Another Take on Assange's Expulsion from Ecuador's Embassy (Statement by the President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno)

As Rob Kall, publisher of OpEdNews, put it:

In an act of infamy that will forever blight the nations of Ecuador's, Britain's and the USA's names, Julian Assange's asylum status was revoked and police were allowed to enter to arrest him based on a US extradition warrant.

I have profound personal empathy and sympathy for Julian Assange. I don't know quite what to make of the totality of all of this, I am sorry to say. I have tried to read as much as I can, and even listened to what James Clapper had to say on CNN.

Video on Clapper is in the first comment on this article.

It seems we have passed over into the next difficult series of responses in an untenable situation which couldn't go on forever; whether his prosecution is right or wrong will be what the courts determine. A long shot that he could ever be vindicated judicially, but I hope he can get a fair trial and that he can prevail. I did run across this statement by the President of Ecuador which is quite illuminating.

I've never been good at puzzles, and this is a very difficult and very large puzzle.

How much the US had to do with rescinding his sanctuary in London is not clear to me, particularly based on what the President of Ecuador says here. What he says about the UK agreeing not to send him to a nation where he could be tortured or put to death is most interesting.

"Today I announce that the discourteous and aggressive behavior of Mr. Julian Assange; the hostile and threatening declarations of his allied organization against Ecuador, and especially the transgression of international treaties, have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr. Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable."

He said Assange had provoked the decision and that Ecuador's patience had "reached its limit," adding that Assange had repeatedly broken the embassy's house rules by installing electronic and distortion equipment and blocking security cameras.

Moreno also confirmed that he had sought legal guidance that Ecuador's position was lawful and "in line with our strong commitment to human rights."

Russia weighs in on Assange's arrest

From CNN's Nathan Hodge and Mary Ilyushina in Moscow

In a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked if Russia would give him asylum. Here's his response:

Russia weighs in on Assange's arrest

From CNN's Nathan Hodge and Mary Ilyushina in Moscow

In a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked if Russia would give him asylum. Here's his response: "He was arrested in London, so for now I cannot say anything. We certainly hope all of his rights will be respected."

The British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said this:

Nearly 7 yrs after entering the Ecuadorean Embassy, I can confirm Julian Assange is now in police custody and rightly facing justice in the UK. I would like to thank Ecuador for its cooperation & @ metpoliceuk for its professionalism. No one is above the law

Who knows what kind of back door or behind the scenes manipulation and pressures went on to get this result today? Doesn't seem to me like the US has at the moment anything resembling a functioning State Department, so I can't imagine how such could have been in play, given the state of disarray in what remains of the State Department. However, even a dysfunctional partial US Department of State could still have exerted enormous pressure on the Ecuadorian government, in many of the way they don't want you to even try to imagine.

(Article changed on April 12, 2019 at 12:08)