(RepublicanPress.org) – In March 2019, the Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury charged Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on 18 counts of procuring and publishing classified documents on his site. The indictment superseded previous charges from 2018 related to computer hacking to gain access to classified documents and releasing them. During a recent interview, former President Donald Trump addressed the question of a pardon.
On May 25, the former US leader participated in a podcast interview with Tim Pool, where he discussed a variety of subjects. The host asked Trump if he would pardon Assange, to which he answered that he would give the matter “very serious consideration.” Trump also said he planned to talk about that subject in his speech at the Libertarian Party’s Convention. While he didn’t name Assange in his speech, he did promise to review sentences of “political prisoners” so he could “sign their pardons” if he becomes president again.
Several others have called for Assange’s freedom, including former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R), Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard (I-HI). Businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R) promised to pardon Assange, too, if he made it into the White House.
Since 2019, Assange has been incarcerated in HM Prison Belmarsh in London, awaiting extradition to the United States. The extradition request is making its way through the British court system, and it’s unclear when or if he will be returned to the US for prosecution. Australia, Assange’s native country, is also asking that he be returned home, complicating the issue. In April, President Joe Biden said the US was “considering” Australia’s request, indicating that perhaps the United States would stop pursuing its extradition request.
If that happens, it’s unclear what the Department of Justice will do about the charges against the suspect.
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