Former President Donald Trump told podcaster Tim Pool that he would give “very serious consideration” to pardoning WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if elected president in November.
During an interview with Pool on Saturday at the Libertarian Party’s Convention in Washington, DC, Trump spoke about the ongoing illegal immigration crisis in the United States and how he feels wars are “horrible” and “unnecessary.”
Trump also spoke to Pool about what he had done during the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that he gave the “power to governors” and how he had made history by being the first president to step foot in North Korea and meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
When asked by Pool if he would pardon Assange, Trump responded by saying he would give it “very serious consideration.”
“Well, I’m going to talk about that today, and we’re going to give it very serious consideration,” Trump answered. “And, we’re going to have a couple of other things to say in the speech that I think you’re going to love.”
Over the years, several lawmakers such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (I-HI), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have called for Assange to be pardoned.
Former Republication 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to pardon Assange if elected president.
Assange has been detained at Belmarsh, a security prison in the United Kingdom since April 2019 after British authorities arrested him from the Ecuador Embassy in London. He is facing 17 counts of espionage and one count of computer misuse.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Assange of working with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, in order to steal and disclose classified documents.
In May 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Assange with an 18-count superseding indictment:
The superseding indictment alleges that Assange was complicit with Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army, in unlawfully obtaining and disclosing classified documents related to the national defense. Specifically, the superseding indictment alleges that Assange consired with Manning; obtained from Manning and aided and abetted her in obtaining classified information with reason to believe that the information was to be used to the inquiry of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation; received and attempted to receive classified information having reason to believe that such materials would be obtained, taken, made, and disposed of by a person contrary to law; and aided and abetted Manning in communicating classified documents to Assange.
Assange is facing roughly up to 175 years in prison if convicted.
London’s high court recently granted Assange the right to appeal his extradition to the U.S.
