Dotcom big reveal 'a fake'

Internet millionaire Kim Dotcom making his submissions to the Intelligence and Security select...
Internet millionaire Kim Dotcom making his submissions to the Intelligence and Security select committee hearing into the GCSB at Parliament in 2013. Photo by NZ Herald
The Kim Dotcom "big reveal" is out - and has almost immediately been dismissed as a fake.

The "reveal" is an email which purports to show Prime Minister John Key involved in a plan to get the internet entrepreneur into New Zealand so he could be extradited to the United States.

It is the evidence which Dotcom is planning on producing at the Moment of Truth event tonight. It is also contrary to every assurance the Prime Minister has ever given about his knowledge of Dotcom.

The source of the email is shrouded in mystery and there are likely to be arguments over its authenticity.

It is is dated October 27, 2010 and is purported to be from Warner Brothers chairman and chief executive Kevin Tsujihara to a senior executive at the Motion Picture Association of America - the lobby group for the Hollywood studios.

However, Warner Bros told the Herald the email was a fake. Paul McGuire, the movie studio's senior vice president for worldwide communications, told the Herald: "Kevin Tsujihara did not write or send the alleged email, and he never had any such conversation with Prime Minister Key."

The email being relied on by Dotcom is dated October 27, 2010 and is purported to be from Warner Brothers chairman and chief executive Kevin Tsujihara to a senior executive at the Motion Picture Association of America - the lobby group for the Hollywood studios.

The date of the email places it right in the midst of negotiations over The Hobbit, which saw the government change the law and grant concessions to keep the making of the trilogy in New Zealand.

It is also smack in the middle of key dates relating to the granting of Dotcom's residency - a decision opposed by intelligence officials who screen immigrants but passed by Immigration officials amid talk of "political pressure".

Dotcom has claimed he was a bargaining chip used in the deal with Warner Bros.

The claimed email reads: "We had a really good meeting with the Prime Minister. He's a fan and we're getting what we came for. Your groundwork in New Zealand is paying off. I see strong support for our anti-piracy effort.

"John Key told me in private that they are granting Dotcom residency despite pushback from officials about his criminal past. His AG will do everything in his power to assist us with our case. VIP treatment and then a one-way ticket to Virginia.

"This is a game changer. The DOJ is against the Hong Kong option. No confidence in the Chinese. Great job."

The recipient of the alleged email was said to be the MPAA's Asia-Pacific president Michael Ellis, who has previously figured in the conspiracy Dotcom has claimed led to him being entrapped in New Zealand.

The email largely backs up the theory Dotcom has pushed for almost three years after being arrested in 2012 on behalf of the FBI on charges of criminal copyright violation.

Mr Key has previously dismissed claims of a conspiracy and said he had no knowledge of Dotcom before January 19 2012, the day before the tycoon was arrested by NZ Police acting on behalf of the FBI.

It is dated the day before the decision to grant Dotcom residency on October 28.

The decision to make Dotcom a resident - allowing him to move to New Zealand - came after resistance from the Prime Minister's Security Intelligence Service.

The SIS screened Dotcom as part of the residency process and discovered the FBI was in the process of investigating the tycoon.

Emails obtained by the NZ Herald under the Official Information Act showed the objections were over-ruled, with the spies doing the screening believing Immigration staff were under "political pressure".

Dotcom has previously claimed Mr Ellis, a former Hong Kong police superintendent with extradition expertise, had a role in the case against him. Records show Mr Ellis met with Justice Minister Simon Power on copyright issues prior to the 2011 election. He was also present at a meeting between US president Joe Biden with Hollywood executives and the MPAA's president Chris Dodd in July 2011. The MPAA ridiculed the suggestion, saying the meeting with Biden was to discuss getting films into China.

By David Fisher of the NZ HeraldĀ 

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