Assange always claimed that the sources behind the leak were not Russian, by this logic he would have been pardoned years ago.
As far as I understand the deal is actually about revealing the identity of the source so that it can be confirmed whether it is or it isn't Russian. Pretty much a standard deal about giving up names.
There is a pretty clear distinction between "the person he got it from is of Russian nationality", and the DNC server was hacked and data was taken on behalf of Russia.
This is such non news. The person who made the statement issued a clarifying denial explaining that he never spoke to the President. It's even in the article.
In September 2017, Rohrabacher appeared on camera and said that he took part in a "confidential interaction" with the White House in order to secure Assange a deal.
> Assange, said Rohrabacher, “emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved in the hacking or disclosure of those emails.” Rohrabacher, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, is the only U.S. congressman to have visited the controversial figure.
Well that's pretty standard procedure with Donald, right? Needless to say Donald Trump does not need another impeachment-trial so denial is expected but based on similar situations (his denial of knowing people he later have to confess to knowing) this seems very likely. This POTUS is all about "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine".
i remember watching his dispatches from the middle east and ferguson 6-7 years ago. as raw and unprofessional as they were, there was something endearing watching some random guy go out there with a camera and broadcast from dangerous places.
just took a look at his twitter, very disappointing to see him become a right-wing concern troll.
Yes, did it happen? I wonder what Assange can do to validate his assertions? Can his network access recent coms? or was this so sensitive it was carried by person and never existed in electronic records form? In that case, the courier's pathway can be accessed to buttress the accusation, if not confirm it...
As far as I understand the deal is actually about revealing the identity of the source so that it can be confirmed whether it is or it isn't Russian. Pretty much a standard deal about giving up names.