U.S. Sought deal with assange, lawyer testifies

LONDON A lawyer for Julian Assange told a London court on Friday that she was present when an ally of u.s. President donald Trump offered to arrange a pardon for the Wikileaks founder in return for information that would “benefit President Trump politically.”

Assange, 49, is fighting extradition to the united States, where he is charged with conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law.

His lawyer, Jennifer robinson, said in a witness statement that she observed a meeting at the ecuadorean embassy in London in 2017 between Assange and republican then-u.s. representative dana rohrabacher.

She said rohrabacher and an assistant offered to arrange a pardon for Assange in return for information about the hacking of democratic emails before the 2016 u.s. election.

“They stated that President Trump was aware of and had approved of them coming to meet with mr. Assange to discuss a proposal — and that they would have an audience with the president to discuss the matter,” she said.

The White House has called the assertion “a complete fabrication and a total lie.”