As WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces extradition to the United States on charges of endangering national security by conspiring to obtain and disclose classified information, his lawyer is offering a bizarre defense.
Assange's U.S. prosecution, claims his lawyer, is entirely political. In 2017, says Edward Fitzgerald, an emissary of U.S. President Donald Trump, offered Assange a pardon "or some other way out if Mr. Assange played ball and said the Russians had nothing to do with" information about the Democratic Party published by Wikileaks in 2016.
For those who still believe that Trump's campaign colluded with Russia's influence operation in 2016, this looks like damning evidence. It suggests that Trump knew that Wikileaks was laundering emails hacked by Russia's intelligence services and made them a centerpiece of his campaign anyway — then tried to enlist Assange in that lie.