[I’ll update this when I can find a link. No audio or video link is currently available]
I was just listening to a report on MSNBC. A reporter-guest got a couple of questions answered from Mike Pence, just this afternoon (Wednesday, 4/24, about 3:45 pm EDT).
Mike Pence responded to some question regarding how tough (or not) this administration has been on intervention/hacking regarding elections. I swear Mike Pence said that the government has been tough, and part of that proof is that they are trying to get Assange extradited for his crimes.
That rang some warning bells to me.
Because the charge against Assange has absolutely nothing to do with the hacking of the 2016 election. It is strictly involved with an earlier allegation.
So it begs the questions: Does Mike Pence know that the relevant governmental department is planning to make new charges against Assange? Should he know that? Does Trump know that? Did they decide they wanted that done and direct the governmental agency to do that? Is that even legal?
Also, my understanding is that an extradition agreement is unlikely to be agreed to by the UK if there is a possibility other charges could be brought. They might say “OK, you can have him, as long as no more charges are brought”. If that’s so, it does nothing to help the US crack down on election hackers, or bring Assange to justice for whatever he did during the 2016 election.
But Mike Pence, with his statement, seems to equate the recent Assange indictment with “Trump being tough on 2016 election miscreants”.
I will try to find out more about who got this info and confirm the content and update as I can.
But in the meantime, I wonder: Did Mike Pence spill some beans here he wasn’t supposed to?