Remember Julian Assange? He is the guy who founded Wikileaks and leaked emails at strategic moments , ones that had been stolen from Secretary Hillary Clinton. That effort may have been enough to flip the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. Assange escaped sexual abuse charges by holing up in Ecuador’s embassy in London — for seven years.
By then, he had worn out his welcome with his eccentric hermit-style existence. Last April, officials dragged him out of the embassy. He has been living in a prison cell awaiting his hearing and to find out whether he will be extradited to America, according to The US News publication:
‘Breaking, at pre-trial hearing for Julian Assange a court has heard that he will be calling a witness who will allege he was offered a pardon by the US government, if he would say Russia was not involved in the leak of DNC documents during the 2006 election.’
The 48-year-old would face 18 charges should he be extradited. They include conspiring to hack official US computers and “violating an espionage law.” Coming to America could mean a guilty sentence followed by a jail cell for decades, possibly for the rest of his life:
‘Julian Assange court appearance today- His lawyer mentioned a statement, that alleges former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited Assange, saying he was there on behalf of the President, offering a pardon if JA would say Russia had nothing to do with DNC leaks.’
He will go to the Woolwich Crown Court located in London on Monday to find out if he will face extradition to the States. Wednesday, he stood in a video link in a high-security prison, Belmarsh. Assange confirmed his name and birth date. Then, the judge explained how events wouldl unfold, the “defense and prosecution” timing.
The recluse seemed to be comfortable, reading notes in his lap during the majority of the hearing. He had two pairs of glasses, one resting on top of his head and another pair, which he took on and off.
Assange was born in Australia and by 2010, he had climbed to the top world news:
‘[He released ]classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.’
Assange followed that activity with releasing packets of “military documents and diplomatic cables.” He will face the full extradition hearing, part II in May.
Twitter world went bananas with Assange’s news. Check out some of our favorite responses below:
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
