Trump offered to pardon Assange if he provided source for Democratic emails, London court hears
- Lawyer said the deal was presented to Assange as a solution that would allow him ‘to get on with his life’ and in return would also politically benefit Trump
- WikiLeaks is fighting to stop being sent to the US, where he is charged with conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law
Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said she observed a meeting where former Republican US Representative Dana Rohrabacher and Charles Johnson, an associate known to have close ties to the Trump campaign, made the offer in 2017.
Robinson said Assange was told that Trump approved of the meeting and that Rohrabacher would later meet with the president to discuss the reaction to the proposed deal.
She said the deal was presented to Assange as a “win-win” solution that would allow him “to get on with his life” and in return would also politically benefit Trump.
“The proposal put forward by Congressman Rohrabacher was that Mr Assange identify the source for the 2016 election publications in return for some form of pardon,” Robinson said in a witness statement given to the court.
