President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee on ... [+] February 18. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Topline: After President Donald Trump was accused on Wednesday of using former GOP Congressman Dana Rohrbacher to offer a pardon to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the White House said Trump "barely knows" Rohrbacher—a claim quickly disproved by past documents showing the two have met.
At an extradition hearing in London Thursday, a lawyer for Assange told the court that in 2017, former GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited Assange at London’s Ecuadorian embassy carrying a message directly from Trump: if Assange were to publicly announce Russia had nothing to do with the release of Democratic National Committee’s emails, Trump would offer him a pardon.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called the claim “absolutely and completely false,” adding Trump “barely knows” Rohrabacher and has “never spoken to him on this subject.”
Previous news reports, however, place Rohrabacher (who reportedly holds pro-Russian views) and Trump together in a 2017, 45 minute-long White House meeting also attended by former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Assange’s claim came as part of an extradition hearing set to begin in full next week, which will determine whether he will be sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges.
The Wall Street Journal also reported in 2017 that Rohrabacher was working to broker a deal between Assange and the U.S. that would involve a pardon “or something like that,” the former Congressman said.
Other people Trump has claimed not either not know or barely know: indicted Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, convicted former associate George Papadopoulos, convicted former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, adult film star Stormy Daniels and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, among others.
Crucial quote: “At no time did I talk to President Trump about Julian Assange. Likewise, I was not directed by Trump or anyone else connected with him to meet with Julian Assange,” wrote Rohrabacher in a statement.
Key background: The news of Trump’s alleged Assange pardon came after the president went on a pardoning and clemency spree Tuesday. In total, 11 individuals were pardoned or granted clemency by Trump, including former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, former NFL 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr. and former “junk bond king” Michael Milken.
In 2016, the DNC email leak painted then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign in a very negative light. WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 emails just hours after the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump, in which he seemingly brags about molesting women, was surfaced by American news media. “Guccifer 2.0,” the hackers who carried out the leak, are allegedly connected to Russia’s intelligence agency, according to indictments carried out by Robert Mueller’s investigation of the 2016 election.
Surprising fact: Rohrabacher’s pro-Russia views have led some to refer to him as Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “favorite Congressman.” Rohrabacher was reportedly shortlisted to be Trump’s first Secretary of State before the president chose Rex Tillerson for the role. After running for re-election in 2018, Rohrabacher lost his seat in the House of Representatives to Democrat Harley Rouda.
What to watch for: Next steps in Assange’s extradition case. Arguments are set to begin February 24 and run for approximately one week. After that, the case will be adjourned until May, at which point evidence will be presented. Assange is wanted in the U.S. on 18 federal charges, including conspiring to commit computer intrusion, over the hacking and publishing of hundreds of thousands of secret government documents. He has been accused of working with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to leak the information. If convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years in prison.
DuanYeppiTaket on February 19th, 2020 at 23:47 UTC »
Just going to leave this 2017 article noting that Rohrabacher was viewed as such a rich source of information for the KGB that they literally gave him his own code name: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/us/politics/dana-rohrabacher-putin-trump-kremlin-under-fire.html
NlightenedSelfIntrst on February 19th, 2020 at 23:14 UTC »
General rule of thumb:
When Trump claims he couldn't have done something/distances himself from wrondoing (often on his behalf) by claiming he "barely knows" someone, it is almost certain he's done what he's been accused of, and likely worse.
OmegaPsiot on February 19th, 2020 at 22:32 UTC »
That motherfucker barely knows anybody.