Thom Hartmann: Why Assange Spends a 3rd night in the Ecuadorian Embassy

[thomhartmann]

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is now spending his third night in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London - out of the reach of British police who are trying to extradite him to Sweden. In Sweden - Assange has been accused of sexual assault - though he has not been formally charged with that crime. And Assange fears if he's extradited to Sweden - he'll then be handed over to authorities in the United States who are building a case against him - alleging that he's guilty of espionage and treason - crimes punishable by death. Fearing for his life - Assange is awaiting a decision from Ecuador as to whether or not they will grant him political asylum - and then give him safe passage out of the U.K. and into Ecuador. So far - no decision has been made yet by the Ecuadorian government - and if Julian Assange were to leave the Ecuadorian embassy - he'd be arrested immedialy by British authorities. Clearly - the ongoing trials and tribulation of the Wikileaks founder have entered a new phase. Joining Thom to discuss what exactly is going on in London - and the role the United States plays in all of this is Michael Ratner - a lawyer for Julian Assange - and President Emeritus of The Center for Constitutional Rights.

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