Trump Says He Did Not Discuss Pardoning Assange During Campaign - Mueller Report

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2019) President Donald Trump told investigators that at no time during the 2016 election campaign did he discuss pardoning Julian Assange or taking any other steps that might benefit the WikiLeaks founder, Special Counsel Robert Mueller said in his redacted Russia probe report made public on Thursday.

"I do not recall having had any discussion during the campaign regarding a pardon or action to benefit Julian Assange," Trump said in his written responses to the Special Counsel's questions during the investigation.

British police arrested Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on April 11 after Quito withdrew his political asylum. The WikiLeaks founder, who published leaked US government documents detailing abuses of power and war crimes, now faces possible extradition to the United States, where he could be jailed for up to five years on charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in 2012 to flee prosecution by Swedish authorities on sex offense charges that he denied as politically motivated. The charges were eventually dropped.

In 2016, Trump said he adored WikiLeaks and loved reading materials on its website. After last week's arrest of Assange in connection with the US extradition request, the president denied knowing anything about WikiLeaks, saying, "it's not my thing."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has said Trump's remarks in 2016 were a joke and that his administration is treating the situation with "utmost seriousness."