LONDON — A lawyer for Julian Assange said in a British court Wednesday that former Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher, an ally of President Trump, made an offer to the WikiLeaks founder on behalf of Trump to pardon Assange in exchange for saying that Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 hack and leak of emails from the Democratic National Committee.
Assange is in a British prison while he awaits a decision on an extradition request by the United States. The U.S. government wants him to stand trial on charges that he violated the Espionage Act by allegedly helping to obtain and then disseminating secret government documents in 2010 and 2011 relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange is fighting the extradition — arguing that he acted as a publisher and journalist and that the United States is pursuing him for “political offenses.” He faces a possible 175-year sentence if convicted. Continue reading.