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The post you replied to was being sarcastic. "Questioning by police" is an enormous understatement. If Assange leaves the embassy, he will be arrested, extradi

by xlxlxlx 10y ago

The post you replied to was being sarcastic. "Questioning by police" is an enormous understatement. If Assange leaves the embassy, he will be arrested, extradited to the US, and likely convicted of treason. His fate would at best look something like Chelsea Manning's, and at worst, execution.

dragonwriter 10y ago
> If Assange leaves the embassy, he will be arrested, extradited to the US, and likely convicted of treason. Almost certainly not. The Constitutional definition of treason in the US is such that it is pretty much never charged, outside of TV shows and movies. The charges usually discussed in the context of the ongoing US criminal investigation of Assange are violations of the Espionage Act, violations of the CFAA, theft/conversion of US government property, and conspiracy. OTOH, the government that has actually requested his extradition is Sweden, and not for anything related to national security matters.
alex_hitchins 10y ago
Oh, I see. As others have pointed out, very unlikely he could be done for treason given he isn't American. But let's not let facts get in the way of some good down voting.
- whamlastxmas 10y ago
  You're right, as a non-American he'd just get sent to Gitmo where he faces indefinite detention without any recourse, without any legal rights or constitutionally required due process, and endless torture+interrogations for the rest of his life. But at least he can't be found guilty of treason in a constitutionally bound American court system by a jury of peers!
  - alex_hitchins 10y ago
    Have any changes been made against him in the US to date? Genuinely don't know the answer and a cursory search I can't see anything obvious. Also, why would the US not have an extradition request for him open with the UK? The UK would be much more likely to do as the USA pleases than Sweden.
    - dragonwriter 10y ago
      > Have any changes been made against him in the US to date? There is a publicly disclosed criminal investigation, and several years ago there were reports based on a non-detailed reference in an email in the Stratfor leak (which didn't come from anyone who would have firsthand knowledge) that there was a sealed indictment produced from that investigation, which the Justice Department has flatly denied. So, apparently not. > Also, why would the US not have an extradition request for him open with the UK? If there were charges, there probably would be an extradition request.
      - whamlastxmas 10y ago
        More importantly, if there were criminal charges, it would mean going through the regular channels of the criminal justice system. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to treat Assange as an enemy combatant (i.e. no due process).
        dragonwriter 10y ago
        > More importantly, if there were criminal charges, it would mean going through the regular channels of the criminal justice system. I'm not sure why you think this would be a problem; the regular criminal justice system has processes for handling classified evidence and is the regular venue for people accused of espionage. > I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to treat Assange as an enemy combatant (i.e. no due process) The cases challenging detentions under the Bush Administration pretty clearly established that "unlawful enemy combatant" designation comes with its own due process protections (lawful enemy combatants are Prisoners of War, who have rather extensive legal protections.)
      - alex_hitchins 10y ago
        So to confirm; No charges against him levied by the US. No extradition warrant out for him by the US.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > You're right, as a non-American he'd just get sent to Gitmo While one might criticize Pres. Obama for his lack of success in closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, I don't think there is any indication that the administration is actually adding detainees there (not that Assange would be the type of person who would have been detained there even when new detainees were being added.)

by xlxlxlx 10y ago

dragonwriter 10y ago

> If Assange leaves the embassy, he will be arrested, extradited to the US, and likely convicted of treason. Almost certainly not. The Constitutional definition of treason in the US is such that it is pretty much never charged, outside of TV shows and movies. The charges usually discussed in the context of the ongoing US criminal investigation of Assange are violations of the Espionage Act, violations of the CFAA, theft/conversion of US government property, and conspiracy. OTOH, the government that has actually requested his extradition is Sweden, and not for anything related to national security matters.

alex_hitchins 10y ago

Oh, I see. As others have pointed out, very unlikely he could be done for treason given he isn't American. But let's not let facts get in the way of some good down voting.

whamlastxmas 10y ago
You're right, as a non-American he'd just get sent to Gitmo where he faces indefinite detention without any recourse, without any legal rights or constitutionally required due process, and endless torture+interrogations for the rest of his life. But at least he can't be found guilty of treason in a constitutionally bound American court system by a jury of peers!
- alex_hitchins 10y ago
  Have any changes been made against him in the US to date? Genuinely don't know the answer and a cursory search I can't see anything obvious. Also, why would the US not have an extradition request for him open with the UK? The UK would be much more likely to do as the USA pleases than Sweden.
  - dragonwriter 10y ago
    > Have any changes been made against him in the US to date? There is a publicly disclosed criminal investigation, and several years ago there were reports based on a non-detailed reference in an email in the Stratfor leak (which didn't come from anyone who would have firsthand knowledge) that there was a sealed indictment produced from that investigation, which the Justice Department has flatly denied. So, apparently not. > Also, why would the US not have an extradition request for him open with the UK? If there were charges, there probably would be an extradition request.
    - whamlastxmas 10y ago
      More importantly, if there were criminal charges, it would mean going through the regular channels of the criminal justice system. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to treat Assange as an enemy combatant (i.e. no due process).
      - dragonwriter 10y ago
        > More importantly, if there were criminal charges, it would mean going through the regular channels of the criminal justice system. I'm not sure why you think this would be a problem; the regular criminal justice system has processes for handling classified evidence and is the regular venue for people accused of espionage. > I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to treat Assange as an enemy combatant (i.e. no due process) The cases challenging detentions under the Bush Administration pretty clearly established that "unlawful enemy combatant" designation comes with its own due process protections (lawful enemy combatants are Prisoners of War, who have rather extensive legal protections.)
    - alex_hitchins 10y ago
      So to confirm; No charges against him levied by the US. No extradition warrant out for him by the US.
- dragonwriter 10y ago
  > You're right, as a non-American he'd just get sent to Gitmo While one might criticize Pres. Obama for his lack of success in closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, I don't think there is any indication that the administration is actually adding detainees there (not that Assange would be the type of person who would have been detained there even when new detainees were being added.)