Clemency in exchange for testimony about Russia: Assange's lawyer made a scandalous statement about Trump

Julian Assange's lawyer said U.S. President Donald Trump was offering a pardon to Wikileaks founder in exchange for denying Russia's role in publishing correspondence with the US Democratic National Committee before the 2016 presidential election, reports Air force.

Фото: Depositphotos

According to the defense, this proposal from Trump was conveyed to Assange by former Republican congresswoman Dana Rorabacher, known for his pro-Russian position on many issues.

The White House called this information false and completely fabricated.

Russia denies any involvement in the publication of correspondence, but in 2018 several Russian intelligence officers in the United States were charged.

Related: CNN: Assange led the US election intervention in 2016

What happened

Starting in the summer of 2016, Wikileaks metered out over the correspondence of functionaries of the Democratic Party. This is considered one of the factors that contributed to the defeat of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and the election of President Trump.

Correspondence was stolen as a result of hacking the servers of the Democratic Party. American intelligence agencies established that the hackers were the hackers of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces (also known as the GRU). In 2018, special prosecutor Robert Muller brought criminal charges against 12 named individuals designated as GRU officers at various levels.

Moscow has consistently denied allegations of hacking the Democratic Party’s servers and, in general, of meddling in US elections.

On Wednesday at a hearing in the Westminster Magistrate’s Court, Assange's lawyer stated that in 2017, Dana Rorabacher, who was still an acting congressman, visited Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he was hiding, and on Trump's behalf offered him a pardon in exchange for a statement of Russia's non-involvement in the publication of correspondence of the national committee of the Democratic Party.

Lawyers said they have a witness confirming these facts. District judge Vanessa Bareitser allowed this witness to be heard in court, but this will not happen until May, when (according to the process plan) the study of evidence should begin.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said: “The President knows almost nothing about Dana Rohrabacher other than that he is a former congressman. He never discussed this or virtually any other topic with him. This is a fabrication and a complete lie."

Meanwhile, ahead of the 2018 election, which Rohrabacher lost, Trump tweeted praise for the congressman, whom he said was “respected by everyone.”

In 2017, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Rohrabacher contacted the White House and offered to pardon Assange if he provided “evidence” that the Democratic correspondence published by Wikileaks was not obtained from Russian intelligence services. Assange has always maintained that there is no evidence that the Democratic emails reached him this way.

Later, Rohrabacher himself said that he met with Assange on his own initiative, and not on behalf of Trump, Reuters reports. He stated that he had really offered to patronize the president with a pardon if Assange revealed the source of the emails. After that, according to the ex-congressman, he told the then head of the Trump administration John Kelly about Assange’s readiness for cooperation, but had no further contacts with the White House on this topic.

Rohrabacher remained a member of the U.S. Congress until the end of 2018. He advocated the lifting of sanctions against Russia. In 2012, after a trip to Moscow, FBI agents warned the politician that Russian intelligence might have tried to recruit him.

What are Assange accused of

Julian Assange is the founder of the Wikileaks site, known for publishing classified documents, including the correspondence of American diplomats and politicians.

The CIA, the FBI, and the US National Security Agency initially claimed that WikiLeaks received stolen Democrats' letters from Russian hackers. Julian Assange denied that the Russian authorities were the source of the leak.

In May 2019, the US Department of Justice put forward charges against Assange on 17 points. Among them - the publication of secret documents, which, in the opinion of the accused, is protected by an amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. The founder of Wikileaks is also accused of illegally receiving and publishing information, the publication of which endangers the security of the United States. He faces up to 180 years in prison.

20 August 2010 in Sweden Julian Assange was charged with sexual harassment and rape, which he himself considers fabricated.

The case was repeatedly closed and resumed, and Assange himself moved to London, where on December 1, 2010, was arrested on the basis of a warrant issued by the Swedish authorities. Four days later he was released on bail.

While in the UK on a written undertaking not to leave, awaiting trial, Julian Assange sought asylum from the Ecuadorian government, hiding in the embassy of that country in London.

On the subject: Meetings with hackers and journalists: how Assange led intervention in American elections

Within the walls of this embassy, ​​he spent almost seven years. During this time, the Swedish prosecutor's office closed the case against Assange on charges of rape.

But April 11 2019 of the year Ecuadorian authorities deprived Assange asylum. He was arrested by British police and detained on charges of violating the conditions of release on bail, as well as at the request of the American side.

Britain gave the President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno written assurances that Assange will not be extradited to the United States.

At the same time, in Sweden, the investigating authorities reopened the case of rape charges against Julian Assange.

Read also on ForumDaily:

The founder of Wikileaks Assange brought new charges in the US: he faces up to 180 years in prison

'Became a problem': Assange was arrested at the request of the United States. What threatens him

Brought: why Ecuador issued the founder of WikiLeaks Assange

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