U.S. extradites "convicted terrorist" who allegedly plotted attacks that killed 6 Americans

The Justice Department just dropped a bombshell: Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a 64-year-old Canadian-Pakistani “convicted terrorist,” got a one-way ticket to India to face the music for his alleged role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans. Yeah, you read that right—166 souls, gone, because of this guy’s twisted playbook.

The DOJ says Rana, who’s been cozying up to the Pakistani terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, is staring down 10 criminal charges for helping orchestrate the bloodbath that ripped through Mumbai from November 26-29, 2008. We’re talking coordinated bombings and shootings at restaurants, a Jewish community center, and the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel—places where people were just living their lives, not signing up for a terrorist’s target practice.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio didn’t mince words: “​​We extradited Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face charges for his role in planning the horrific 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Together, with India, we’ve long sought justice for the 166 people, including 6 Americans, who lost their lives in these attacks. I’m glad that day has come.” 

You can almost hear the gavel slamming in his voice.

Rana’s rap sheet? It’s a doozy: conspiracy, murder, terrorism, and forgery. Sounds like he was aiming for the supervillain merit badge. Prosecutors say he played puppet master to David Coleman Headley, an American who’s already rotting in prison for 35 years for his part in the attacks. 

Rana allegedly set Headley up in Mumbai, using his immigration business as a front to scout soft targets. Oh, and he helped sneak Headley into India with bogus visa papers. Classy move, right?

The two reportedly schemed together in Chicago over two years, hashing out the details like they were planning a demonic bake sale. And this wasn’t Rana’s only rodeo—he already did 14 years in the U.S. for funneling support to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and plotting to behead Danish newspaper workers. That little scheme, also involving Headley, got shut down before it could go off, thank God.

India’s been itching to get their hands on Rana since 2020, but the feds had to slog through years of court battles. On Monday, the Supreme Court finally told Rana’s lawyers to pound sand, denying his last desperate appeal to dodge extradition. 

Now, he’s India’s problem, and I’m guessing they’re not planning a welcome party.

So here we are, folks—justice delayed but not denied. It’s a grim reminder that evil doesn’t get a free pass forever, even if it hides behind fake visas and Chicago meetups. Let’s raise a glass to the 166 who didn’t deserve this and hope India’s courts bring the hammer down hard.

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Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas, charged with money laundering, fraud

Disgraced FTX scam artist Sam Bankman-Fried [not to be confused with women's baggage thief and now fired Biden appointee, Sam Brinton] had appeared in a Bahama court on Tuesday when he made it clear that he will fight extradition to the United States as he faces a load of federal charges that include fraud, money laundering and making illegal campaign contributions. 

Bankman-Fried, 30, was the second highest Democrat donor.

While in a heavily guarded court in Nassau, Bahamas, the alleged crypto-scammer seemed relaxed and as creepy-nerdy as usual where he made it clear that he would not be waiving his right to an extradition hearing back in the US but it looks like the Democrats are worried about what he might say, so on Monday,  Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried is accused of defrauding customers and investors to fund a lavish lifestyle, officials said. Federal prosecutors said that beginning in 2019, he diverted investors' money to cover expenses, debts and risky trades at his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, in addition to making lavish purchases and illegal campaign contributions without telling his customers, according to a 13-page indictment. He also gave his Arnold Stang lookalike girlfriend a large sum of money, which should mean that she too must testify on a criminal charge.

Not the grand daughter of Arnold Stang

"All of this dirty money was used in service of Bankman-Fried's desire to buy bipartisan influence and impact the direction of public policy in Washington," Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said during a news conference. [H/T Fox News]

He is charged with eight criminal offenses, ranging from wire fraud to money laundering to conspiracy to commit fraud. Williams called the case "one of the biggest frauds in American history."

Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. government, a day before he was slated to testify before the House Financial Services Committee along with FTX's current CEO, John Ray III, not to be confused with the late singer by the same name.

Arnold Stang

FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11 when the firm ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. Customers tried to withdraw their assets all at once because of growing doubts about the financial strength of the company and Alameda Research. But alas, they were too late.

The criminal indictment against Bankman-Fried and "others" at FTX is on top of civil charges announced Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC alleges Bankman-Fried defrauded investors and illegally used their money to buy real estate on behalf of himself and his family. He allegedly bought his mommy a multi-million dollar mansion in the Bahamas.

He executed "deliberate" transactions designed to cover up his fraud, authorities said.

Bankman-Fried was previously one of the world’s wealthiest people on paper; at one point his net worth reached $26.5 billion, according to Forbes. He was a prominent personality in Washington, donating millions of dollars toward mostly left-leaning political causes and Democratic political campaigns, though he also gave some money to Republicans.

FTX grew to become the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The SEC complaint alleges that Bankman-Fried raised more than $1.8 billion from investors since May 2019 by promoting FTX as a safe, responsible platform for trading crypto assets. It was as safe as doing the Pencil Dance in a landmine field.

"Bankman-Fried's entire house of cards started to crumble as crypto asset prices plummeted in May 2022 and as Alameda's lenders demanded repayments on billions of dollars in loans," said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

At Tuesday's congressional hearing, Ray, the new FTX CEO, bluntly disputed that at the hearing: "We will never get all these assets back."

Some folks are calling for Bankman-Fried to share a cell with Darrell Brooks, the Waukesha serial killer and self-declared sovereign citizen serving 6 life sentences plus more time for other crimes, if Bankman-Fried is found guilty, which is highly possible. 

If so, he faces 115 years in the slammer while Brooks faces about ten times that amount.

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Assange rape case to be reopened by Swedish prosecutors

Making a "White Power" fist, Assange faces
extradition to the US

Swedish prosecutors will be reopening a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, at the request of the alleged victim's lawyer.

The case's reopening comes a month after he was basically thrown out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. His leaving wasn't pretty, though, as it was reported that he smeared feces on the walls and was kicking and screaming as he was manhandled out of the embassy.

Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson announcement the plan at a news conference in Stockholm. She said that “there is still a probable cause to suspect that Assange committed a rape.”

Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges against Assange, a probable agent of Russia, after he visited the country in 2010. Assange denied the charges and has avoided extradition by seeking refuge in London's Ecuadorian embassy.

Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired. That left a rape allegation, which couldn't be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy. The statute of limitations on that case expires in August 2020.

Mr. Bradley/Chelsea Manning

Assange was evicted from the embassy last month and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for violating his bail.

The United States has also begun extradition proceedings for Assange's alleged role in leaking diplomatic and military secrets in 2010. The evidence for his involvement with Chelsea [aka Bradley] Manning is overwhelming and if he is extradited back to the US and stands trial, it is highly probable that he will be convicted and spend some serious time in prison, where he belongs.

Assange is not a journalist by any stretch of the definition. He allegedly stole classified information by allegedly hacking into a US government computer system, and put it all out on the internet without perusing it. Moreover, he did not reveal the data for any journalistic intention other than to create a public shock.



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