Is President Trump receiving the information he needs to do his job?
A recent report from The Daily Caller reveals that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has offered to provide evidence that the Russia hacking allegations are false. Not only that, but it seems as if the president was prevented from learning of Assange’s offer.
According to Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), members of President Trump’s staff have kept him from learning that he has the authority to grant a preemptive pardon to Assange. He told The Daily Caller that “There is a wall around him that is being created by people who do not want to expose this fraud that there was collusion between our intelligence community and the leaders of the Democratic Party.”
Last Sunday, President Trump told reporters that he had “never heard” of the possibility of a deal with Julian Assange. This statement is alarming, considering the fact that it is the duty of his staff to ensure that he is fully informed on such matters.
The idea that staffers would push their own agenda by preventing the president from receiving critical information should be disturbing to all Americans. However, Rohrabacher, a former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, indicated that this type of behavior took place in other administrations. He said,
“It’s an undercutting of democracy when the guy who’s elected, his staffers take it upon themselves to make the decision rather than let the actual president make the decision.”
He also stated that he believes the president would take Assange up on his offer — if he knew about it.
“I am confident that if the president is permitted to know that this avenue is open to him to debunk the horrible lie that was told to the American people about him stealing the election with the help of the Russians… that I think the president will accept it if he’s permitted to know.”
Rep. Rohrabacher sat down with Assange in August at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange has been taking asylum at the embassy since 2012 as the result of sexual assault charges that have now been dropped. However, he cannot leave because the United States is investigating the WikiLeaks founder because of his involvement in distributing classified documents.
Assange has promised to provide the Trump administration with information that shows that Russia was not involved with the hacking and subsequent leaking of Democratic National Committee emails. The US Intelligence Community has accused the Kremlin of attempting to meddle in the election. The establishment media has also promoted the idea that President Trump colluded with Russia to influence the outcome of the election — even though there is no evidence of collusion.
After leaking the emails, Assange claimed that his source was not the Russian government, but he provided no evidence of this. Many have been dubious about his claims, however, it appears as if he might be willing to provide the proof in exchange for a presidential pardon.
While the WikiLeaks founder has previously stated that he would never reveal a source that provides him with information, Rohrabacher says that he “wants to get out of the Ecuadorian embassy.” The Congressman has not seen the information Assange claims to have, but he would be able to see it if the president is willing to grant the pardon.
Two weeks ago, Rohrabacher spoke with John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, about the deal with Assange. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kelly asked the Congressman to give the information to the intelligence community. Rohrbacher states,
“This would have to be a cooperative effort between his own staff and the leadership in the intelligence communities to try to prevent the president from making the decision as to whether or not he wants to take the steps necessary to expose this horrendous lie that was shoved down the American people’s throats so incredibly earlier this year.”
The Daily Caller notes that Rohrabacher’s comments have been covered by several different media outlets. Since the president consumes a lot of media, the staffers in question would have to work hard to ensure that he does not learn about the deal. However, The Daily Caller also points out that John Kelly blocks certain articles from reaching the president.
Kelly’s reasons for preventing the president from learning about Assange’s offer are not clear, but it is obvious that others in the administration do not want the Russiagate narrative to die. If Assange is telling the truth, there are plenty of people in the intelligence community and the executive branch who would not want the American public to learn that it was not the Russians who interfered in the election. It doesn’t seem likely that these individuals can keep the information from the president forever — eventually, he will learn about Assange’s offer. However, the question is: can Assange’s information be trusted?
