Discussion of Julian Assange Extradition Hearing on The Critical Hour (5/2/2019)

Dems Run Out Of Steam, Accuse AG William Barr Of Lying And Hiding

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Daniel Lazare, journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."


US Attorney General William Barr told the House Judiciary Committee that he would not show up for a scheduled hearing Thursday about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Also on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Barr of committing a crime by lying to Congress about Mueller’s report and Mueller’s issues with how Barr has characterized the special counsel’s findings. How far are Democrats willing to take this? Are they overplaying their hand?

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza wrote on Twitter Thursday that the US government must "comply with its obligations as signatories to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations" and act to protect Caracas' former embassy building in Washington, DC. "We require the US Department of State to comply with its obligations as signatories to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and to protect the building of the former Venezuelan embassy in Washington, as our government protects its facilities in Caracas," Arreaza wrote on Twitter. We went live to the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC, for an update on the protests. What’s going on right now?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange won't surrender to a US extradition request. Assange refused to surrender during a hearing in London Thursday. It's the first of several hearings where he'll fight extradition for his alleged role in the release of hundreds of thousands of classified US government documents. The Justice Department calls it one of the largest compromises of classified information in US history. Assange is being held behind bars after he was arrested at Ecuador's London embassy last month for skipping bail.
[My related article: Avoiding Assange]

GUESTS:

Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."

Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.

Walter Smolarek — Producer for Radio Sputnik's Loud and Clear.

Listen to "Dems Run Out Of Steam, Accuse AG William Barr Of Lying And Hiding" on Spreaker.

The Critical Hour is a daily 60-minute news analysis and talk radio program on Radio Sputnik hosted by Dr. Wilmer Leon. Introduction above is theirs, with related articles of mine referenced in brackets.