An attorney for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused the Trump administration of extortion in a London court on Monday.
The WikiLeaks attorney appeared at Woolwich Crown Court along with U.S. prosecutors, who argued that Assange should be extradited the United States, where he faces 18 charges and up to 175 years in jail.
Attorneys for Assange previously told the court that former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) tried to broker a pardon deal between the White House and Assange if he would agree to say that Russia was not the source of hacked Democratic Party emails.
Defense attorney Edwards Fitzgerald said on Monday that Rohrabacher had called the pardon offer a "win-win."
But when the pardon fell through, the Trump administration tried to extort Assange with a political prosecution, according to the attorney.
Read some of the reports from the courtroom below.
Assange QC notes that Mr Rohrabacher has denied saying he was acting on President Trump's behalf when offering a pa… https://t.co/6DE65tzG6k— Ben Lewis (@Ben Lewis)1582556489.0
Edward Fitzgerald on alleged pardon offer to Assange and President Trumps denial of it “well he would say that wouldn’t he.”— Samantha Hawley (@Samantha Hawley)1582556507.0
#Assange court is told US congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Charles Johnson discussed a ‘pre-emptive’ pardon in exch… https://t.co/lpSnCjk9N8— Hugh Whitfeld (@Hugh Whitfeld)1582556568.0
Why is this all important? Assange's legal team will argue this is a political prosecution, not driven by justice,… https://t.co/1dCAMZsHv4— Ben Lewis (@Ben Lewis)1582556569.0
Assange lawyer expanding on claims US Repub congressman offered Trump pardon in exchange for saying Russia not invo… https://t.co/2ZpMFIbtri— Ben Quinn (@Ben Quinn)1582556835.0
Defense: “Whole pardon business shows that just as prosecution was initiated in December 2017 so after this meeting… https://t.co/at4wCqLhvC— Kevin Gosztola (@Kevin Gosztola)1582556920.0
