[ad_1]
Matt Dunham / AP
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange take part in a protest outside the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London, Monday, September 14, 2020.
A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told a London court that President Donald Trump indirectly offered his client a “win-win” agreement that would prevent him from extradition to the United States if he revealed the source of a leak of government documents. Democratic Party before the 2016 elections.
Assange, who did not disclose the source of the leak of the Democratic National Committee emails, is fighting US efforts to extradite him to face a series of charges related to his work at WikiLeaks.
Jennifer Robinson, who has represented WikiLeaks for a decade, conveyed to the court Friday through a written statement that her client had been made an offer at a meeting on August 15, 2017 with former Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Trump associate Charles Johnson.
In his statement that was read in London Criminal Court, Robinson said the couple “wanted us to believe that they were acting on behalf of the president” and that they had stated that Trump “was aware of and approved of their coming to meet.” with Assange to discuss the proposal. She also said the couple said they would have an audience with the president to discuss the matter upon their return to Washington.
READ MORE:
* Julian Assange a ‘common criminal’ who put lives at risk, court said
* ‘A monster, not a journalist’: Mueller report shows Assange lied about Russian piracy
* ‘This is not legal, I’m not leaving’: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange arrested in UK, could face extradition from the US
Robinson said that Rohrabacher had said that he had come to London to speak with Assange in his then refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy about “what might be necessary to get him out”, presenting him with a “win-win situation” that would allow him to get out of the embassy and “get on with your life” without fear of being extradited to the United States
Matt Dunham / AP
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange take part in a protest in front of the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London, on Monday 14 September 2020. The London court hearing on Assange’s extradition from Great Britain to the United States Unidos resumed on Monday after a COVID. The -19 test on one of the participating attorneys came back negative, WikiLeaks said Friday.
“The proposal put forward by Congressman Rohrabacher was that Assange identify the source of the 2016 election publications in exchange for some kind of pardon, guarantee or agreement that would politically benefit President Trump and avoid prosecution and extradition from the United States,” Robinson said. . Any information on the source of the link would be of “interest, value and assistance” to Trump, the couple said, according to Robinson.
Robinson said Rohrabacher explained at the meeting that he wanted to resolve ongoing speculation about Russian involvement in the leaks. Russia has been widely accused of being behind the email theft. At the time of the meeting, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating alleged links between Russia and Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
Assange did not reveal the source of the leak of the Democratic National Committee emails, which were released by WikiLeaks, among others, in 2016 in the run-up to the elections. They are considered to have damaged Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign against Trump.
US officials fear that China will use the popular video-sharing app for nefarious purposes, but the company denies links to Beijing.
Rohrabacher, who lost his seat in the 2018 midterm elections, has previously said that he never spoke to Trump about Assange and that the president or anyone else related to him ordered him to meet with Assange.
James Lewis, a lawyer acting on behalf of the US government, said he was not contesting “these things” being said.
“Obviously, we do not accept the truth of what others said,” he said.
Matt Dunham / AP
Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange take part in a protest in front of the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, in London, on Monday 14 September 2020. The London court hearing on Assange’s extradition from Great Britain to the United States Unidos resumed on Monday after a COVID. The -19 test on one of the participating attorneys came back negative, WikiLeaks said Friday.
US prosecutors have charged Assange, 49, with 17 counts of espionage, and one count of computer misuse, for WikiLeaks’ publication of secret US military documents a decade ago, mainly surrounding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.
Assange’s lawyers say the indictment is politically motivated and will not receive a fair trial in the United States. They also argue that Assange was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection.
Assange has been in a British prison since his expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy in London in April 2019. Ecuador had granted him asylum in 2012 for fear of facing possible extradition to the United States related to his work with WikiLeaks.
The extradition hearing must last until the beginning of October.
