Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell argued in a Thursday interview with Wolf Blitzer that Julian Assange and Wikileaks sought to get President Donald Trump elected during the 2016 presidential election.
“Donald Trump certainly is a fan, a cheerleader, an advocate for Wikileaks. And they are a fan of his. He may say he knows nothing about Wikileaks, but they know a lot about him. They sought to help him get elected. But I have faith in the American people, if this case is as solid as it has been presented so far, I have the confidence that the American people will give Mr. Assange a fair trial but hold him accountable if he did cross the line of journalism into actually taking direct steps to hack into U.S. national security secrets,” Swalwell said about the president’s past relationship with Wikileaks. (RELATED: What You Need To Know About Julian Assange-Who Wants A Piece Of Him And Why)
Julian Assange was arrested Thursday and will likely be extradited to the United States to face charges related to espionage when he allegedly helped Chelsea Manning steal sensitive documents from the United . military.
Trump met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday and took a moment to comment on the arrest made my U.K. police. “I know nothing about WikiLeaks. It’s not my thing and I know there is something having to do with Julian Assange. I’ve been seeing what’s happened with Assange,” he declared.
Swalwell was the latest Democrat to announce his candidacy for president, and he reportedly wants to focus on gun control issues as his core reason for running. “I talked to kids who sit in their classrooms afraid they’ll be the next victims of gun violence. They see Washington do nothing about it after the moments of silence,” Swalwell stated.
“They see lawmakers who love their guns more than our kids and none of that is going to change until we get a leader who is willing to go big on the issues we take on, be bold on the solutions we offer, and do good in the way that we govern. I’m ready to solve these problems. I’m ready to solve these problems. I’m running for president of the United States.”