Kim
Dotcom offers US a deal
Internet
entrepreneur Kim Dotcom claims the United States criminal case
against him is collapsing but he is offering to go there without
extradition provided federal authorities unfreeze his millions of
dollars so he can pay for lawyers and living expenses
11
July, 2012
In
a now hallmark style, he made the offer on Twitter.
"Hey
DOJ (Department of Justice), we will go to the US," he tweeted,
"No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for
lawyers & living expenses."
In
an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Dotcom says the department
knows it does not have a case.
"If
they are forced to provide discovery, then there will be no
extradition. That's why they don't want to provide discovery. If they
had a case, they would not need to hide what they have."
Yesterday,
his lawyers confirmed the extradition case on charges of criminal
copyright violation stemming from the Megaupload file-sharing website
had been shifted from next month to next year.
Dotcom
and Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk are wanted by
the US following a dramatic January raid on his multi-million dollar
residency outside of Auckland.
Dotcom
tweeted about his disappointment at the delay:
"Extradition
hearing delayed til March. Dirty delay tactics by the US. They
destroyed my business. Took all my assets. Time does the rest.
"The
NZ government is refusing an NZ resident due process and a fair
defence. Shame on you John Key for allowing this to happen. Shame on
you."
He
told Hollywood Reporter that he believes "dirty delay tactics
instead of evidence" are being deployed by the US government.
He
said he wanted the August 6 hearing to go ahead so he could present
his case.
"The
actions by the DOJ clearly demonstrate that they don't have a case
and that this ... was about killing Megaupload and creating a
chilling effect to freeze the whole file-hosting sector. They
achieved that," Dotcom said told Hollywood Reporter.
"I
don't think they are prepared for the wave that's coming to them
now."
The
department declined comment.
Dotcom
told Hollywood Reporter that because his assets have been seized, he
has been left without "funds to pay my lawyers."
US
District Court Judge Liam O'Grady who is overseeing the case against
Dotcom, ruled after a June 29 hearing that while Dotcom's legal team
could argue for a motion to dismiss the allegations against the
company, the Megaupload founder's assets would not be unfrozen to pay
attorney costs.
"The
new rule is guilty until proven innocent," Dotcom said.
"My
rights to due process and a fair defence are subverted."
Meanwhile
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has repeated his support for Dotcom.
Earlier this year he visited Dotcom in Auckland. According to
Slashgear.com Wozniak told a conference in Chile he was dismayed at
the techniques used to bring Dotcom to trial.
"Kim
Dotcom was so successful, and he was well known for his flagrance,
and his sports cars, and his racing cars, and style of life, that he
was made an easy target" Wozniak said. "He was the biggest
in the world, and they swamped in on him ... I don't want to take a
side in this political thing, I don't know if that's where it came
from."
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