Watchfulpete
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Watching RT I realized why Assange’s legal team may be raising the issue of Trump allegedly offering a pardon. As I understood it, if it is established that the nature of the extradition request is not merely a criminal matter but rather a political one, then application of British law is different. If criminal in nature, then the Brits are more or less obliged to extradite, not so if the issue is political in nature.
Watchful Pete
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
This would make sense. Whether the tactic is decisive, very much depends on the independence of the the courts from this pervasive zeitgeist of “the personal is the political, and the political is whatever Intel Agencies and the political class say it is”. Assange’s incarceration and detainment has been marked by aberrations of judicial norms: his extraction from the embassy, his solitary confinement, his detainment in spite of the fact the charges in Sweden were flimsy at best. I don’t think much is going to save Assange from his ineluctable fate, except for a last minute white rabbit out of… Read more »
Yesterday, I mentioned that I think its possible they are trying to apply pressure to the Trump regime to re-awaken the DOJ offer of leniency for testimony that Comey killed. Playing chicken with Trump takes some balls, but I think they see themselves in a pretty bad spot, as your comment here “Assange’s incarceration and detainment has been marked by aberrations of judicial norms” alludes to, waiting for “justice” to will out is not going to work. But this is a “Hail Mary” play for sure.
The Queen refused to intervene on Assange’s behalf because she said it was political in nature. The head of state made that declaration. What more do they want?
Its really getting hard to read the tea leafs on the whole Assange story, its a really confusing jumble of facts and possible motives, and wondering if there’s an unseen hand behind curtain B. One thing should be clear, the rule of law will have next to nothing to do with the outcome. I read the Chussodofsky story I posted on here some time back, but it never really started to resonate until this play by Julians lawyers. Is it possible there are some powerful players behind the curtain on BOTH sides? Its clear Assange started out with their backing,… Read more »
Perhaps you are correct, but, I think the Brits have already made up their minds to extradite Mr Assange, no matter what.
Just look at the biased magistrate he had judging his case, for example.
It does look that way.
Joe, absolutely, so do I. I was just presenting some possible alternatives, not saying I subscribe to them. It’s not my approach to things to decide what I think, then only look for evidence that supports that narrative. I believe that allowing your ideology to dictate what you want to see as an outcome effectively blinds you. Instead I try to look at all the reasonable explanations, then try to weigh them out with a sense of detachment, and decide which looks likely. That approach usually works well for me, but the Assange story is taking some truly bizarre twists… Read more »
“Assange’s defense lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC argued that this prosecution is politically motivated and so the UK can’t extradite Assange, since their treaty with the US strictly forbids extradition for a political offense.”
This quote from The Duran’s post of February 25, 2020 relating to the extradition hearing seems to confirm the strategy of casting this as a political matter.
Watchful Pete