I'm not going to go into the lurid details of the conversation (see the transcript here), what I will say is that it's telling how Blair desperately tries to ingratiate himself with Bush, and also shows his obsession with presentation when he pushes Bush to let him go to the Middle East. Whilst this suggests a lot about Blair's own awareness of how weak he has become at home, it's also apparent Bush knows too as he rebuffs Blair's suggestions.
Now fast forward to the CEO of BetOnSports.com, David Carruthers, being arrested whilst between flights in Texas and you have to ask whether he has any chance in appeals from the British government? Given the outrageous extradition of the Natwest Three in the last week, this latest example of US legal jurisdiction apparently extending to outside it's own border is starting to look very odd indeed. The argument against Curruthers is that his company's website - colocated in London - accepted bets from Americans and thereby broke the US Wire Act. By accepting bets he is accused of defrauding the US out of $3bn in tax as well.
However, is arrested actually the correct term for what has happened to him? After all, if reports are correct he was interconnecting between flights, so he won't actually have passed through US immigration, thus he never entered the country. Doesn't that mean - technically at least - he was a very public victim of extraordinary rendition?
What seems clear though is that whatever happens, the British government - and Blair in particular - have little influence in the Bush Administration these days. That cannot bode well for David Carruthers and his family.
1 comment:
I loved hearing that taped conversation. Isn't Bush laid back and so arrogant? And your point about Carruthers is interesting too. The US Govt can't have total control over everything. I hope Carruthers has a good lawyer.
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