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US justice denies being in Hollywood’s pocket

by on09 May 2013



We just do everything we are told

The United States' chief prosecutor found himself getting the short end of the stick from the kiwi press over his involvement the Megaupload file-sharing fiasco. US Attorney General Eric Holder denied that the whole incident was an example of Washington bowing to Hollywood pressure.

He said that he saw no reason why Kim Dotcom, the founder of the defunct site should not be extradited to the United States to face charges of facilitating massive piracy of copyrighted music and movies. Holder insisted that the case was bought on facts rather than Hollywood pressure. However those facts mysteriously have not been stacking up very well in the New Zealand courts. Already attempts to have Dotcom sent to the United States for trial were delayed after a New Zealand court last year found that New Zealand used unlawful warrants in his arrest and illegally spied on him in the lead-up to the raid.

The extradition hearing is scheduled for August, although it could be delayed by further appeals. Holder said he expected Dotcom to be extradited to the United States, adding that he was happy with the level of cooperation with New Zealand authorities on the case. Dotcom faces US charges that they conspired to infringe copyrights, launder money and commit racketeering and fraud. 

Dotcom maintains that Megaupload was a storage facility for online files, and should not be held accountable if content stored on the site was obtained illegally. Holder is visiting New Zealand this week for a meeting of attorneys general from the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Britain, and Canada.

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