A former congressman has denied offering a pardon to Julian Assange on behalf of the Trump administration as the WikiLeaks founder prepares to fight extradition to the US.
A lawyer for Mr Assange, who is currently being held at Britain’s Belmarsh Prison, said he was offered clemency from a former Republican congressman if he denied Russian involvement in the leaking of Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 US election campaign.
Acting on behalf of Mr Assange, Edward Fitzgerald QC, told Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, that Dana Rohrabacher had visited his client while he was holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2017.
Mr Fitzgerald read out a statement from Mr Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson, which said: "Mr Rohrabacher going to see Mr Assange and saying, on instructions from the president, he was offering a pardon or some other way out, if Mr Assange... said Russia had nothing to do with the DNC leaks."
But both the Trump administration and Mr Rohrabacher, who narrowly lost his congressional seat in 2018, have denied the claims.
"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," he said in a statement linked on his Twitter account.
He said he told Mr Assange during his visit “that if he could provide me information and evidence about who actually gave him the DNC emails, I would then call on President Trump to pardon him. At no time did I offer a deal made by the President, nor did I say I was representing the President”.
The White House called the claim “a complete fabrication and a total lie”.
“The President barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he's an ex-congressman. He's never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said. "It is a complete fabrication and a total lie."
The emails, which were published by WikiLeaks in 2016, were damaging to the campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Mr Assange is facing 18 charges in the US over the publication of hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables by former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. The charges carry up to 175 years imprisonment.
The 48-year-old will fight extradition to the US in a hearing beginning on Monday.
Mr Assange’s case has won support from a number of high-profile figures in the UK.
The opposition Labour Party leadership have called for the extradition proceedings to be halted amid concern about Mr Assange’s health.
John McDonnell, the finance spokesman for the party, visited Mr Assange in prison on Thursday.
A demonstration against the extradition is due to take place on Saturday with musical performances from The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
'Joker'
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Rating: Five out of five stars
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Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
Five stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The UAE's journey to space
