WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (shown) told Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview that, contrary to the claims of the Obama administration, Russia was not the source of the tens of thousands of e-mails WikiLeaks released exposing the seamy side of the Hillary Clinton campaign. Assange also said the Obama administration is “trying to delegitimize the [incoming] Trump administration.” The interview took place at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where Assange is living. Part one of the interview is set to air Tuesday night on Fox News, but excerpts from the interview were released beforehand.
Hannity asked Assange about the claim that WikiLeaks’ source for the e-mails was Russia:
Hannity: Can you say to the American people, unequivocally, that you did not get this information … from Russia, or anybody associated with Russia?
Assange: Yes. We can say, we have said, repeatedly … that our source is not the Russian government and it is not a state party.
Democrats have argued that the WikiLeaks e-mail dumps were conducted as part of an orchestrated plot to tilt the election in favor of Donald Trump. They claim that the e-mails that exposed the backroom machinations behind the Clinton campaign either were doctored, or came from Russia in coordination with the Trump campaign, or both.
The messages describe how Clinton’s closest advisors, including her campaign manager John Podesta, advised her on how to respond to various challenges facing her. These included the discovery of her private e-mail server and what to do with the damning evidence related to it. It covered advice given to her preceding her testimony before Congress on Benghazi, along with excerpts from some of her speeches to Goldman Sachs.
Assange’s claim that the WikiLeaks e-mail dump did not emanate from Russia rebuts the persistent claim by Clinton supporters that Russia hacked the election and did so to help Trump.
When asked if the WikiLeaks releases changed the outcome of the election, Assange responded: “Who knows, it’s impossible to tell.” And he added, “But if it did, the accusation is that the true statements of Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager, John Podesta, and the DNC head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, their true statements is what changed the election.”
The interview will be aired Tuesday evening at Fox News at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Photo of Julian Assange: AP Images
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
