Using hidden camera a reporter for Russia Today was able to tape an interview with Victor Bout in jail.
And then, guess what? His latest lawyer requested that the court adjourn after two of his witnesses failed to show up. They’re admirals in the Thai navy! Sure! But they’re…sick. Yes, terribly sick. Look! An earthquake! So the hearing was put off until the 6th of March, by which time he will probably have decided he needs to change his legal representation again.
Quite suddenly, some time in the early summer of 2005, I was contacted by a CBS Correspondent, regarding the Viktor Bout-to-Iraq issue.
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A top CBS was summoned; I hauled in a box of docs on the train and the tube and my desk, as well as all the digital. Unlike MI6, I didn’t lose them. He came supposedly direct from Iraq, with photos of various aircraft at Baghdad Airport. I identified them, wondering what the point was - there were plenty of VB jets photographed there?
There was a brief period of expectancy, before the correspondent eventually called back to say that after the Rather/Kerning Krisis they couldn’t do anything like it, for political reasons. Perhaps they needed a signed statement from Viktor? I had a similar experience with the pre-Murdoch Wall Street Journal, without the lunch. Now, it all makes much more sense.
Feb 12 2009
A large, bipartisan group of Congressmen, led by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) is seeking to insure the the extradition of Viktor “Merchant of Death” Bout from Thailand remains a high priority for the incoming administration.
In a letter to new AG Holder and Secretary of State Clinton signed by 27 House members, the group asked that Bout’s extradition “remain a top priority for your departments and the United States government.”
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The Russian government, through public and private means, have been working overtime to insure its favorite weapons dealer-who often in recent years operated under Russian government protection-is not extradited, but gets a free pass back to Moscow.
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart interviews Douglas Farah, a co-author of the book “Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible” about the gunrunner and transportation/logistics mercenary Victor Bout.
