Report: Trump offered pardon to WikiLeaks founder if he denies Russian intervention
US Attorney General Julian Assange has argued that a Republican congressman met with the president's order and offered to avoid his long-term prison sentence. That is, if he says Russia is not behind the Democratic Party breach, released in WikiLeakson
Report: Trump offered pardon to WikiLeaks founder if he denies Russian intervention
Photo: Reuters, Edit: Amit SimchaUS President Donald Trump has pardoned Julian Assange if he says Russia is not involved in leaking emails from the Democratic Party - a court in London learned Wednesday. The unusual claim was made in a Westminster court in preparation for the trial of Assange, the founder of the Wikileaks website, as part of his fight to prevent his extradition to the United States. This is a series of e-mails that embarrassed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign after it was hacked and released on Wikileaks in 2016.
Assange's attorney, Edward Fitzgerald, made the argument that Republican Congressman Dina Rorbaker met 48-year-old Assange while still in the Ecuadorian Embassy in August 2017. According to Statement by Attorney Jennifer Robinson, Fitzgerald told the court that "Rorbaker met Assange and said, at the instruction of the president, that he offered him a pardon or some way out, if Assange says Russia is not linked to leaks from the Democratic Party." District Judge Vanessa Breitser said the evidence was admissible.
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To the full articleAssange (Photo: Reuters)
Julian Assange WikiLeaks founder May 1, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)
Assange is wanted in the United States for 18 offenses, including conspiracy to hack into computers for documents he published on WikiLeaks a decade ago, including classified correspondence from various officials and leaders around the world. He may face a 175-year prison sentence if found guilty. He is accused of collaborating with former U.S. Army intelligence investigator Chelsea Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of covert documents.
The hearing on Assange's extradition is expected to begin in court on Monday, with the first phase of the plea, and on May 18, the evidence will begin. The decision, which is expected to be made a few months later, is expected to be appealed to a higher court by the losing party, whatever.