Dotcom launches case 'facts' webpage

[KiwiElf]

NZ Newswire August 9, 2012, 9:28 am


http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...facts-webpage/

Piracy-accused multi-millionaire Kim Dotcom has gone on the offensive against the United States, launching a new webpage to share information about his case.

Dotcom and three other men who worked for his Megaupload file-sharing website, Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram Van der Kolk, face copyright, racketeering and money laundering charges in the United States.

The four are on bail in New Zealand awaiting an extradition hearing set down for March next year.

Dotcom has laid out his side of the court case on his website, www.kim.com, on a page titled "10 Facts About the Megaupload Scandal".

He says the only party found to have broken the law so far is the New Zealand police, after a High Court judge ruled the search warrant used to confiscate hard drives and other material from Dotcom was illegal.

His website, similar in appearance to one that might be created to support the release of a new Hollywood movie, features the taglines: "The war for the Internet has begun", "Hollywood is in control of politics" and "The government is killing innovation".

Dotcom has taken the witness stand in the High Court at Auckland this week at a hearing into the January police raid on his Coatesville mansion which resulted in his arrest.

The hearing follows on from a ruling in late June that the search warrants used to carry out the raid were invalid.

Following his court appearance on Wednesday, Dotcom criticised the police on Twitter, writing: "After reliving the raid in the court room I am angry. So many lies. There was no justification for this! All just a big show for the US!"

"The NZ government is doing the dirty work for a handful of greedy, copyright extremist content billionaire's (sic) who need bigger yachts," he said.
Dotcom was apparently referring to Chris Dodd, the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, who he has previously accused of using a friendship with US Vice-President Joe Biden to convince US President Barack Obama to take down the Megaupload website.

And in an earlier report;

Dotcom punched, kicked in raid, court told

By Sarah Robson, NZ Newswire Updated August 7, 2012, 6:47 pm


http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/1447...nd-kicked-him/

A court has heard more details about the police raid on the Coatesville mansion of Megaupload founder and internet piracy accused Kim Dotcom.

Dotcom gave evidence at the High Court in Auckland on Tuesday that he was punched and kicked by police during the raid in January.

On the first day of a three-day hearing that follows on from a court ruling in late June that the search warrants used to carry out the raid were invalid, Dotcom told the court he was working on his bed when police arrived on the morning on the raid.

As he was installing a Windows update on his computer, Dotcom said he heard a helicopter overhead, which wasn't unusual, but then he heard the pinging sound of stones and gravel.

Dotcom said he couldn't see what was happening outside, because the curtains were closed, but he soon heard loud banging at his bedroom door.

He went to the safe room, where he was found by police.

Dotcom said he put his hands up when police entered the room, but he was punched, kicked and pushed to the ground.

He told the court that he and his family are reminded of what happened during the raid every day.

"Our beautiful home was turned into a haunted house," Dotcom said.

"Life is not the same after what happened."

Dotcom told crown prosecutor John Pike he would have co-operated with police had they knocked on his door, rather than banging it down.

On Tuesday afternoon a member of the police special tactics group, whose name is suppressed, was questioned by defence lawyer Paul Davison about whether the police response was appropriate given the level of risk posed by Dotcom.

Another member of the police special tactics group is also expected to give evidence at the hearing.

Images and CCTV footage of the raid are currently suppressed.

Dotcom and his wife Mona, along with Dotcom's three co-accused, Mathias Ortmann, Fin Batato and Bram Van der Kolk, have sat in the public gallery throughout the day.

The four accused face copyright, racketeering and money laundering charges in the US.

An extradition hearing is scheduled for March next year.

[KiwiElf]

3NEWS report revealing the nature of the raid on Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's New Zealand mansion in January — a raid which has become controversial as details have come out.

Report by 3NEWS' John Campbell

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pMas0tWc0sg

[apokalypse]

this is getting ridiculous..

Do you know how the FBI justified the insane raid of Kim Dotcom’s mansion? By saying that it suspected that Kim Dotcom had a ‘doomsday’ device that could “wipe out evidence of internet piracy around the world.” No, seriously.

Grant Wormald, the detective inspector who oversaw the operation for the organised and Financial Crime Agency (Ofcanz) said he was told by the FBI that Dotcom “carried a device with him to delete servers around the world”. Apparently, the “Doomsday” delete-all-servers device could have been triggered “in seconds” from any computer or phone on the property. Of course, no device was ever found in the raid but that didn’t stop the feds from sending choppers and a crapton of officers more fit for a drug kingpin than an online pirate. [NZ Herald via BGR]

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/08/th...nce-of-piracy/

Government protect it's citizen..My Ass they do.

[KiwiElf]

Dotcom Spied on illegally - Spy agency investigated over Dotcom case

Kim Dotcom: "I feel like a James Bond villain"
NZ Newswire Updated September 24, 2012, 2:10 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...r-dotcom-case/

Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom says he feels like "a real life James Bond villain" now it has been revealed a government spy agency is being investigated for illegal eavesdropping.

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key announced the inquiry on Monday, saying the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) acted unlawfully when it helped the police arrest Dotcom and three of his associates in January.

Mr Key said the GCSB helped police locate "certain individuals subject to arrest warrants issued in this case" and he has asked the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Paul Neazor, to investigate.

"I'm now a real life James Bond villain in a real life political copyright thriller scripted by Hollywood and the White House," Mr Dotcom tweeted minutes after Mr Key's announcement.

"The truth will come out... this is just the beginning."

Dotcom is facing internet piracy and money laundering charges in the United States, with extradition proceedings due to start in March.

A court case is under way involving evidence seized by police and Mr Key said a memorandum had been filed in the High Court advising it, and affected parties, that the GCSB acted unlawfully when it "acquired communications in some instances without statutory approval".

Mr Key says he was told about the GCSB's actions by the agency's director, Ian Fletcher, on September 17.

He said he was disappointed that "unlawful acts" had taken place.

"I expect our intelligence agencies to operate always within the law. Their operations depend on public trust," he said on Monday.

"I look forward to the inspector-general's inquiry getting to the heart of what took place and what can be done about it."
Mr Key says he can't comment further because of the court case.

[KiwiElf]

Key accused of `dereliction of duty'
NZ Newswire September 24, 2012, 2:40 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...ction-of-duty/

Opposition parties are blaming Prime Minister John Key for the government spy agency's illegal eavesdropping.

Mr Key has ordered an inquiry, and says the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) acted unlawfully when it helped police arrest internet tycoon Kim Dotcom and three of his associates.

The prime minister is responsible for the GCSB and NZ First leader Winston Peters says he has failed to oversee its activities.

"This failure... is a dereliction of duty," Mr Peters said.

"Mr Key's shoddy handling of this issue seems to indicate that we are in the pocket of US intelligence agencies and that he allowed them to trample over New Zealand law."

Mr Dotcom is facing internet piracy and money laundering charges in the US, and police were working with the FBI when he was arrested.

Labour leader David Shearer says the GCSB reports directly to Mr Key and has "apparently illegally spied on people involved in the Kim Dotcom case".

"This is a shocking breach of New Zealand's very strict laws restricting the ability of our spy agencies to snoop on people," he said.

"He is responsible as prime minister for signing off all intercept warrants by GCSB."

Mr Shearer is questioning Mr Key's statement after Mr Dotcom was arrested, when he said he hadn't heard of the German internet tycoon until he was briefed the day before the police raid.

"While it has been revealed that some bugging was done illegally, it's not credible to think that other monitoring by the agency was not signed by the prime minister before the raid was carried out," Mr Shearer said.

"This isn't about national security. This is about John Key's own word and whether he has told the truth to New Zealanders."

[KiwiElf]

Deputy PM Bill English signed order on Dotcom spying

NZ Newswire Updated September 25, 2012, 10:36 am

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...dotcom-spying/

(video at link)

Dotcom Case Should 'trouble' Kiwis

Security law expert Tim McBride tells Close Up all Kiwis should be concerned about illegal snooping by the foreign intelligence agency.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English signed off on a suppression order to keep details about the government's spy agency snooping on internet tycoon Kim Dotcom under wraps - even from Prime Minister John Key.

Mr Key told media he found out about 5.30pm on Monday that Mr English had signed a ministerial certificate - effectively a suppression order - in the role of acting Prime Minister, while Mr Key was overseas.

Neither Mr Key nor Mr English would say what date it was signed, but it is believed to have happened while Mr Key was on holiday in the United States in August.

Mr English had sought legal advice before signing the certificate.

The revelation comes a day after Mr Key announced he had ordered an investigation into the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) spying on Dotcom, who was arrested in January in a joint raid by New Zealand police and the FBI over alleged internet piracy.

Ministerial warrants are required to spy on New Zealand citizens or residents and when that happened it was carried out by the Security Intelligence Service, not the GCSB.

Dotcom and one of the three associates arrested, Bram van der Kolk, are New Zealand residents.

Mr Key is expected to come under fire from Opposition MPs in parliament on Tuesday about the unlawful snooping on Dotcom.

Labour leader David Shearer says Mr Key must explain why the GCSB was involved in illegal spying.
"This is a shocking breach of New Zealand's very strict laws restricting the ability of our spy agencies to snoop on people."

[KiwiElf]

GCSB head knew of Dotcom surveillance
NZ Newswire November 5, 2012, 9:14 am

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...knew-of-survei

The government spy agency has confirmed knowledge of its surveillance of internet piracy-accused Kim Dotcom went right to the top of the organisation.

The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) admitted in September that its surveillance of Dotcom, ahead of his arrest in January, was illegal, because he is a New Zealand resident.

By law, it cannot spy on New Zealand citizens or residents.

In response to a request from Radio New Zealand, under the Official Information Act, the GCSB said its acting director at the time, Hugh Wolfensohn, knew about the surveillance.

Mr Wolfensohn, who has been with the GCSB for at least 16 years in senior positions, including head of corporate relations and chief legal adviser, is understood to be on gardening leave and facing the sack over the debacle.

Current director Ian Fletcher would not say how many other staff knew about the operation, saying that could jeopardise future operations by the agency.

The GCSB maintains it became aware only on September 12 that its surveillance was illegal, despite media reports almost immediately after Dotcom's arrest saying he and one of his co-accused were New Zealand residents.

Police were also given information from Immigration New Zealand in December last year, stating that Dotcom was a New Zealand resident.

Mr Fletcher says the GCSB communicated only with police, particularly the Organised and Financial Crime Agency (Ofcanz) - an indication the agency did not communicate with the FBI about its surveillance.

After it discovered the illegality of the surveillance, the GCSB contacted the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, and Crown Law.

It withheld the content of those communications on the basis it might prejudice national security or the maintenance of law, or legal privilege.

Police last month announced a team of senior police investigators will deal with a complaint from the Green Party about the GCSB's illegal surveillance, with an initial report due by November 15.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by KiwiElf (here)
NZ Newswire August 9, 2012, 9:28 am


http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...facts-webpage/

Piracy-accused multi-millionaire Kim Dotcom has gone on the offensive against the United States, launching a new webpage to share information about his case.

One of my favorite websites, The Daily Bell, has a good piece on Kim Dotcom and Megaupload, at Case Against Kim Dotcom Copyright Infringement Continues to Weaken:

Kim Dotcom: Mega Will Turn Encryption into a Mass Product ... Next month Kim Dotcom will release a new and improved version of the now defunct Megaupload. Today, he unveiled the new look of the site by sharing several teaser screenshots, including one of the encryption interface. Mega, as the new service is called, will turn encryption into a mass product and Dotcom believes that with Mega's help half of all Internet traffic will be encrypted in 5 years. Over the past several months a group of coders have been working hard on the new "Mega" which is scheduled to launch January 20 2013, exactly one year after Megaupload was shut down. – TorrentFreak

Dominant Social Theme: The Fat Man is going down. Just a matter of time.

Free-Market Analysis: When Kim Dotcom was chased into the safe room of his mansion in New Zealand a year ago, the mainstream Western press went into full cry. It was universally assumed that this Falstaffian character would soon be starring in his very own Shakespearian tragedy behind bars in a US jail.

The idea was that Dotcom had made his money with Megaupload (now shut down) by encouraging people to steal copyrighted work and store it in the company's cyber-lockers.

This was the reason the US sent FBI agents halfway around the world to work with New Zealand to arrest Kim Dotcom. The estimate was that Dotcom had cost Hollywood millions if not billions by allowing viewers to pilfer contents.

But today, a year later, most if not all of the US copyright case is in ruins.

• New Zealand courts have found that surveillance of Kim Dotcom was illegal. So, apparently, was the way the raid was conducted.
• The Prime Minister of New Zealand has apologized personally to Kim Dotcom.
• Dotcom has been released from jail and some of his assets unfrozen.
• Various surveys have shown that users of film (if not music) have consumed LESS rather than more since the shutdown of Megaupload.
• New Zealand courts found the FBI acted illegally in confiscating Megaupload's servers.
• The baseline contention that Megaupload abetted information thievery is increasingly a controversial one, as there is no way that Megaupload could police each one of its users.
• The idea that people can lose the whole of their life's work based on civil/criminal charges that have not yet been proven has provided a timely "wakeup call" to those who did not notice how much the US in particular has eroded civil liberties in the 21st century.

We could go on. There is hardly one element of the US case that has emerged unscathed. And Dotcom continues to fight back. He is now re-launching Megaupload as a bigger and better platform with built-in encryption. Here's more from the TorrentFreak article:

...

All of the above adds up to a series of defeats for the US and Hollywood. But the harsh reality is that the US government is surely a tool of Money Power that runs the world secretively and wants to create public global governance.

It is Money Power that is at war with what we call the Internet Reformation and the information derived therefrom.

Money Power's top people (titled royalty at the time) invented copyright, from what we can tell, after the Gutenberg press began to disseminate information about the Way the World Worked. Today, copyright is being wielded like a weapon to stop certain kinds of information from being disseminated via the Internet.

Frankly, we've been surprised by the brutality and clumsiness that has been used to fight the copyright battle. But this has been in keeping generally with the larger power elite response to the spread of the Internet – something those in charge apparently never expected.

Rather than "take a step back," the top elites (apparently controlling central banks) have become more controlling, using economic chaos, wars and authoritarian regulations to try to intimidate people and prevent them from using the information that has been revealed on the Internet.

That information is what we call "directed history." It seems to show that almost every aspect of Western life has been manipulated over the past century, at least, with the goal of justifying and then creating world government.

...

There's more to this article, at Case Against Kim Dotcom Copyright Infringement Continues to Weaken.

[KiwiElf]

In what is becoming a series of recent and ongoing "embarrassing truths" about the New Zealand Government...

Dotcom accuses PM of misleading parliament
NZ Newswire March 12, 2013, 3:47 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...ng-parliament/

Kim Dotcom has accused Prime Minister John Key of misleading parliament as the internet entrepreneur battles extradition to the US over copyright infringement charges.

Speaking via Skype from New Zealand to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Dotcom told the audience they should expect some surprises when his legal battle resumes in April.

Agence France-Presse reported Dotcom vowed that "interesting facts" will be revealed, including a claim that Mr Key had misled parliament.

In October last year, Mr Key was forced to make a correction to parliament after saying he first knew of the Government Communications Security Bureau's involvement with Dotcom on September 17. He said he was told about it at a briefing with the spy agency in February 2012.

Mr Key maintains the first he knew of Dotcom was on January 19 last year, a day before armed police raided the internet mogul's Coatesville mansion, but Dotcom has claimed he has proof Mr Key knew of him before then.

"Get the popcorn ready," said Dotcom, 39, "because you won't believe what these guys did."

Dotcom says there was a political motivation behind the raid.

The Court of Appeal last week cleared the way for Dotcom to sue the GCSB and the police over the lawfulness of the surveillance and the raid on the property.

Last September it emerged that the GCSB had illegal spied on Dotcom, who, as a New Zealand resident, should have been off-limits.

It was earlier ruled that the warrants used to carry out the raid were invalid and as such aspects of the search and seizure were illegal.

Dotcom faces an extradition hearing in August, but is confident of victory.

"I will never be in a prison in the United States. I can guarantee you that," he said.

[KiwiElf]

Top NZ spy breaks silence with media
NZ Newswire Updated April 9, 2013, 8:40 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...ce-with-media/

Video at Link

Damning Review Of Govt's Spy Agency

There could be more than 80 cases of illegal spying in New Zealand, a report states.

The country's top spy has mounted a media blitz, defending his agency's potentially illegal spying on nearly 90 New Zealanders.

In the continuing fallout from the Kim Dotcom affair, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) director, the normally secretive Ian Fletcher, who up until now has refused media interviews, spent much of Tuesday fronting up to journalists over his spies' apparent incompetence.

He was responding to an inquiry into his agency which says it may have been illegally spying on up to 88 New Zealanders.

The GCSB cannot spy on New Zealand citizens, something it ignored when it helped New Zealand police and the FBI in the lead-up to Dotcom's arrest in January last year.

"We got that seriously wrong but we fessed up and we apologised," Mr Fletcher told TV3's Campbell Live of the Dotcom blunder.

The GCSB is not saying who the 88 people are, but three were spied on to help out police and 85 to help out the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), which is allowed to spy on New Zealanders. None have been arrested or charged with anything.

Mr Fletcher is still not admitting the 88 were actually illegally spied on, although it has stopped spying on those people where it is not sure.

There were longstanding interpretations about interplay between GCSB and SIS acts, but there were difficulties of interpretation, he said.

Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Paul Neazor will look more closely at the inquiry's findings to try to determine whether or not the spying is illegal.

Mr Fletcher also defended the seven months it took the GCSB to admit it knew it had illegally spied on Dotcom, German-born but who had gained New Zealand residency.

"The people who were involved did not realise they were getting things wrong."

The inquiry's revelations have overshadowed controversy about how Mr Fletcher got the job, a public servant leapfrogging four other candidates when Prime Minister John Key called his old high school friend.

Mr Fletcher admitted the call from the prime minister was unexpected, but would not go into why he thought he got the job.

[KiwiElf]

Dotcom back in court to sue NZ police
NZ Newswire April 15, 2013, 8:31 am

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...to-sue-police/

Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom will return to the High Court in Auckland on Monday to seek compensation from police for the illegal raid on his rural mansion.

Dotcom has received clearance from the courts to sue police and the government spy agency, Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), over his arrest at his sprawling Coatesville home last January.

The hearing this week is the continuation of a remedies hearing started last August, which heard evidence from the Police Special Tactics Group and the Organised and Financial Crime Agency (OFCANZ).

The head of OFCANZ, Grant Wormald, is expected to take the stand again, as is Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess.

The legal action against the GCSB, whose intelligence gathering was ruled illegal as Dotcom is a New Zealand citizen, will take place in a separate hearing.

Dotcom, a 39-year-old German national formerly known as Kim Schmitz, was arrested as part of a US probe into online piracy.

US authorities allege Dotcom's company Megaupload netted millions by offering pirated copies of movies, TV shows and other online content, claims Dotcom denies.

His extradition hearing is scheduled for August.

[KiwiElf]

Damning Report - Dotcom case based on non-existent crime
Sarah Robson, NZ Newswire Updated May 8, 2013, 9:22 am

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...xistent-crime/

Video at above link and here:
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/video/watch...amning-report/

Dotcom's Alleged Crimes 'Don't Exist'

One of Kim Dotcom's lawyers, Robert Amsterdam speaks about a report released that claims Dotcom's alleged crimes do not exist.

The US government's case against internet mogul Kim Dotcom is based on a non-existent crime, according to a new White Paper written by his legal team.

The paper, co-authored by London-based human rights lawyer Robert Amsterdam and Dotcom's US lawyer Ira Rothken, has been released on Wednesday to coincide with the US attorney-general Eric Holder's visit to New Zealand.

The paper states that Dotcom and his co-accused have been charged with criminal liability for the actions of Megaupload users, a form of secondary copyright infringement.

However, no criminal statute for secondary copyright infringement exists in US law.

"The prosecution seeks to hold Megaupload and its executives criminally responsible for alleged infringement by the company's third-party cloud storage users," the paper says.

"The problem with the theory, however, is that secondary copyright infringement is not - nor has it ever been - a crime in the United States.

"The federal courts lack any power to criminalise secondary copyright infringement; the US Congress alone has such authority, and it has not done so."

The paper labels the prosecution against Megaupload "baseless" and "unprecedented".

It also states Megaupload complied, as required by law, with requests from copyright holders to take down infringing material.

Further, Megaupload gave major copyright holders like Disney and Warner Bros. direct access to the site so they could remove any infringing content.

Before it was shut down, Megaupload was one of the world's biggest cloud storage services, accounting for about four per cent of total internet traffic.

Dotcom and his three co-accused remain on bail as they await a court hearing to determine whether they will be extradited to the US to face charges.

Meanwhile, Mr [Eric] Holder is in Auckland on Wednesday for an annual meeting of attorney-generals from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Great Britain.

The attorneys-general will also liaise with the annual Strategic Alliance Group meeting of law enforcement agencies, focusing on international crime and its impacts, also being held in Auckland.

[Nanoo Nanoo]

nice web site : 0 )

good tactic too

N

[KiwiElf]

Kim Dotcom issues challenge to NZ Prime Minister, John Key
Newstalk ZB Staff, Newstalk ZB July 1, 2013, 4:53 pm

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-sto...e-to-john-key/

A challenge has been issued by Kim Dotcom to the Prime Minister, as he readies himself to appear before Parliament's security and intelligence committee.

Public hearings into the Government's new spying legislation begin tomorrow.

John Key chairs the committee.

Mr Dotcom has tweeted saying he will tell the committee on Wednesday why the new Bill is wrong - and he bets Mr Key and ACT leader John Banks won't show up.

He tweeted again saying "If you want to witness John Key and the GCSB getting exposed join me in Parliament this Wednesday".

[KiwiElf]

NZ Prime Minister John Key and Kim Dotcom spar at GCSB hearing

http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/key-...earing-5485468

Tensions between Kim Dotcom and Prime Minister John Key were raised today as the pair butted heads at a parliamentary committee hearing on the Government's controversial spy legislation.

The Government last month proposed legislation to extend the powers of the Government Communications Security Bureau to allow for it to provide support for the New Zealand Police, Defence Force and the Security Intelligence Service.

Dotcom was voicing his opposition to the legislation when discussions became heated between him and the committee's chair, Mr Key.

Dotcom told the committee he believed Mr Key knew about him before the GCSB spying, when Mr Key replied, "No I didn't".

Dotcom then jibed, "Why are you turning red, Prime Minister?"

"Why are you sweating?" Mr Key responded.

Dotcom said it was hot and that he was wearing a scarf.

The internet mogul, speaking alongside Bram van der Kolk, who was arrested with Dotcom during a raid in Auckland last year, said that extended spying powers would erode the privacy of New Zealanders.

"Spying powers not only erode the right to privacy and freedom of expression, it also has a negative impact on innovation, economic growth and business," he said.

"There has never been a greater need for New Zealanders to once again step forward and declare that their values shall not be undervalued or suspended under pressure from the United States."

Concerns from other speakers

Vikram Kumar, the CEO of Dotcom's new file hosting service Mega, also spoke at the committee this afternoon.

The committee yesterday heard concerns from people who say the legislation is designed to extend spying on social media sites.

Dr Rodney Harrison, QC, told the committee further details on the extent of the proposed legislation were needed before it was passed.

"The first and most critical question is, precisely what activities are to be engaged in by the GCSB," he said.

"We don't even know the answer to this question."

The agency has been under scrutiny after it was revealed to have illegally spied on Dotcom because he was thought not to be a New Zealand resident. Dotcom's case set in motion a series of inquiries and events which led to an overhaul of the agency and its legislation.

Yesterday was the first time Parliament's Secretive Intelligence and Security Committee opened its doors to the public.

The Government needs 61 votes to pass the Government Communications Security Bureau and Related Legislation Amendment Bill but is currently one vote short.

Mr Key needs independent MP Peter Dunne to vote for the bill to pass as it appears unlikely the Government's other support partner, the Maori Party, will back it.

If he cannot secure Mr Dunne's vote, Mr Key will be forced to go to New Zealand First for support.

(Video at above link)

[Hervé]

‘It is OVER!’ Dotcom claims victory in US extradition case

RT
Published time: 26 Mar, 2018 09:45
Get short URL

Kim Dotcom © Michael Bradley / AFP

Kim Dotcom has declared his extradition case to be “over.” This comes after a Human Rights Review Tribunal in New Zealand ruled that the country’s Attorney General unlawfully withheld information about his case.

The case relates to an urgent information privacy request submitted by Dotcom to New Zealand’s 28 government ministers and their departments in July 2015. The request was for all personal information the government had on Dotcom, including that under his previous names. Former Attorney General Chris Finlayson turned down the requests.

On Monday, the tribunal ruled that Finlayson’s actions were unlawful and amounted to perverting the course of justice. "Given we have accepted Mr Dotcom as a credible witness we are of the view he has clearly and unambiguously established loss of dignity and injury to feelings," the tribunal said. Dotcom was awarded $90,000 in damages.

Kim Dotcom‏Verified account @KimDotcom

What does the Human Rights Tribunal Judgement mean for my Extradition case? It is OVER! By unlawfully withholding information that could have helped my case the former Attorney General of New Zealand has perverted the course of Justice.

8:04 PM - 25 Mar 2018
95 replies 530 retweets 1,520 likes

Dotcom, a German national, has been fighting extradition to the US since his arrest for internet-piracy at his Auckland home in 2012. In a flurry of celebratory series of tweets Monday, the internet entrepreneur called the case a “mega conspiracy” and claimed that the judgment now means the push to extradite him to the US is “over.” The case, however, has not been formally dropped just yet. Dotcom went on to call for the resignation of Privacy Commissioner John Edwards and promised to bring a civil case against Finlayson and former Prime Minister John Key.

Kim Dotcom‏Verified account @KimDotcom

After years of perseverance the time is here, we won, we’re getting to the truth. I’m no longer the defendant. To former AG Chris Finlayson, former PM John Key and everyone else who was part of the real ‘Mega Conspiracy’, it is showtime! Private prosecution! I see you in Court.

8:13 PM - 25 Mar 2018
74 replies 649 retweets 1,897 likes

Kim Dotcom‏Verified account @KimDotcom

I call for the immediate resignation of the Privacy Commissioner of New Zealand for his complicity with the former Attorney General and Crown Law in unlawfully withholding information that New Zealanders were legally entitled to.

8:19 PM - 25 Mar 2018
33 replies 309 retweets 875 likes

The judgment marks the first significant victory for Dotcom in his legal battle with the governments of the US and New Zealand. In January, Dotcom filed a lawsuit against the two countries claiming nearly $7 billion in damages after his 2012 arrest led to the collapse of his business.

Dotcom founded, and was the majority shareholder in, Megaupload, a company that provided online file storage and viewing services. In January 2012, the US Department of Justice closed down the firm’s operations and arrested its owners on charges of operating an organization dedicated to copyright infringement.


Related:
Kim Dotcom warns of ‘invisible spy war’ & deep state interference

Kim Dotcom files multi-billion dollar lawsuit against US & NZ governments

[KiwiElf]

Our former govt & former Prime Minister, John Key, could find themselves in serious doo doo over this (not to mention Obama & his cronies),... Here's Kim's Twitter - articles cited from techdirt.com in his tweets are well worth the read
Looks like NZ's "Swamp Draining" just got serious...

https://twitter.com/KimDotcom?lang=en

How The US Government Legally Stole Millions From Kim Dotcom
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...m-dotcom.shtml

Kim Dotcom Wins Human Rights Tribunal Case Over Kiwi Government Withholding Info
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...ing-info.shtml