Trump Probably Isn’t Pardoning Julien Assange

Assange’s role as a whistleblower has led to his image as a martyr. To many, he had sacrificed his own wellbeing to hold governments accountable. Many have been hoping that Trump would pardon him. This week, rumors have started circulating that Trump is going to pardon Assange. The source of these rumors seems to start with a tweet written by Pastor Mark Burns, the CEO of Christian Television Network.

Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked documents anonymously. The U.S. government investigated WikiLeaks, eventually filing charges against Assange. Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for several years. Eventually, he was kicked out of the embassy and handed over to the UK government. He is currently imprisoned in HM Prison Belmarsh, a high-security prison in England.

However, Misbar’s investigation found that there is no evidence to back up Pastor Burns’ claim. Trump hasn’t said anything about pardoning Assange. If he intended to do so, he could have easily done so already.

Pastor Burns is a friend of the Trump family and spends much of his time at Trump’s golf resorts. He also campaigned for Trump and is currently running for congress. Still, he has no access to government secrets and thus cannot provide any legitimate breaking news for Trump’s intentions.