This past week, President Obama provided an explanation to the country regarding two of his executive actions: pardons and fulfilling ignored obligations. The president reasoned that “America is a nation of second chances” and that meeting a standing obligation is not consenting to demands to avoid an unpleasant or threatening situation -- and such an action certainly should not be considered a payment of ransom.

At some point while staring out the window of his tiny Ecuadorian embassy compound transitory flat, Julian Assange came to the same conclusion. Perhaps Assange reasoned that he could get a second chance if President Obama would consider his proposal? Perhaps Assange contacted the authorities and no one took his proposition seriously? Perhaps he then decided to show just how much of a threat he could be to the president and his legacy, if his demands were ignored? The results: the DNC email scandal, the resignation of several prominent DNC executives, and the threat of posting more leaked e-mails -- many which could do damage to Hillary Clinton and her presidential campaign.

According to his attorneys, Julian Assange is an isolated, frail man on the verge of bankruptcy, living alone in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. However; that image of the man is a far cry from the one which has blanketed the internet over the past few weeks. With his partial WikiLeaks posting of embarrassing DNC email communications between the DNC and the Clinton campaign, the public perceives a man looking for a fight against the formidable committee and the powerful Clinton duet -- Bill and Hillary. In the public eye, most see Assange as the dude seated across the table from the Democrats and Clinton’s in a high stakes poker game. The WikiLeaks founder appears to be holding a royal flush and waiting for his opponents to fold.

But just what does Assange want from this powerful cluster of wealth and influence? What can they give him that would allow him to fold instead of showing his hand? Perhaps, it is his freedom? Or the guarantee that federal agents of the Justice Department will not file charges against him pertaining to their ongoing espionage investigation? Assange wants the cloud of prosecution which has hovered over him and his organization for the past several few years to be eradicated – both in the U.S. and Sweden. He wants to move about the streets of London, Paris, and New York City without looking over his shoulder. He wants to be able to move freely within the international community as he could before his self-imposed seclusion. Assange is a man who craves attention and yearns to have communion in a non-threatening environment with European and American intellectuals, academics, and elitists which appreciate his work and his cause.

Assange’s health is failing. He went over 1000 days without natural sunlight. And the medical treatment available within the confines of the Ecuadorian embassy is limited. It will be 2020 before the statute of limitations expires on the sexual assault cloud which hangs over his head in Sweden. The man lives under the constant threat of being extradited, if he is captured outside his embassy safe haven. So it stands to reason that Assange is well beyond the point of having cabin fever and extremely desperate to gain his freedom.

But his liberty has to come from the highest level. And from a tiny 300 square foot room in London, what are your options? One extremely dangerous option is to become a threat, politically, to the most powerful people in the world!

Bad blood has existed between Assange and the Clintons for some time. Assange views Hillary as a liberal war hawk. He claims that, if elected to the presidency, she will have the world in a constant state of war. He states that the chaos in Libya is Hillary’s own personal Iraq. He blames her for the State Department’s criminal investigation and their effort to extradite him back to the United States to face espionage charges. Assange does not want Hillary Clinton to be the next President of the United States.  But more importantly, he is well aware that there are many powerful individuals and groups both in this country and abroad which do not want to see Donald Trump become the next President of the United States – Barack Obama being the most powerful one.

Until a few weeks ago, the possibility of the Swedish government closing the sexual assault investigation against Assange was remote. And even more unlikely was the probability of the WikiLeaks founder being mentioned as a candidate for a presidential pardon from President Obama.

But Assange has shown that he is not bluffing. He has the goods! And he will throw all that he has out for the world to view. And most likely, Obama will blink!  But don’t be surprised if, just like the Iranians, Assange throws in an additional demand at the very last second. Assange desperately wants to repay a debt of gratitude. A verbal commitment which has hung over his head for over three years -- Bradley Manning’s “unconditional release” and a presidential pardon for his whistle-blowing cohort in his pending espionage case. With the hand which Assange is holding, some sort of compromise which would meet Assange’s demands seems likely. Neither the Democrats, the Clintons, nor the president can afford the consequences.  

So early next year on a warm spring afternoon, expect to see photos of Assange and Miss Manning seated at a street side Paris café, conversing, laughing, and sipping on a cup of espresso.

S A Collins is an USAF retiree, author and blogger. He maintains a website at: www.popknowseverything.com