Attorneys for Julian Assange told a London court on Wednesday that they will provide evidence that the Trump administration offered to pardon the WikiLeaks founder if he was willing to say that Russia had nothing to do with leaks of Democratic Party emails, according to Bloomberg.
During the preliminary extradition hearing, Assange’s lawyers said that former GOP congressman Dana Rohrahbacher offered the deal in 2017, one year after WikiLeaks published emails which were damaging to then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. At the time, the FBI’s ‘Russiagate’ investigation was in full swing as the agency tried in vein to prove that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 US election.
At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald asked the court to allow more witness statements during the extradition hearing that will start next week. The new information includes a witness statement by Jen Robinson, another of Assange’s lawyers, that deals with the alleged offer made by then U.S. Representative. Dana Rohrabacher, he told the court.
California’s Sky-High Minimum Wage Claims Another Victim as Major Outback Steakhouse Franchisee Is Forced to File for Bankruptcy
Texas State Rep Calls for Emergency Session Put Guardrails on Executive Branch Before Dems Seize Power
Midterms and 2028: Join America’s conversation here!
Left-wing troublemakers are only ‘noise’ due to large majorities: Former Virginia governor
Pirro’s office leading criminal investigation into Supreme Court Dobbs leak
DeSantis nukes ‘tech guy’ Vivek after Ohio drubbing: ‘Not in tune’ with blue-collar voters
Escaped Tennessee killer hid in Illinois shed with beer and garlic bread before capture: Sheriff
Prominent DOJ Official Harmeet Dhillon Resigns
Breaking: Stock Market Plummets to ‘Correction’ Zone as ‘True Panic’ Sets in Two Days After Election
Israel’s Arab parties choose between ‘bad and even worse’ as they back Gadi Eisenkot over Netanyahu to form government
Marine veteran working security hailed as hero after stopping active shooter at Florida Citibank campus
DOJ launches criminal probe into Supreme Court leak that exposed ruling overturning Roe v Wade
House GOP launches defense plan to shield Trump from looming Democrat investigations
Ten-term Republican congressman loses to Shannon Taylor in Virginia’s 1st District
LePage’s Maine House race heads to ranked-choice voting
The witness statement will address “Mr. Rohrabacher going to see Mr. Assange, and saying on instructions of the president, offering pardon or some other way out if Mr. Assange played ball and said the Russians had nothing to do with” the leaks, Fitzgerald said. -Bloomberg
Assange spent nearly seven years living in the Ecuadorian embassy in Central London in order to avoid extradition to Sweden, and later the United States.
The White House has denied the claim.
Developing…
Story cited here.
