I still say that goof is key.
Swedish authorities have delayed action on the Assange case while they continue their 'investigation'. They said they wouldn't report until August at the earliest. Their case is rape allegations against Assange.
A Swedish judge blocked the prosecutor's request to question, and extradite Assange from the UK. Then the prosecutors decided to continue their investigation. Was this a face-saving action for the prosecutors? Evidently, the statute of limitations for the Swedish case runs out in 2020.
Back in Ol' Blighty, Assange is about 12 weeks into serving a 50-week sentence for jumping bail in 2012. His next appearance will be in court on Friday via video. He is too ill to appear in person. The hearing is on his extradition and observers expect that the court will set a date for his full hearing, but make no decisions on the extradition itself. Brit prosecutors have certified the US extradition request as 'valid' but a judge will make the final determination whether to honor it.
I still say that goof is key.
++++!
Previous NXIVM updates can be found on my homepage Here.
Just because the trial is over, don't think the story has ended on the NXIVM sex cult saga. Lifetime channel announced this week that they are making a movie about the cult. It's scheduled to air this fall and tells the story of Catherine Oxenberg's efforts to save her daughter, India, from Keith Raniere. They've already cast a couple actors that we don't recognize. You can read about them at the link. But wait, there's more! There are at least half a dozen projects in the works covering aspects of NXIVM.
Judge Garaufis has indefinitely postponed sentencing for Clare Bronfman, Nancy Salzman and Kathy Russell. Sentencing date for Allison Mack and Lauren Salzman remains September 11, and Raniere is still scheduled for sentencing on September 25th. Remember, Lauren testified for the prosecution during the trial. According to the NY Post, Allison Mack was prepared to testify for the prosecution but wasn't called. That implies cooperation on her part, and we know from court documents that she provided thumb drives of data to the investigators. Clare, Nancy and Kathy were all previously scheduled for sentencing in July. None of them testified. Either the judge is simply clearing his calendar for summer break, or there is something else afoot. We believe this strongly indicates that there are more indictments coming. Perhaps from the EDNY, SDNY, NDNY, or somewhere altogether different?
While startling, the news of delayed sentences isn't the only thing the judge is ruling on. He also has stated that he has decided to keep the jurors' names secret. He fears that if their names were public, they would be subject to attacks from Raniere's followers. He acknowledged that NXIVM has a legacy of suing perceived enemies to punish them financially, along with illegally accessing financial records, smearing, blackmailing and intimidation. That admission does not bode well for the NXIVM felons he's eventually going to sentence. The wicked and wealthy Clare Bronfman has a years-long reputation for financially backing Raniere and destroying people's lives through litigation.
In Convict Raniere's concrete and steel-bar world, things are not looking up for the self-declared smartest man in the world. He's likely to stay in the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Manhattan until his sentencing in September. That's where he's been held since his arrest in 2018. Previously, he was in pre-trial confinement but now that he's been convicted he joins the regular prisoners. Whether that is in the sexual offender's lockup, or in general population, is not known. On the occasions he' s been in GenPop he's been beaten up. Hispanic prisoners are especially antagonistic for what he did to a number of Mexican women and girls.
Allison Mack's ersatz 'wife' Nicki Clyne is rumored to be running DOS now. Does it amuse or amaze readers that the NXIVM slave contingent is still viable? If you really want amused or amazed, you'll be shocked to learn that Michelle Hatchett, a black slave of Raniere and Nicki Clyne [some graphic sexual language], is still loyal to them. She's branded by her white masters and proudly remains in DOS, living with Nicki Clyne in Brooklyn. Is DOS and NXIVM really still a thing? Clare Bronfman recently had a 'secret' meeting with a senior NXIVM coach. She's limited by her bail conditions to meet with NXIVM members, but this gal's name is not on the list. She is Vanessa Sahagun, wife of Mexican NXIVM leader Edgar Boone, who is on the list. Boone is the third highest ranking NXIVM behind Keith Raniere and Nancy Salzman.
Let's take a quick spin around the Mexican branch of NXIVM. Edgar Boone is the leader there, overseeing recruitment and what's left of Rainbow Cultural Garden. Boone is spoken of as the Tony Robbins of Mexico. In no particular order, other bigwigs include Alejandro (Alex) Betancourt, son in a very wealthy Mexican banking family; Rosa Laura Junco, daughter of the Mexican media magnate, and Emiliano Salinas, son of the former Mexican president Carlos Salinas. Betancourt is rumored to be out of NXIVM. Salinas left Mexico and was last seen in Europe possibly en route to Cuba to avoid an extradition order to the U.S. Rosa Laura Junco is still loyal to NXIVM and is believed to be running the Rainbow Cultural Garden schools in Mexico. Junco, Betancourt, Boone and Salinas may all have pending indictments. During the trial, we learned from prosecutors that Emiliano's email account had been subject to a federal search warrant due to illegal financial dealings with Raniere and others.