Julian Assange, the founder of the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, has threatened to release many more confidential diplomatic cables if legal action is taken against him or his organization. Mr. Assange's threat poses a problem for the Obama administration as it explores ways to prosecute Mr. Assange or the group. On Monday, as Mr. Assange's lawyers said he would convene with the British police about criminal charges involving sexual encounters in Sweden, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Justice Department had "a very solemn, active, ongoing examination that is criminal in nature" into the WikiLeaks matter.
Mr. Holder's statement followed Mr. Assange's assertion that "over 100,000 people" had been given the entire archive of 251,287 cables "in encrypted form."
"If something happens to us, the key parts will be released routinely," Mr. Assange said Friday in a question-and-answer session on the Web site of the British newspaper The Guardian.
His threat is not idle, because as of Monday night the group had released fewer than 1,000 of the quarter-million State Department cables it had obtained, reportedly from a low-ranking Army intelligence analyst.
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