[1]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/assange-offered-pardon-if-he-help
   ed-resolve-speculation-about-russian-n1240424
   Sept. 18, 2020, 8:09 AM PDT / Updated Sept. 18, 2020, 11:00 AM PDT
   By Alexander Smith and Michele Neubert

   LONDON — WikiLeaks founder [2]Julian Assange was offered a presidential
   pardon if he helped to resolve the "ongoing speculation about Russian
   involvement" in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails
   leaked during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, a London court heard
   Friday.

   Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said she saw then-Rep. Dana
   Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Trump associate Charles Johnson [3]make the
   offer during an August 2017 meeting at London's Ecuadorian Embassy,
   where Assange was evading arrest at the time. His seven-year stay there
   came to an end in April 2019 when Ecuador revoked his political asylum
   and [4]invited police officers inside to arrest him.

   Rohrabacher and Johnson said Trump knew about the meeting and approved
   offering Assange what they described as a "win-win" proposal, according
   to Robinson's statement provided to Assange's hearing in Old Bailey
   court.

   Assange, 49, [5]is fighting extradition to the U.S. where he faces up
   to 175 years in prison on espionage charges over WikiLeaks' release of
   confidential diplomatic cables in 2010 and 2011.

   Download the [6]NBC News app for breaking news and politics

   "Rohrabacher explained that he wanted to resolve the ongoing
   speculation about Russian involvement in the Democratic National
   Committee (DNC) leaks to WikiLeaks," Robinson said. "He said that he
   regarded the ongoing speculation as damaging to U.S.-Russian relations,
   that it was reviving old Cold War politics, and that it would be in the
   best interests of the U.S. if the matter could be resolved."

   In return, the men offered "some form of pardon, assurance or agreement
   which would both benefit President Trump politically and prevent U.S.
   incitement and extradition" for Assange, Robinson said in the
   statement.
   At the hearing Friday, James Lewis, prosecutor for the U.S. government,
   said: "The position of the government is we don't contest these things
   were said. We obviously do not accept the truth of what was said by
   others."
   [end of partial quote]

References

   1. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/assange-offered-pardon-if-he-helped-resolve-speculation-about-russian-n1240424
   2. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-due-u-k-court-fight-extradition-n1239437
   3. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trump-admin-offered-assange-pardon-if-he-cleared-russia-over-n1138836
   4. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/what-s-next-julian-assange-after-ecuadorian-embassy-eviction-n993806
   5. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-arrested-police-london-n991236
   6. https://apps.nbcnews.com/mobile/