It seems that the metastasizing scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is finally having some repercussions on this side of the Atlantic, but naturally not in the way you’d think. Although ol’ Rupert himself confirmed this week that that he is “cooperating” with the US Department of “Justice” on the FCPA implications of the hacking/bribery/influence peddling outrages that have gripped Britain for months, this is the Holder Justice Department after all, so he’s not exactly quaking in his orthopedic loafers about that.

Numerous complaints about United Kingdom press coverage of WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange’s struggle against being extradited to Sweden have been made by Assange. Those complaints were submitted to the Leveson Inquiry, empaneled to examine culture, practices and ethics of the press in the aftermath of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The complaints reveal a dogged effort by Assange to challenge an inaccuracy often reported as fact: that he was charged with rape and that is why he is facing extradition.