Is Assange On His way To The U.S.? By James C. Goodale

[Demeter]

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27681.htm

Julian Assange has lost the first round in his case to avoid extradition to Sweden. His lawyers have said all along if he were sent to Sweden, he’d soon be on his way to the U.S. If the Obama Administration has anything to say about it, he will...the U.S. Department of Justice has for many months been investigating Assange, the editor of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, in connection with the release of about 250,000 classified cables beginning in November 2010 detailing correspondence between the U.S. State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world...The Justice Department has set up a grand jury in Virginia to indict him under the Espionage Act. The problem for the Justice Department is that the Espionage Act seemingly does not cover Assange’s acts. It has never been used to criminalize publication of classified information.

The Act was used in the Pentagon Papers case to enjoin the publication of classified information. The courts however, having considered the application of the Espionage Act, decided it did not permit the injunction (censorship) of the press...That case, however, was different than Assange’s because it dealt with censorship before publication. Assange’s case deals with the publication after it’s taken place.

Apparently, because the Justice Department couldn’t figure out a way to apply the Espionage Act to publication, it announced on Nov. 29, 2010, it was contemplating an end run a round the act. It would investigate Assange to see if he urged Bradley Manning to leak...This was an easier case for the government, since Manning, an employee of the government, in all probability was subject to the Espionage Act, unlike Assange. But if Assange conspired with Manning, Assange could be indicted for conspiracy...In a little noticed announcement of several weeks ago, the Justice Department said it was giving up on this approach. It said that it could find no evidence that Assange discussed the leaking of classified information with Manning.

This would seemingly leave the Justice Department with no case. But the department is not giving up easily. It has subpoenaed the records of users of Twitter to ascertain whether they have knowledge of the leaks of State Department cables. And on March 1, 2011, the Army announced an additional 22 charges against Manning, which include charges that he copied the Department of State Net-Centric Diplomacy database which contained over 250,000 U.S. records perhaps in the hope that Manning will cooperate and implicate Assange.

The Justice Department is on what lawyers call a “fishing expedition.” They are looking desperately for any evidence to construct a case. This is surprising because there’s an old saw lawyers use, “anyone can indict a ham sandwich.” What this means is that prosecutors can indict anybody for any reason because they can trump up a charge, ask grand jurors to vote on it and the jurors will blindly follow, even if they are indicting a ham sandwich. But apparently, the Justice Department cannot even find ham for its sandwich. And so, what started off as a putative prosecution of Assange, has turned into a persecution.

[midnight]

1. I sure hope not.....

[struggle4progress]

2. Swedish prosecuting authority website says that if Sweden extradites someone from another

EU country and then a non-EU country wants to extradite the person, Sweden needs permission from the first EU country

So for the US to extradite Assange from Sweden after UK delivers him to Sweden is procedurally more difficult than for US to extradite Assange directly from UK

Loss of credibility for Goodale, who didn't bother to spend a minute and a half gathering some basic facts


Facts about extradition and surrender
http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/About-us/International-prosecution-operations/Facts-about-extradition-of-a-person-who-has-been-surrendered/

[Demeter]

3. Facts don't matter in this "Create Your Own Reality" Empire

until they blow up in your face like Fukushima...

American arrogance has never been so blatant, so justifiably feared by people inside and outside its borders.

[madmax]

5. We are now the United States of Arrogance. nt

[gateley]

8. "....has turned into a persecution." It's been a persecution since the beginning.

I am more than disgusted by what our government is trying to do. I'd expect it from Bushco, I'm sickened that it's Obama.

[TomClash]

4. And you think they would not obtain permission from the UK?

I'd say it's a lock.

[struggle4progress]

6. I think Assange would then put up teams of lawyers in three venues: Sweden, UK, and EU

It's all paranoid speculation, of course, since the US has not indicted Assange: but why would US federal prosecutors prefer a three-ring circus for extradiction proceeding, instead of a one-ring circus

The theory makes no sense

[TomClash]

7. Ask Bradley Manning

The point is to intimidate other potential whistleblowers.