Former Arkansas governor and 2012 Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee called for the execution of whoever is responsible for the leaking of 250,000 US diplomatic cables on the WikiLeaks website this week, according to a Wednesday report on the Guardian’s website.

“Whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty,” Huckabee stated.

“They’ve put American lives at risk. They put relationships that will take decades to rebuild at risk. They knew full well that they were handling sensitive documents they were entrusted…and anyone who had access to that level of information was not only a person who understood what their rules were, but they also signed, under oath, a commitment that they would not violate. They did … Any lives they endangered, they’re personally responsible for and the blood is on their hands,” he added.

US army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning is suspected of leaking the cables. He has been charged with transferring classified data and delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source. He faces up to 52 years in prison. Manning is currently being held at a military base.

Huckabee joined another potential Republican candidate Sarah Palin in calling for harsh punishments for those involved in the WikiLeaks affair. Palin said that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be “hunted down.”

University of Calgary Professor Tim Flanagan on Wednesday called for the assassination of Assange in a television interview with Candadian state broadcaster CBC.

Flanagan helped organize the campaign of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2003. He also served as the Conservative Party’s campaign manager in Canada’s general elections in 2004 and 2006. He retired in 2006 and became a full-time teacher.

“Well I think Assange should be assassinated actually,” Flanagan said about Assange. “I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something,” he suggested.