Yeah they added that at the station after, but the initial arrest was for bail jumping.
Any extradition request will work through the courts, it is unlikely to happen in twenty-four hours.
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The gray areas in this one are out of control. I began by feeling generally favorable toward Assange while he was shedding some much-needed light on the murky areas of US global realpolitik. My opinion of him underwent a sharp revision when credible evidence emerged to suggest that he was a sexual scumbag. His stock fell further still in my eyes when he put his thumb on the scales to help Trump get elected. But now it seems that his extraction relates not to his bad behavior in the bedroom, but to his original activities which – whatever his motivations – might have been the one positive thing that he’s done. Should I be glad that an all-around asshole is finally getting his comeuppance? Or deeply concerned that our so-called democracy is once again using force majeure to muzzle its critics?
The correct answer is probably ‘both’. And as Edward Snowden observes, whatever you think of Assange, the fact that the US feels ever more free to persecute anyone who embarrasses it ought to worry us all.
What’s amply clear is that if Assange expected any gratitude for ‘services rendered’ to the current president, he has gravely misunderstood the nature of the beast. Trump’s absolute lack of loyalty to anyone except himself is one of his most reliable qualities.
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Remember this gem? 
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So much this. I loathe this creep; in no way does that preclude being against his extradition to the US as a political prisoner.
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How so? Can you link or explain?
I went off them when they published Chelsea Manning’s leaks, which included some things of public interest but also a hell of a lot of diplomatic cables, which by and large weren’t newsworthy or scandalous but were embarrassing to the U.S. The other thing that put me off was that Assange just couldn’t articulate any kind of rationale for what Wikileaks was doing, in this instance or others, that made sense to me. And this was before they released the Podesta emails. In that case, it became clear at least later, if it wasn’t before, that they were aiding the Russian government in its attempt to influence the U.S. election (witting or unwitting). They were a “cut-out” that helped give that operation plausible deniability. Assange has never owned up to that, that I am aware.
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Everyone involved with this is just so terrible.
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They say fish and houseguests who crash on your couch to avoid extradition on rape, bail violations and espionage start to stink after three years.
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i’m glad they finally ejected him and that this can move along. he’s creepy, he deserves what he’s going to get and on top of that, he can’t even take care of his cat properly, poor kitty. [EDIT]: i forgot to add that the perp walk videos are pretty amazing. it took 4 or 5 guys to haul him out of there!
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That’s totally whack but yeah, sounds about right.
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I would argue that governments are seldom the embodied will of the guy at the top. The best a competent President can do is set a tone and appoint preferred deputies who he trusts to enact his policies.
Trump is very far from an able President.
The US body politic was deeply embarrassed by the leak. They need to demonstrate that this type of thing will be punished and severely to prevent future leaks. The State Dept has been very clearly leading the charge on this and for obvious reasons.
And isn’t this a case of Petitio Principii anyway? Wikileaks assisted Trump by leaking to the Russians. Therefore Trump must be grateful. Except how do you know they did? Because the US authorities tell you that? Or is there another independent source?
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And we’ve seen how loyal Trump is to those who help him.
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I agree. The “all information wants to be free” angle strongly appeals to me. It’s noble to be on the side of truth. However, they became a political actor, and one bent on the destruction of the United States, accepting and embracing horrible allies in that pursuit. They worked hard to get Trump elected, intentionally to the detriment of our country and ultimately the planet earth. My children will be dealing with the fallout of Assange and Wikileaks’ behavior, and probably my grandchildren.
I don’t love the way this has all played out, but I’m pretty enthusiastic about Assange getting tangled up in the US federal justice system. He and those prosecutors deserve each other.
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Looks like he’s gone full Saddam in his looks…
So, is he a good guy or a bad guy? I keep getting confused. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Or does it depend on what charge he’s being brought in on?
If I had to bet money on this I would wager that the rape charges were orchestrated to get him arrested and extradited to the US eventually as is happening now. From what I have read they are far from a slam dunk. I guess we will se if they were legitamate if they send him to the US instead of Sweeden. That collateral damage vid and the rest of Manning’s haul made the US Gov look like a monkey F&$&@ a football and it looks like they are going to throw the book at him, even if many of the book’s pages are fantasy. Does anyone know what charges he faces in the US for publishing what someone else stole and gave him?
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Sweden has more general protections for extraditions based on political crimes.
That was why Assange was in Sweden in the first place, to take advantage of that.
Sweden was involved with some ugly post-9/11 extraordinary renditions, but historically, they were where US-based Russian spies fled to because Sweden constitutionally couldn’t send them back to the US.
The UK has tailored “computer crimes”-friendly extradition agreements with the US.
Additionally if Assange was part of any extradition between Sweden and the UK or vice versa, they would have to both agree to a third country extradition. If only one agreed, it couldn’t happen.
There’s more in the link I was responding to, but if “avoiding extradition to the US” was Assange’s main goal, it’s pretty weird he went to the UK. It’s like leaving Mongolia and flying to New Jersey because you say you never want to risk seeing New York.
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He’s going to be the next head of Homeland Security. He totally knows the cyber.
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The charges, based on what I’ve read and heard from Swedes I know, are not somehow “orchestrated” but are valid. Now, he might end up not guilty if it goes to trial, but it’s not some kind of a shady conspiratorial move.
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this was my first thought too! Glad the kitty is okay
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