Ecuador Will Imminently Withdraw Asylum for Julian Assange and Hand Him Over to the UK

[TheCount]

ECUADOR’S PRESIDENT Lenin Moreno traveled to London on Friday for the ostensible purpose of speaking at the 2018 Global Disabilities Summit (Moreno has been confined to a wheelchair since being shot in a 1998 robbery attempt). The concealed, actual purpose of the President’s trip is to meet with British officials to finalize an agreement under which Ecuador will withdraw its asylum protection of Julian Assange, in place since 2012, eject him from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and then hand over the WikiLeaks founder to British authorities.

Moreno’s itinerary also notably includes a trip to Madrid, where he will meet with Spanish officials still seething over Assange’s denunciation of human rights abuses perpetrated by Spain’s central government against protesters marching for Catalonia independence. Almost three months ago, Ecuador blocked Assange from accessing the internet, and Assange has not been able to communicate with the outside world ever since. The primary factor in Ecuador’s decision to silence him was Spanish anger over Assange’s tweets about Catalonia.

A source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the President’s office, unauthorized to speak publicly, has confirmed to the Intercept that Moreno is close to finalizing, if he has not already finalized, an agreement to hand over Assange to the UK within the next several weeks. The withdrawal of asylum and physical ejection of Assange could come as early as this week. On Friday, RT reported that Ecuador was preparing to enter into such an agreement.

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/21/...at-comes-next/

[timosman]

Should Trump send AF1?

[Swordsmyth]

If the UK hands him over to the US the trial could get interesting, the deepstate should be careful what it wishes for.

[Swordsmyth]

Should Trump send AF1?

Yes.

[Valli6]

Dana Rohrbacher met with Assange last August to talk about the possibility of his receiving a pardon in exchange for revealing the source of the DNC’s leaked emails

REP. ROHRABACHER SAYS ASSANGE COULD BE PARDONED FOR INFO ABOUT DNC LEAK SOURCE
08/17/2017

…during the meeting they explored “what might be necessary to get him out.”

The congressman told TheDC that “if [Assange] is going to give us a big favor, he would obviously have to be pardoned to leave the Ecuadorian embassy.” Assange took asylum in the embassy in August 2012 after facing sexual assault charges in Sweden. The Justice Department also reportedly wants to charge Assange for helping Edward Snowden, a former NSA analyst, leak thousands of classified documents.

“He has information that will be of dramatic importance to the United States and the people of our country as well as to our government,” Rohrabacher said. “Thus if he comes up with that, you know he’s going to expect something in return. He can’t even leave the embassy to get out to Washington to talk to anybody if he doesn’t have a pardon. Obviously there is an issue there that needs to be dealt with, but we haven’t come to any conclusion yet.”….

http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/17/ex...nc-leak-source

Rohrabacher said he’d been blocked by chief of staff John Kelly from getting a meeting with Trump to discuss Assange.

February 14 2018

…Rohrabacher claimed Assange had shown him and his traveling companion, Charles Johnson, definitive proof that Russia was not the source of the Democratic Party communications that WikiLeaks published during the 2016 campaign. Assange was willing to share that information with American officials, Rohrabacher said, but he was never able to present the offer to the president…

…said he was told by Kelly that meeting with Trump could put the president in unnecessary legal jeopardy. “What is preventing me from talking to Trump about this is the existence of a special prosecutor,” Rohrabacher said. “Not only Kelly, but others are worried if I say one word to Trump about Russia, that it would appear to out-of-control prosecutors that that is where the collusion is.”…

https://theintercept.com/2018/02/14/...julian-assange

Now Roger Stone claims John Kelly is about to be replaced by Mick Mulvaney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v40yTl9vbw

Maybe we will be seeing that pardon(s) very soon?
I wonder if anything similar has been happening with Snowden?
Because:

Snowden stopped tweeting at the end of June. https://twitter.com/Snowden
Trump was just in Russia, where Snowden’s been living.
Brennan and the rest of the “intelligence community” FREAKED! OUT! OF! THEIR!! MINDS!!! over Trump in (talking to) Russia.

???

[DamianTV]

Doesnt Assange have his systems set up so if he is killed or is for some reason unable to input a password to his network every three days or something that EVERY shred of information will be made available to everyone?

Did they forget about Assanges Dead Man Trigger?

[timosman]

Doesnt Assange have his systems set up so if he is killed or is for some reason unable to input a password to his network every three days or something that EVERY shred of information will be made available to everyone?

Did they forget about Assanges Dead Man Trigger?

They probably neutralized it some time ago. Now they are going for his scalp.

[Danke]

Trump was just in Russia, where Snowden’s been living.

He was?

[Danke]

Doesnt Assange have his systems set up so if he is killed or is for some reason unable to input a password to his network every three days or something that EVERY shred of information will be made available to everyone?

Did they forget about Assanges Dead Man Trigger?

Supposedly he hasn't had Internet for some time, don't know about phone.

[Swordsmyth]

Dana Rohrbacher met with Assange last August to talk about the possibility of his receiving a pardon in exchange for revealing the source of the DNC’s leaked emails


Rohrabacher said he’d been blocked by chief of staff John Kelly from getting a meeting with Trump to discuss Assange.


Now Roger Stone claims John Kelly is about to be replaced by Mick Mulvaney. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v40yTl9vbw

Maybe we will be seeing that pardon(s) very soon?
I wonder if anything similar has been happening with Snowden?
Because:

Snowden stopped tweeting at the end of June. https://twitter.com/Snowden
Trump was just in Russia, where Snowden’s been living.
Brennan and the rest of the “intelligence community” FREAKED! OUT! OF! THEIR!! MINDS!!! over Trump in Russia.

???

Trump was in Finland.

[Valli6]

Trump was in Finland.

Oh right. But it isn't unlikely that he discussed Snowden with Putin.

[Swordsmyth]

Oh right. But it isn't unlikely that he discussed Snowden with Putin.

You are probably right.

[pcosmar]

Doesnt Assange have his systems set up so if he is killed or is for some reason unable to input a password to his network every three days or something that EVERY shred of information will be made available to everyone?

Did they forget about Assanges Dead Man Trigger?

Many curious about what the Insurance File may contain. Copies everywhere will open.

[Aratus]

Should Trump send AF1?

Yes.

He's already PO'ed nearly all the Democrats.
A gesture like this won't hurt him politically.

[Zippyjuan]

Many curious about what the Insurance File may contain. Copies everywhere will open.

It needs a 256 character code to open. What if they lost the code?

There have been questions as to whether or not the files are even real or a bluff. Supposedly real files can produce a hash tag to verify that it is a real one- but the hash tags weren't matching: http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/11/w...-going-on.html

[pcosmar]

It needs a 256 character code to open. What if they lost the code?

It needs the password of the man who created modern day inscription..

It is hidden in plain sight,,and will remain hidden,, as long as a man is alive that keeps it hidden..

The Encrypted files are everywhere. I am sure I have a copy on an old hard-drive.

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-a8466656.html

Assange will be removed from London embassy 'eventually', Ecuador says


The president of Ecuador says Julian Assange must leave his country’s London embassy “eventually”, revealing discussions are underway with British authorities to end his asylum.

Lenin Moreno cast doubts over how much longer the WikiLeaks founder’s six-year stay at the embassy could last after he announced talks had resumed to facilitate his exit.

Ecuador granted Mr Assange asylum in 2012 in order to avoid his extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sex assault allegations, which he has always denied.

The case has since been dropped, although the Australian-born programmer would still be arrested by British police for breaching bail conditions.

He also fears extradition to the United States, where he could be tried for the leaking of classified US state department documents.

Mr Moreno said nobody should remain under asylum “for too long” and Mr Assange would “eventually need to leave” the embassy.

He added any eviction would come as the result of negotiations involving all sides and hinge on whether Mr Assange’s life could be guaranteed.

The president also insisted he had no sympathy for Mr Assange’s political agenda as a leaker of confidential documents.

“I have never been in favour of Mr Assange's activity,” he said, speaking at an event in Madrid where he met with King Felipe and prime minister Pedro Sanchez, following a three-day trip to London.

When asked if he had spoken to British authorities about Mr Assange’s situation during his stay, he said the countries remained in constant contact over the matter.

A government spokesman said on Friday talks over Mr Assange’s future between the UK and Ecuador remained ongoing, but had not been brought up during the president’s visit.

More at link.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/27/u...ntl/index.html

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 when he was facing allegations of sexual assault in Sweden. The case was eventually dropped but Assange has always feared being extradited to the US, and in the past his lawyers have claimed he could face execution there.

Moreno said the previous Ecuadorian government granted Assange asylum because it agreed his life was in danger. "The death penalty does not exist in Ecuador, and we knew that possibility existed... The only thing we want is a guarantee that his life will not be in danger," Moreno said.

[timosman]

Why is it taking so long, Zippy?

[specsaregood]

I predict that when Assange gets evicted, nothing actually happens and he goes on his way.

[Swordsmyth]

British and Ecuadorian authorities have held discussions over the future of Julian Assange, the Ecuadorian president said on Friday, fueling speculation that the WikiLeaks founder may soon be stripped of the country's diplomatic protection in London. Speaking in Madrid, President Lenín Moreno suggested Ecuador was seeking guarantees that whatever Assange's eventual fate, he would not face the death penalty.
Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 when he was facing allegations of sexual assault in Sweden. The case was eventually dropped but Assange has always feared being extradited to the US, and in the past his lawyers have claimed he could face execution there.
Moreno said the previous Ecuadorian government granted Assange asylum because it agreed his life was in danger. "The death penalty does not exist in Ecuador, and we knew that possibility existed... The only thing we want is a guarantee that his life will not be in danger," Moreno said.
In a statement Friday, Moreno's communication's office stressed the President "hasn't ordered, at any moment, the removal of Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London."
Ecuador's government has no desire that Assange remain "in asylum his whole life" and urged "a solution to a problem we inherited," the statement said.
Assange's lawyers claim that, for the past eight years, US officials have maintained a secret grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks, which published a trove of secret US diplomatic cables in 2010.
In 2011, arguing against a Swedish extradition request, Assange's lawyers said he feared execution in the US, although they did not give any legal basis for the claim.
Moreno, who was in London earlier this week for a disability summit, confirmed talks had taken place with British authorities over Assange's fate.
"We are continually speaking with the British government, with the ambassador, their representative in Ecuador. The only person I have never spoken to is Mr. Assange," Moreno said.
Moreno made it clear that he did not support Assange's work. "I have never agreed with what Mr. Assange does. I have never supported the interception of private emails to be able to obtain information, regardless of how valuable it may be, to bring to light certain undesirable actions carried out by governments on people."
The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May played down any suggestion of an imminent change in Assange's status. A Downing Street spokesperson told CNN that discussions were "ongoing" but that a time frame for Assange's departure from the embassy had not been discussed. Discussions had not taken place during Moreno's recent visit to the UK, the spokesperson said
Swedish investigators dropped their case against Assange last year but he chose to remain at the embassy as British authorities could still detain him for violating bail conditions.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last April that the Department of Justice was preparing charges against Assange, and that his arrest was a "priority."
Under the terms of an extradition treaty between the US and the UK, US authorities could request Assange's detention in London. British authorities have refused to say whether the US has submitted a formal extradition request.

More at: https://www.local10.com/news/interna...lty-assurances

[TheCount]

I wonder what the members who think that it was a good and savvy move to launch hundreds of tomahawks at Syria to win political points think that Trump should do with Assange.

[Swordsmyth]

Well, lordy be. A lawyer for The New York Times has figured out that prosecuting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange might gore the ox of The Gray Lady herself.
The Times’s deputy general counsel, David McCraw, told a group of judges on the West Coast on Tuesday that such prosecution would be a gut punch to free speech, according to Maria Dinzeo, writing for the Courthouse News Service.
Curiously, as of this writing, McCraw’s words have found no mention in the Times itself. In recent years, the newspaper has shown a marked proclivity to avoid printing anything that might risk its front row seat at the government trough.
Stating the obvious, McCraw noted that the

“prosecution of him [Assange] would be a very, very bad precedent for publishers … he’s sort of in a classic publisher’s position and I think the law would have a very hard time drawing a distinction between The New York Times and WikiLeaks.”

That’s because, for one thing, the Times itself published many stories based on classified information revealed by WikiLeaks and other sources. The paper decisively turned against Assange once WikiLeaks published the DNC and Podesta emails.
More broadly, no journalist in America since John Peter Zenger in Colonial days has been indicted or imprisoned for their work. Unless American prosecutors could prove that Assange personally took part in the theft of classified material or someone’s emails, rather than just receiving and publishing them, prosecuting him merely for his publications would be a first since the British Governor General of New York, William Cosby, imprisoned Zenger in 1734 for ten months for printing articles critical of Cosby. Zenger was acquitted by a jury because what he had printed was proven to be factual—a claim WikiLeaks can also make.
McCraw went on to emphasize that,

“Assange should be afforded the same protections as a traditional journalist.”

The Times lawyer avoided criticizing what the United Nations has branded — twice — the “arbitrary detention” of Assange and his incommunicado, solitary confinement-like situation in the Ecuador embassy in London since March. Multiple reports indicate the new government of Ecuador will evict Assange into the hands of British police.

Assange Is a Journalist, Should Not be Persecuted for Publishing the Truth

These days we need to be thankful for small favors. It’s nice to know the Times now considers Assange a journalist, even though it did not spring to his defense when he was being widely branded a “high-tech terrorist” — as can be seen here in my very last appearance on CNN’s domestic broadcast almost eight years ago.


More at: https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-gr...cution/5648832

[Swordsmyth]

Sign and spread this petition so it can reach President Donald J. Trump to fully and unconditionally pardon Julian Assange in the interests of both justice and mercy.
Additionally, the Department of Justice is on record admitting that prosecuting Assange would also expose all American journalists and news outlets to similar criminal jeopardy.
We are calling on and asking President Trump to take a stand against the establishment media’s and globalists’ assault on liberty and freedom of speech.
Read, sign, and share the full petition here.

[Grandmastersexsay]

Part of me wants Ecuador to kick him out. Let him get picked up by the UK, and extradited to the US where he is given immunity for proving he got the Podesta emails from Seth Rich.

It's not fair to put a hero through such uncertainty and danger though.

[Swordsmyth]

Part of me wants Ecuador to kick him out. Let him get picked up by the UK, and extradited to the US where he is given immunity for proving he got the Podesta emails from Seth Rich.

It's not fair to put a hero through such uncertainty and danger though.

He may be in on that plan.

[Grandmastersexsay]

He may be in on that plan.

He might, but I think that, for good reason, he fears what might happen to him while in custody. He'd be smart to assume the Clinton machine may act differently with their back to the wall.

[Zippyjuan]

http://thehill.com/policy/technology...irect-messages

Some said the Peace Corps was really the CIA. Another series compared his stay in the embassy to "BioDome 2"- an experiment where people were walled off from the outside world and try to survive just on what was in the dome. BioDome was a failure.

Activist publishes 11,000 WikiLeaks Twitter direct messages

An activist has published 11,000 direct messages on Twitter between the WikiLeaks account and a group of its supporters.

The direct messages were published by Emma Best on her own website. Her Twitter account states that she is a journalist on the East Coast. Best has been critical of WikiLeaks and has advocated for government transparency.

Some of the direct messages were previously published, but this is the first time all of the direct messages have been posted.
The messages show that WikiLeaks wanted the GOP to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

"We believe it would be much better for the GOP to win," the WikiLeaks account states to a supporter named "Emmy B" in one of the messages from 2015.

Another Twitter message from the WikiLeaks account describes Clinton as a "bright, well-connected, sadistic sociopath."

WikiLeaks had been accused of bias against Democrats during the presidential race because of its release of hacked documents from the Democratic National Committee.

Critics believe that the documents released by the group were consistently helpful to President Trump's campaign.

Best said in an exchange with the website Motherboard that she released the messages because she wanted to show how WikiLeaks was working with other online entities to shape public discussions.

“The idea was that the attitudes and behavior of WL [Wikileaks] behind closed doors is relevant, especially their coordination of PR, propaganda and troll ops through assets that are public supporters but not publicly known to take cues from WL," Best told Motherboard in a Twitter direct message.

Micah Lee, a technologist and journalist at The Intercept, confirmed to Motherboard the veracity of the message repository that Best published, saying that the cryptographic hash on her file matched his.

It's not clear who controls the WikiLeaks Twitter account, though speculation has centered around the group's founder, Julian Assange, who remains in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Assange could soon face expulsion though. Ecuadorian officials this week said that he cannot remain there indefinitely and that he should be extradited elsewhere.

Link to the messages: https://emma.best/2018/07/29/11000-m...chat-released/

At various points in the chat, there are examples of homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, racism, antisemitism and other objectionable content and language. Some of these are couched as jokes, but are still likely to (and should) offend, as a racist or sexist jokes doesn’t cease to be racist or sexist because of an expected or desired laugh. Attempts to dismiss of these comments as “ironic” or “just trolling” merely invites comparisons to 4chan and ironic nazis. These comments, though offensive, are included in order to present as full and complete a record as possible and to let readers judge the context, purpose and merit of these comments for themselves.