Washington Times national security reporter Eli Lake just called to dispute my assertion (in this MUST-READ Q&A with Washington Post Spy Talk blogger Jeff Stein)that he would like to see Wikileaks founder Julian Assange “assassinated,” a position I gleaned from some comments he made at a Daily Caller keg party back in October, during which Lake now says his judgment may have been compromised. Lake does not believe Assange should be assassinated or even prosecuted under the Espionage Act, he says, and directed me to this Reason article for a more accurate characterization of his WikiViews:

As Washington Times national security correspondent Eli Lake told me, Assange is “an activist who understands computer code,” not a journalist. (Incidentally, Lake describes himself as generally “pro-leak” and complains that Assange “will now be the poster boy for everyone who wants to create an official secrets act in the United States.”)

An official secrets act!! That is a thing?!? Oh well, my sense is that “everyone who wants to create an official secrets act” will probably be too busy dismantling Social Security, challenging the constitutionality of Medicare, and banning the distribution of food stamps to Americans with a BMI higher than 19 to bother anytime soon.