Look at his options:<p>1. Get bled until nobody will offer legal services to him because they know he can't pay. Get extradited with a public defendant (if he's lucky). Have a trial with a lawyer being provided by the DoJ (who happens to be the ones putting him on trial).<p>2. Get extradited with a team of really good lawyers who truly represent him.<p>There really aren't any options that don't end with him extradited. Why wouldn't he want to be extradited on his terms rather than the government's.<p>It also isn't rocket science that, regardless of whether the government is intentionally trying to get his legal team to desert him, delays are better for the government than they are for Dotcom.<p>As a US citizen, this case makes me sick to my stomach. It reeks of America strong-arming other countries to pursue an agenda that is in only its best interests. It is made worse by the high-level collusion between the government and Hollywood. It is topped off by a stinking pile that is a lack of respect for anybody's intellectual property <i>except</i> Hollywood's and a rotten cherry of government seizure that prevents somebody from defending themselves in court.<p>(I suppose there is a 3rd option where he goes completely underground, but, again, with no money, that's going to be a tough thing to do.)
When I saw that the extradition was postponed to March 2013 I figured it was another move by the US to draw this saga out as long as possible.<p>It makes sense for Kim and his team to respond "screw that we're coming over now and you hurry this shit up so we can win our case and start our business back up." His lawyers must believe without a doubt that they have this case in the bag.<p>It seems fairly obvious that from the beginning this case was designed to take a long time in court, in order to keep megaupload down as long as possible. By keeping their assets frozen and postponing court dates the US is continuing to "win" this battle.
It's a cheap challenge, because he knows it will never be answered.<p>He'll be lucky if the DOJ gives some generic statement about the quality of justice in the US, but most likely it will be ignored completely. Even acknowledging this challenge would be stepping into a minefield, and the DOJ is not that stupid.
There's something I don't quite understand. If you're accused of a crime in the US how can all your assets be frozen by the government and your website taken offline? Aren't you innocent until proved guilty?<p>If the answer is that it's suspected that all the money comes from illegal activity and therefore frozen until a judge rules on whether this is the case or not what would stop the US government from prosecuting, for example, Larry Page, take all his money and shut down Google until he has been to court? Which he can't pay for because he doesn't have any money.<p>Can you really just indite someone and convince a judge to freeze all his accounts before there has even been a trial?
If his Biden assertions have any merit, then this is coming straight from the top. It makes perfect sense to delay the case until after elections. (Not to mention all the other legal tactics mentioned here.)
If the funds are subject to asset seizure the DOJ would never release them in a situation like this. If they got a conviction there'd be nothing left - all paid to his surprisingly expensive legal team based in the caymans. Even the dumbest feds ever would see that coming a mile away.
So the US's Government's tactic is to delay the extradition trial until he's left with no money to defend himself...and then win by default. Is that what they call "justice"?
While I support his fight, I believe this simply adds to a long tradition in politics of offering "tempting" concessions the other side can never accept, for publicity and other purposes.
Has anyone ever double checked the megaupload business model? Like, comparing how much s3 would cost to store all the data, and how many customers?<p>I couls never get it to work out...
IANAL: If he wants a speedy trial, and is concerned about legal fees, he should just go the U.S. on his own. Any delay at this point only helps the prosecution, giving them more time to research the case.
He is willing to face trial if they give him money first? That's not how Justice works in any modern country. His lawyers presumably told him as much, so this is just another bizarre plea for attention.