https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/assange-offered-pardon-if-he-helped-resolve-speculation-about-russian-n1240424
Sept. 18, 2020, 8:09 AM PDT / Updated Sept. 18, 2020, 11:00 AM PDTBy Alexander Smith and Michele Neubert LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was offered a presidential pardon if he helped to resolve the "ongoing speculation about Russian involvement" in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails leaked during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, a London court heard Friday. Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said she saw then-Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Trump associate Charles Johnson make the offer during an August 2017 meeting at London's Ecuadorian Embassy, where Assange was evading arrest at the time. His seven-year stay there came to an end in April 2019 when Ecuador revoked his political asylum and invited police officers inside to arrest him. Rohrabacher and Johnson said Trump knew about the meeting and approved offering Assange what they described as a "win-win" proposal, according to Robinson's statement provided to Assange's hearing in Old Bailey court. Assange, 49, is fighting extradition to the U.S. where he faces up to 175 years in prison on espionage charges over WikiLeaks' release of confidential diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics "Rohrabacher explained that he wanted to resolve the ongoing speculation about Russian involvement in the Democratic National Committee (DNC) leaks to WikiLeaks," Robinson said. "He said that he regarded the ongoing speculation as damaging to U.S.-Russian relations, that it was reviving old Cold War politics, and that it would be in the best interests of the U.S. if the matter could be resolved." In return, the men offered "some form of pardon, assurance or agreement which would both benefit President Trump politically and prevent U.S. incitement and extradition" for Assange, Robinson said in the statement. At the hearing Friday, James Lewis, prosecutor for the U.S. government, said: "The position of the government is we don't contest these things were said. We obviously do not accept the truth of what was said by others." [end of partial quote]
