Rohrabacher Discusses DNC Emails With Julian Assange, Wikileaks Founder

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who represents the 48th District of California, met with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in London on Wednesday, according to the congressman's office. The two discussed, among other things, the famous Wikileaks release of Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential election, and whether or not Russia was involved.

Rohrabacher reported back to his district that Assange was adamant that Russia was not behind leaks of emails during last year’s presidential election campaign. Those Democratic National Committee emails damaged Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and "exposed the inner workings of the DNC," according to Rohrabacher's office.

"The California congressman spent some three hours with the Australian-born fugitive, now living under the protection of the Ecuadorian embassy in the British capital," said Kenneth Grubbs, director of communications for Rohrabacher's office.

Assange’s claim contradicts the widely accepted assessment of the U.S. intelligence community, which issued a consensus statement saying the leaked emails came from a cyberattack directed by the Russian government.

"Assange emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved in the hacking or disclosure of those emails.” Rohrabacher said.

The congressman, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, said that he is the only U.S. congressman to have visited the controversial and reclusive figure.

Patch reached out to Rohrabacher's office to determine what prompted the meeting between Assange and the congressman, but those messages have not yet been answered.

"The conversation (with Assange) ranged over many topics," Rohrabacher said. "Discussion ranged from the status of Wikileaks, which Assange maintains is vital to keeping Americans informed on matters hidden by their traditional media."

Rohrabacher claims that he will only divulge additional details from the conversation directly to President Trump. His constituents are waiting to hear exactly what their congressman learned from the meeting.

“I think it will have an earth-shattering political impact,” Rohrabacher told the OC Register of the information he received from Assange. “It wouldn’t be so important if Democrats hadn’t focused so inordinately on the Russians. Democrats are creating a total upheaval over this.”

According to The Hill, the Democratic National Committee would rather side with intelligence than Assange.

"We’ll take the word of the U.S. intelligence community over Julian Assange and Putin’s favorite Congressman," Adrienne Watson, the DNC's deputy communications director told The Hill in a statement.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher represents California's 48th District that stretches from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach. The 48th district includes Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel, Fountain Valley as well as portions of Midway City, Westminster, Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

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