Trump offered to pardon Assange if he cooperated over email leak, UK court hears + US ‘breached due process’ in spying operation against Julian Assange’s lawyers

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

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LONDON — U.S. President Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he said that Russia had nothing to do with WikiLeaks’ publication of Democratic Party emails in 2016, a London court heard on Wednesday.

Assange appeared by videolink from prison as lawyers discussed the management of his hearing next week to decide whether he should be extradited to the United States.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Assange’s barrister, Edward Fitzgerald, referred to a witness statement by former U.S. Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher who had visited Assange in 2017, saying that he had been sent by the president to offer a pardon.

The pardon would come on the condition that Assange complied with the U.S. by saying that the Russians were not involved in the email leak which hurt Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016, Rohrabacher’s statement said.

 

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/politics-news-pmn/trump-offered-to-pardon-assange-if-he-co-operated-over-email-leak-uk-court-hears

 

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US ‘breached due process’ in spying operation against Julian Assange’s lawyers

Surveillance footage of Julian Assange’s meetings with lawyers and doctors in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London was an “abuse of process”

 

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The US breached WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s right to defence by recording confidential meetings with his solicitors and lawyers in the Ecuadorian Embassy, it was claimed today.

Jennifer Robinson, legal counsel for Assange, said a surveillance operation against him in the Ecuadorian Embassy was in breach of legal privilege and an abuse of process. 

A company hired to provide security at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London is accused of recording Assange’s meetings – including legally privileged meetings and meetings with doctors – which were reported back to the US.

The surveillance operation, allegedly carried out by Spanish security company UC Global, is under investigation in Spain.

It is expected to be raised in a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court next week, when the US presents its case for extraditing Assange to the US to face up to 170 years in jail.

 

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Fair trial in doubt

Speaking ahead of the hearing at Woolwich Crown Court, Joseph Farrell, a WikiLeaks spokesman, said the surveillance operation against Assange and his lawyers raised questions about whether Assange would receive a fair trial.

“You had a security company working for the Ecuadorian Embassy that was recording all of his meetings, including his meetings with his doctors and his lawyers, including strategic legal discussions, so that completely destroys any element of client/attorney privilege,” he said.

“You had a security company working for the Ecuadorian Embassy that was recording all of his meetings, including his meetings with doctors and lawyers, so that completely destroys any element of client/attorney privilege”

Farrell said surveillance footage recorded Assange being visited by doctors and other medical professionals. 

He said the breach of medical confidentiality had parallels with the CIA’s attempts to seize medical records of the Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked confidential papers about the Vietnam War in 1971.

“The CIA broke into his psychiatrist’s office and stole all his medical notes – that was what brought that entire case down,” he said.

 

https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252478786/US-breached-due-process-in-spying-operation-against-Assanges-lawyers

 

Some Assange news of late. Big if true on the Trump pardon thing. I think he should be pardoned, but if this release, if by Assange, is true, might kill his chances on pardon as the media will undoubtedly spin this as some grand collusion conspiracy. Also, I have no idea how extradition could conceivably even be considered given the video footage leaked of Assange being spied on 24/7. 

 

 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,394]

Lol here we go again . He also colluded with Russians, and peed on a Russian prostitute 

[Dashinka 24,984]

17 hours ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

LONDON — U.S. President Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he said that Russia had nothing to do with WikiLeaks’ publication of Democratic Party emails in 2016, a London court heard on Wednesday.

 

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/politics-news-pmn/trump-offered-to-pardon-assange-if-he-co-operated-over-email-leak-uk-court-hears

 

 

 

 

Didn't Assange already state this back in 2016/2017?

 

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

32 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Didn't Assange already state this back in 2016/2017?

 

In many ways its a new (Ukraine-based) spin on an old argument. It's looking like Assange's lawyer is going this route as well now. They're trying to ratchet up pressure on Trump to pardon Assange, but doing this stunt is going to help the fake news press.. basically going to kill whatever chances that had.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds

[Dashinka 24,984]

33 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

In many ways its a new (Ukraine-based) spin on an old argument. It's looking like Assange's lawyer is going this route as well now. They're trying to ratchet up pressure on Trump to pardon Assange, but doing this stunt is going to help the fake news press.. basically going to kill whatever chances that had.

Agreed, and the fact that Assange already claimed no interference or assistance from the Russians, kind of makes his lawyer's argument look laughable.

 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

20 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

Lol here we go again . He also colluded with Russians, and peed on a Russian prostitute 

Wasn't the rumor that he was the one being peed on? 

[Dashinka 24,984]

3 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Wasn't the rumor that he was the one being peed on? 

Hadn’t heard that, but Pamela Anderson visited him a few times.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

1 hour ago, Bill & Katya said:

Hadn’t heard that, but Pamela Anderson visited him a few times.

Need to watch the Roast of Pamela Anderson again so I can make an informed rebuttal.

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

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Defense lawyers say they will seek French asylum for Assange

 Julian Assange’s European defense team said Thursday it will try to seek asylum in France for the Wikileaks founder, whose full hearings for extradition to the United States on spying charges start next week in London.

French team member Eric Dupont-Moretti said Assange’s case placed at stake “the fate and the status of all journalists.(asterisk)

 

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French members of the team said they have been working on a “concrete demand” for Macron to grant Assange asylum in France, where he has children and where Wikileaks was present at its founding.

“It is not an ordinary demand,” lawyer Antoine Vey said, noting that Assange is not on French soil.

Baltasar Garzon, the Spanish coordinator of Assange’s team, reiterated his client’s plan to claim that the Trump administration offered him a pardon. The alleged condition was that Assange must agree to say that Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 U.S. election campaign.

Garzon insisted that Assange was “pressured by the Trump administration” but resisted and “the order was given to demand the extradition of Julian Assange,” he said.

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The White House has firmly denied the claim. However, Garzon said that both testimony and “documentary proof” of the claim will be offered to the court at the full hearing that opens Monday.

https://apnews.com/23e29c60daf4cbed2e4276164f2c5627

 

Really weird stuff. Guess we'll find out Monday. 

 

The antics shouldn't be surprising given the full hearing that decides Assange's extradition has come.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Burnt Reynolds