(ReliableNews.org) – Julian Assange is facing extradition to the United States from the United Kingdom. The Wikileaks founder is under federal indictment for allegedly violating the Espionage Act. Former President Donald Trump has now vowed to consider pardoning Assange if America elects him to serve in the White House again.
On May 26, Trump spoke to conservative Tim Pool and said he would give “very serious consideration” to a request to pardon Assange if he was re-elected.
Multiple politicians have called for Assange to be pardoned over the years including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
In 2019, Trump’s Department of Justice announced a grand jury handed down an 18-count indictment against Assange. He was accused of working with Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, an ex-Army intelligence analyst, to unlawfully obtain and disclose classified information that related to national defense. The indictment was related to the 2012 leak of thousands of classified documents, including information about the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan that were ongoing at the time.
The next year, while the former president was still in office, the Justice Department announced a federal grand jury announced a second superseding indictment. That one did not add to the previous 18 counts but broadened the scope of the conspiracy. Authorities accused Assange of recruiting hackers who worked on behalf of WikiLeaks.
At the end of his first term, Trump was heavily criticized by some for not pardoning Assange before he left office. Reports had previously indicated he told Assange he would pardon him if he told the courts that Russia was not involved in the hacking of Hillary Clinton’s emails in 2016. That didn’t happen and Assange remained in legal trouble.
Australia has asked the US to drop its efforts to extradite Assange. President Joe Biden said he was considering the possibility.
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