Former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher denied that he spoke with Julian Assange on behalf of President Trump about a pardon.
Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, claimed Wednesday that he had been told by Rohrabacher that he could be pardoned by Trump if he stated that Russians were not connected to the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s emails. In a statement, Rohrabacher denied that he promised a pardon to Assange on behalf of Trump.
“At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet with Julian Assange. I was on my own fact finding mission at personal expense to find out information I thought was important to our country,” Rohrabacher wrote. “I was shocked to find out that no other member of Congress had taken the time in their official or unofficial capacity to interview Julian Assange.”
There is a lot of misinformation floating out there regarding my meeting with Julian Assange so let me provide some clarity on the matter: https://t.co/4ujr21e6YH #FreeAssange #SethRich #justice
— Dana Rohrabacher (@DanaRohrabacher) February 19, 2020
He continued, “At no time did I offer Julian Assange anything from the President because I had not spoken with the President about this issue at all. However, when speaking with Julian Assange, I told him that if he could provide me information and evidence about who actually gave him the DNC emails, I would then call on President Trump to pardon him. At no time did I offer a deal made by the President, nor did I say I was representing the President.”
Rohrabacher stated that he did speak to former White House chief of staff John Kelly about Assange and a potential exchange of information for a pardon but admitted that he never received a response from the administration.
The California Republican reiterated that he still believes Trump should pardon Assange, who he called the “true whistleblower of our time.” In addition to the pardon plea, Rohrabacher called for an investigation into the murder of Seth Rich, a former DNC employee whose death became a conspiracy theory tied to the campaign of Hillary Clinton.
“Finally, we are all holding our breath waiting for an honest investigation into the murder of Seth Rich,” Rohrabacher wrote.
There has been no evidence that Rich, who died after being mugged, was murdered because of his ties to the DNC or a potential leak of emails to WikiLeaks. His family also denies that their son was murdered because of his job and filed a lawsuit against Fox News host Sean Hannity for his coverage of Rich’s death.
The White House denied that it was ever in contact with Assange, calling the claims a “total fabrication.”
