Could the U.S. extradite Assange before Sweden?

[Joanne98]

Now that Julian Assange is in custody of British authorities on a warrant for alleged sex crimes in Sweden, Obama Administration officials may well be working behind the scenes to secure his extradition to the United States, an international criminal law expert tells Salon.

"I can't think of two people they want more right now -- other than bin Laden -- than Assange and Viktor Bout, and they got Bout," said Attorney Douglas McNabb, who specializes in federal criminal defense and international extradition cases. Bout is the notorious international arms dealer who was extradited from Thailand to the United States last month.

Assange has not been charged with a crime in the United States -- though it's possible that there is an arrest warrant or indictment under seal. The Obama Justice Department has repeatedly suggested that it is going after Assange, though offiicals have not said what law they believe Assange has broken (and experts say that making any case against him could prove difficult).

McNabb says that extradition requests can also be made under seal. And he has had clients who have been the subject of Interpol Red Notices -- the international call for arrest that Sweden used to pursue Assange last week -- that have not been released publicly. So it's possible that the U.S. is already using these avenues.

As a practical matter, high-profile extradition requests are as much political as legal matters. If the U.S. does want to intervene and prosecute Assange before the Swedish case goes forward, the Bout case is a useful study in how the Obama Administration could be exerting pressure on the British and Swedish governments. Ironically, what we know about the Bout case comes from secret cables released by Wikileaks.

Continue reading

http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/?story=/politics/war_room/2010/12/07/julian_assange_extradition

[Octafish]

1. Render first. Ask permission later. And ask the lawyers if it's leagal waaaay later.

Detention without bail. Secret proceedings. Thus always for an Enemy of the State.

Assange is more feared than the warmonger Bout. While Assange never hurt anyone, he spreads the truth.

We really do live in a police state -- a global one, at that.

[Ghost Dog]

4. That is the way it is usually done, one observes.

By fascists.

[EFerrari]

2. Lapdogs of the empire.

:kick:

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Being here in Scandinavia I doubt it but

who knows on the pressures that are coming out and forced?

The Swedes and for most part the rest of the Scandinavians countries
still have that independent blood that makes them what they are.

We shall see.

[Ghost Dog]

6. One, from outside, becomes aware, from reading recent Swedish 'fiction'

(in my case, I started by reading widely Henning Mankell), that there are some very dark, deep social undercurrents, perhaps now just under the surface of a thin, perhaps, in spite of best intentions, because of a degree of abuise of, socially-progressive veneer?

[pitohui]

8. "independent" blood?

don't make me laugh


frankly it makes the swedish gov't look like a bunch of tools

what independent gov't straightfaced would hound a man across international borders over a dispute abt whether or not he shoulda worn a rubber? um, that's right, NONE

any claims that sweden ever held of being neutral, independent, or free thinking are now officially the joke of the world

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Well, I don't totally disagree but the Danish News

tonight is rather pro with him. Politics are corrupted and the Swedes have been called out on these charges by other Scandinavian Govts.

Someone asked the question, mine is only an opinion.

[pitohui]

5. i guess if someone is willing to say they slept w. him w.out a condom...

who'll step up and make this silly claim for the team?

orwell would be proud to see how accurately he foretold the future, with all this "sex crime" business, and he thought he was writing a humble satire about the soviet union!!!

[malaise]

7. For what exactly? n/t

[pitohui]

9. i dunno, apparently, one can be chased internationally for being a dog

has he ever been to america? then i suppose they could look around and find some woman to say, oh, yeah, he's a dirty dog, he slept w. me and didn't make me coffee in the morning...

seems to me they're just making it up as they go along

i was willing to look at both sides, but the gov't side if this is the best they can do is accuse someone of sex crime blah blah blah...then apparently they have no real argument to make except smear