Julian Assange’s lawyer claimed in court that Trump offered him a pardon, through a former GOP congressman, if he would cover-up Russia’s role in the DNC hack.
The Daily Beast reported:
Edward Fitzgerald, who was representing Assange in court, said he had evidence that a quid pro quo was put to Assange by Rohrabacher, who was known as Putin’s favorite congressman.
Fitzgerald said a statement produced by Assange’s personal lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, included a description of “Mr Rohrabacher going to see Mr Assange and saying, 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.”
The details make sense. In that Rohrbacher was bankrolled by the Russians. He was in Putin’s back pocket, and there have been stories about Trump throwing around promises of pardons to silence witnesses and clean up the Russia scandal for years.
The problem is whether or not Assange’s claim can be believed. Assange is fighting extradition to the United States, where he would almost certainly be convicted and sent to prison to live out the rest of his days.
Given the 2017 Wall Street Journal report that Rohrbacher was trying to arrange a pardon for Assange from Trump, all adds up that what Trump wanted in return for the pardon is a cover-up of Russia’s involvement in the DNC hack.
The common thread running from the Russia scandal through Trump’s Ukraine scandal impeachment is the president’s constant effort to cover-up Russia’s interference on his behalf in the 2016 election.
Trump is covering Putin’s tracks so that Putin can cheat for him again in 2020. The Assange allegation is another piece in the puzzle that helps to lay out Trump’s roadmap to cheating in 2020.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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