Megalextoria

The saga of Lavabit founder Ladar Levison is getting even more ridiculous, as he explains that the government has threatened him with criminal charges for his decision to shut down the business, rather than agree to some mysterious court order. The feds are apparently arguing that the act of shutting down the business, itself, was a violation of the order:

… a source familiar with the matter told NBC News that James Trump, a senior litigation counsel in the U.S. attorney’s office in Alexandria, Va., sent an email to Levison’s lawyer last Thursday – the day Lavabit was shuttered — stating that Levison may have “violated the court order,” a statement that was interpreted as a possible threat to charge Levison with contempt of court.

That same article suggests that the decision to shut down Lavabit was over something much bigger than just looking at one individual’s information — since it appears that Lavabit has cooperated in the past on such cases. Instead, the suggestion now is that the government was seeking a tap on all accounts.

Full article: http://www.techdirt. … wn-his-service.shtml

Ladar Levison, the founder of the email service reportedly used by Edward Snowden, joined HuffPost Live Wednesday to discuss his decision to shut down his company Lavabit.

Though Levison noted he is not at liberty to reveal details about his case or acknowledge the role of the U.S. government in the shutdown of his company, Levison did tell host Mike Sacks, “Our federal government has the power to take all of your money and your freedom, and they’ve shown no shame in using those powers to get what they want and to punish people who speak out against them.”

He continued, “I kind of think the only reason I’m not in jail right now is because of all the media attention.”

Lavabit, a privately held company that Levison described as his “baby,” encrypts all communications so that third-party users cannot intercept emails without a password.

Full article: http://www.huffingto … under_n_3756425.html