. If the Constitution does not apply to me then it applies to no one.