Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he denied Russia leak, court hears
- Revelation came during hearing in London court before the start of Washington’s extradition request
- If found guilty in the US, Assange could be jailed for 175 years
US President Donald Trump promised to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he denied Russia leaked emails of his 2016 election rival’s campaign, a London court was told on Wednesday.
Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said in a document that Trump relayed the offer through former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency reported.
The revelation came at a case management hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court before Monday’s formal start of Washington’s extradition request for Assange to face espionage charges.
If found guilty in the United States, he could be jailed for 175 years.
Assange’s defence cited a statement from Robinson in which she said that Rohrabacher had been to see Assange and said “on instructions from the president, he was offering a pardon or some other way out, if Mr Assange … said Russia had nothing to do with the DNC leaks”.
