ewerk 29491 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) Whether it was influenced by Assange's offer or not they would have to deny it. Not that I do think it was quid pro quo. Can't see a Snowden pardon given what the White House has been saying about the fact that he hasn't yet faced justice. Plus the case with Snowden is different in that he knowingly did what he did whereas with Manning it could be argued that she was mentally vulnerable and was taken advantage of. Edited January 18, 2017 by ewerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 "The White House said the Manning commutation was not influenced in any way by Mr Assange's extradition offer." So I assume it's not relevant. I wonder though if Assange is tired of his situation and looking get on with it anyway. He should hang a Snowden pardon on the offer now instead. Either way he doesn't strictly have to do anything until May. His concern with going to the US was that they'd kill him though, which makes me wonder if he'd settle for prison with a guarantee that they won't execute him. Why would he have made that offer if he didn't intend to see it through, though? He must have considered that there was at least a chance that this would happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Has he been accused of a capital crime? (I know he hasn't been formally accused of anything). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Has he been accused of a capital crime? (I know he hasn't been formally accused of anything). I don't think so but his entire premise for being where he is was that he faces the death penalty in the US if Sweden extradite him. Plus, Hillary did threaten to kill him in 'jest'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 he'll probably duck it by saying because it wasn't a pardon for manning that it doesn't count I wondered about the terminology, but apparently clemency in the legal sense can also mean a commutation of a sentence - and he asked for clemency in that tweet, not a pardon. Not sure he can argue his way out of it through semantics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 This is like a high stakes game of chicken. The US, if it actually cares about him at all, could have viewed the decision to commute Manning's sentence as a gambit to at least discredit Assange in the whole Russia/hacking/control of information battle that's going on. Now Assange makes clear that he will martyr himself as offered, which means the ball is back in the US' court. If they take him, Assange immediately gains the moral high ground (and may fancy his chances of an early release with Trump in power anyway). If they don't, then he still gains in credibility based on that tweet, and you'd have to say that he could take that as a sign that he should be ok to face charges in Sweden without being extradited. Sounds like he really does want out of that embassy now, I'm impressed with his resolve tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 The US official position is that Assange is under investigation and has been for almost a decade. Without a charge and a refusal to say a word on when the investigation might end (it won't - despite a request again this week I think) they've left him in limbo. Assange is trying to push them to make a call either way. Either "Yes we have a case, come and answer it" or "no, we don't have a case, you have nothing to fear if you pop to Sweden and take care of that nonsense". Because everyone knows they won't, his offer only serves to further publicise the intransigence and outrageousness of the US stance to officially hold a man under permanent investigation without any intention of taking it to resolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 If I was the US I wouldn't even bother trying to get extradition for a few years. Let him think he spent four years in the embassy for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 If they don't pursue charges immediately while they have the window with the Sweden issue, what chance would they stand later. Plus, he'll go to Russia first chance he gets, you would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Wikileaks are going after Trump for not releasing his tax returns despite his promise to do so: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 4256 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I think it's "common knowledge" he used a bankruptcy 20 years ago which has meant no taxes since - all legal of course. The bankruptcy is the thing that should be scrutinised - it smacked to me of convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I thought his issue was that his income was nowhere near as large as he let on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 But his tax return wouldn't demonstrate whether or not he was a billionaire. He could point to assets for that. Unless he really is a long, long way off where he said he was. But his lifestyle suggests he isn't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 His income may indicate that he perhaps doesn't own certain assets that he claims to. There are plenty of buildings he claims to own but only manages/lends his name to. The income from these would be much less than if he actually owned them. Though I'm not sure if the demand is for his own personal tax returns or those for his companies too. I'm not sure how he leads a billionaire lifestyle. Yeah he has the gilded apartment in his own building but it isn't like he has a super yacht or has pissed hundreds of millions into a sports team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) True enough I suppose. As for his companies, is it not the case in the US that company year end accounts are publicly available? Edited January 23, 2017 by Rayvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 His companies are privately owned so I'm not sure what the requirements are for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howay 12496 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 His companies are privately owned so I'm not sure what the requirements are for them. Aye there's no requirement to make them public for Privately held companies. Iirc he has been using an NOL from one of his companies in the 1990's against any income he has brought in for tax purposes, as NJS says it's all legal but it's a shady thing to do especially as he used it to claim Clinton should have closed the loophole (as if the reason he took it was merely to highlight the problem) but there are reasons it exists one of which is to encourage loss making companies to stay open in the hope they can use those losses and recognize more after tax profits in future years, which he no doubt knew he was just being a ball bag. I agree with ewerk that he's trying to conceal any clues to what he's really worth, he's not worth anywhere near what he says he is and is clearly leveraged up to his shite hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 "Smart" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howay 12496 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 "Smart" I love that they lapped that comment up btw, what a bunch of whoppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayvin 5127 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/09/ecuador-julian-assange-embassy-notice-eviction Looks increasingly likely that Assange will be either evicted from or walk out of the Ecuadorian embassy. 4 and a half years is an impressive stint of self imprisonment. He has some mental toughness about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/09/ecuador-julian-assange-embassy-notice-eviction Looks increasingly likely that Assange will be either evicted from or walk out of the Ecuadorian embassy. 4 and a half years is an impressive stint of self imprisonment. He has some mental toughness about him. He sneaks out at night to bang gorgeous blondes and he makes them speak in Swedish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper 940 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 http://heavy.com/tech/2017/02/what-is-vault-7-wikileaks-theories-vault7-tweets-photos-analysis-clues-twitter-who-where-when-why-how/ Latest from wikileaks could it be about WTC 7 ? I remember reading a while back about there being vaults with gold under the towers. By the time the area was excavated & the vaults were opened they were empty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 29491 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21302 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now