WikiLeaks about to hit the fan

Really?

- The timing
- The overall weakness of the charges - in America he would have been charged with nothing at all
- The fact that at least one of the women apparently wants nothing to do with the prosecution
- The fact that this is a favorite way for governments to smear politically inconvenient people

Throughout history there have been many examples of nefarious activity on the part of various governments which are derided at the time as 'conspiracy theories.' The only question one has to ask themselves is whether or not these governments would take such an action. I totally believe that they would.

Sexual allegations are notoriously hard to either prove or disprove and serve as a vehicle to discredit people in the minds of the weak and lazy. It's the same thing that was done to Ellsberg and I don't find anything about the case to be compelling at all. There's very little actual evidence to convict him of anything - and they know it. One of the reasons that such trials are difficult to prosecute is that you generally can't get convictions based on simply the testimony of one person against another.

I don't know if he's guilty of, well, doing whatever with these women or not; and I really don't care, because what they've described in the media sounds like a guy who is kind of a dick but hardly a rapist.

The timing is simply too incredible to believe. Hard-to-prove charges of molestation are leveled at an incredibly charged international rogue character, who is dangerous to powerful people in both Europe and America? How shocking! Next you'll tell me that the US would intentionally out one of their own spies for political reasons.

I think we have to admit the strong possibility that these charges are in fact politically motivated, because the countries involved have not only a history of doing such things but also motive and opportunity. Those are generally the criteria for accepting a theory's plausibility...

Cycloptichorn

I assume that the women have a legitimate complaint. Even the innocuous-sounding term, "sex by surprise" indicates that consent was lacking. No consent equals rape or "date rape."

Judging from the last three posters every bloke in the country should be in jail.

LONDON — A Swiss banker whose actions caused a U.S. judge to briefly shut down WikiLeaks three years ago has promised to hand over a trove of banking secrets to the secret-spilling organization on Monday, a U.K. newspaper reported.

Releasing the bank details of 2,000 "high net worth individuals" and companies could reveal huge potential tax evasion, The Observer reported on Sunday.

Both American and British firms and individuals, including about "40 politicians," will be implicated, Rudolf Elmer, a former employee of Swiss-based Bank Julius Baer, told the newspaper. Source

Swiss Banker Who Helped WikiLeaks Faces Trial
(The Associated Press, January 10, 2011)

A Swiss banker whose actions caused a U.S. judge to briefly shut down WikiLeaks three years ago goes on trial next week for distributing confidential documents.

Rudolf Elmer has been ordered to appear before a Zurich regional court on Jan. 19 to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland's strict banking secrecy laws. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined.

Elmer's release of files from the Swiss-based bank Julius Baer's offshore operations in the Cayman Islands prompted a U.S. judge to temporarily shut down WikiLeaks in 2008. The order was lifted following complaints from free speech groups and media organizations.

Jan 17, 2011 - 14:07
Ex-Swiss banker hands over files to WikiLeaks

A former Swiss banker on Monday handed over documents to WikiLeaks that he claims detail attempts by wealthy business leaders and lawmakers to evade tax payments.

Rudolf Elmer, a former employee of Bank Julius Bär, said the account holders included “high net worth” celebrities, business leaders and lawmakers from the United States, Britain and Asia.

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, appeared with Elmer in London to collect the files, and praised the ex-banker’s attempts to expose alleged shady practices in the financial industry.

Assange said that, with his organisation now publishing about 250,000 diplomatic cables, it could be several weeks before Elmer's files are reviewed and posted on the WikiLeaks website.

Elmer, who has previously leaked banking documents to WikiLeaks, which posts confidential information on its site from mainly anonymous sources, told journalists that he wanted to expose the offshore banking system. “I want to let society know how this system works. It's damaging society,” he said.

His decision to release the new files to WikiLeaks comes two days before he is due to appear before a Zurich regional court to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws.

Elmer said he would not reveal what specifically was in the documents, and said that he personally would not disclose “individual companies or individual names” of the account holders.

Assange has made few public appearances since he was released on bail on December 16 following his arrest on an extradition warrant issued by Sweden.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

His decision to release the new files to WikiLeaks comes two days before he is due to appear before a Zurich regional court to answer charges of coercion and violating Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws.