Legal Schnauzer, January 3, 2011
The story of Karl Rove's likely connection to the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been picked up by a major news site in Sweden. We are pleased to say that our work here at Legal Schnauzer played a part in an important story going global.
Nyheter24 ("News 24"), a Stockholm-based online tabloid that is targeted at the 15-39 age group, broke the story in Sweden. The newspaper cites reporting by Andrew Kreig at Huffington Post (and the Justice Integrity Project), plus our work at Legal Schnauzer. Here is the Nyheter24 headline:
Karl Rove hjälper Reinfeldt att hantera Julian Assange: Enligt källor till Huffington Post har George W Bushs högra hand, Karl Rove, hjälpt den svenska regeringen att hantera fallet Julian Assange.
What does that mean? Well, we've been working on our Swedish--by pushing the translation button on our Google toolbar--and we will get to that in a moment.
But first, we must say that it's pretty cool for our humble blog to have reached a global audience. We have international visitors to the blog on a regular basis, and they have picked up considerably since we've been writing about the Rove/Assange story. But to our knowledge, this is the first time our work has been picked up by a major news outlet in a foreign country.
Even though we can't read Swedish, we pretty quickly discerned that Nyheter24 reporter Aaron Israelson had cited our work:
Nu anklagas Karl Rove för att ligga bakom den svenska regeringens kampanj för att få Wikileaks grundare och chefredaktör, Julian Assange, utlämnad hit. I syfte att därefter utlämna honom till USA - där ett spionåtal hotar Assange.
Den amerikanske journalisten Roger Shuler, som bloggar på välbesökta och ansedda Legal Schnauzer, skriver att en säker källa uppger att Rove hjälper regeringen Reinfeldt med fallet Assange.
What does that mean? With the click of a button, here is the translation I came up with--and I swear I didn't have anything to do with the writing of this story:
Now accused Karl Rove of being behind the Swedish government's campaign to get Wikileaks founder and editor, Julian Assange , extradited here. In order to then hand him over to the U.S.--where a spy prosecutions threaten Assange.
The American journalist Roger Shuler, who blogs on the popular and prestigious Legal Schnauzer, writes that a reliable source says that Rove will help the government Reinfeldt case Assange.
Popular and prestigious? Man, you gotta love those Swedish journalists. Mrs. Schnauzer and I got quite a hoot out of that translation. Even we would not describe the blog in such glowing terms. But given that we both have been cheated out of our jobs here in Alabama, largely because of the progressive tone of this blog, it's nice to see that our work is appreciated across the Atlantic.
It's also interesting to see how the work of a blogger based in Birmingham can travel. To those who doubt the potential power of the alternative press . . . well, they might want to take a gander at the Nyheter24 article.
What was my first thought upon seeing a reference to my little Alabama-based blog in a Swedish publication? Well, as a long-time fan of tennis and pop music, I immediately thought, "Geez, I wonder if Bjorn Borg or one of the chicks in ABBA will read this."
As for the headline, here's how it translates into English, with a reference to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt:
Karl Rove helps Reinfeldt to manage Julian Assange: According to sources at the Huffington Post, Bush's right-hand man, Karl Rove, helped the Swedish government to handle the case Julian Assange.
Where does Nyheter24 fit in the Swedish media pecking order? Well, it's a feisty up and comer. The country's two largest newspapers appear to be the "centre-right" Expressen, published by Bonnior AB, and the "social democratic" Aftonbladet. Nyheter24 was launched in 2008 as an online challenger for the left-leaning audience of Aftonbladet.
One report says Nyheter24 receives inspiration from the The Sun tabloid of London. One of the news site's founders is Douglas Roos, former CEO of Ladbrokes, a London-based gaming company. Ladbrokes used to be associated with the Hilton Hotel Group and apparently involves some seriously deep pockets. With its emphasis on 24-hour online news coverage and the youth market--plus the fact it has strong financial backers--we suspect Nyheter24 could become a major force in the international press.
Where will the Rove/Assange story go from here? That remains to be seen, but the story seems to be picking up steam. We knew that numerous European blogs had picked up on the story. But the Nyheter24 piece appears to take things to a new level.
Here is the full English translation of the Rove/Assange story. The translation from Swedish to English apparently is not seamless, so the wording is rough in some places:
STOCKHOLM/WASHINGTON--The Republican strategist Karl Rove made his name worldwide as an advisor to President George W. Bush. He helped him to become governor of Texas and then also president of the United States.
In addition, norskättade Karl Rove since the 80s also acted as advisor to the Swedish Moderate Party--the only foreign party as "the king of spin" brag about to his credit.
Helped win the election
According to several tasks hired Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also Rove to help moderates win the 2010 election. These data, however, denied by the Moderates former party secretary Per Schlingmann--now Secretary of State in the Prime Minister with responsibility for communications.
Now accused Karl Rove of being behind the Swedish government's campaign to get Wikileaks founder and editor, Julian Assange, extradited here. In order to then hand him over to the U.S.--where a spy prosecutions threaten Assange.
The American journalist Roger Shuler, who blogs on the popular and prestigious Legal Schnauzer, writes that a reliable source says that Rove will help the government Reinfeldt case Assange. Apparently, it seems that [Rove], who claims he is svenskättad, feel a kinship to Sweden . . . and he has taken advantage of it several times.
Protects legacy of Bush
Why then should Rove be interested in prosecuting Assange for sex crimes charges in Sweden? In order to protect the legacy of George W. Bush, the source said.
"Just the guy who leaked the documents, to the detriment of the Bush family the most, is also the guy that Bush's right hand can control by being the Swedish prime minister's brain and adviser to the intelligence and economic affairs," said the source to the Legal Schnauzer.
Also, journalist and lawyer Andrew Kreig, which include writing for the Huffington Post, has received the same information of a credible political agents.
"This bear [Karl's] signature. He must be so happy. He is back in action. He makes a lot of value to his new friends and get to see the U.S. government to do exactly what he himself would have done--while he makes life miserable for their opponents," the source to the Huffington Post.
Engaged in political trials
Karl Rove has since Barack Obama and the Democrats regained power in Washington has been under fire for his alleged involvement in a politicized trial of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman.
Democrat Siegelman was accused of corruption and threatened by a 30-year prison term, but has always maintained that the process against him was politically motivated--and directed by Karl Rove. When Rove was questioned by the U.S. Congress about his involvement, he saw to flee the country--to Sweden.
"When he was in trouble and did not want to testify at the three occasions when he called he ended up in Sweden," a source told Legal Schnauzer. "Moreover, it was Reinfeldt who first hired Karl when he was expelled from the White House."
Wikileaks embarrassing for Sweden
According to reports, it was just mess around Don Siegelman who was George W. Bush to finally ask his closest advisers to throw in the towel. This too has been denied by Rove himself.
Wikileaks has caused not only the U.S. government embarrassment, but also the Swedish. Among other things, it has been revealed that the Swedish government representative has asked the U.S. Embassy to allow surveillance in the context of Surveillance Detection Unit (SDU), run "informally" to ensure that parliament would [not] examine it.
The latest in a series of revelations also show how the U.S. helped--or renutav dictated--the Swedish government's policy in the war against file sharing.
Julian Assange, the 39-year-old Australian nomad, searched for previous residence in Sweden to carry on from here Wikileaks activities.
But instead he fell into the arms of two Swedish women who went to police with the sex allegations.
This was followed by an infected right process and try to get him extradited to Sweden from the UK.
Here is the translation of a sidebar about Rove:
This is Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was born December 25, 1950, in Denver, Colorado. He is an American political consultant--so-called spin doctor--and was previously general counsel and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
Rove is regarded as the political architect of Bush's electoral victories, first as governor of Texas and then in the two presidential elections.
Karl Rove visited Sweden a few days in the early 80s to give the Conservatives tips on fund-raising --that is, how to raise money for political campaigns.
During the political week Almedalen Gotland 2008, Rove at a seminar organized by industry think tank Timbro.
Rove has appeared in numerous criminal investigations, but never prosecuted.
According to information on the web, Karl Rove has advised Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt in the election campaign 2010.
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