Does Julian Assange hold the key to US election hacking?
WikiLeaks founder ‘considering’ offer to appear before the Senate Committee to discuss alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is considering appearing before the US Senate intelligence committee to discuss allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, his lawyer has confirmed.
The news comes after WikiLeaks posted an image of a formal request letter signed by the committee's chairman, North Carolina Senator, Richard Burr.
In response, Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said “the inquiry has asked for him to appear in person at a mutually agreeable time and place. We are seriously considering the offer but must ensure Mr Assange’s protection is guaranteed.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The intelligence panel won’t verify whether the request is real, “but if it is, and Assange officially agrees to be interviewed about possible collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, it would be a big deal” says Vox.
Business Insider UK says Assange and WikiLeaks “played a key role in the interference of the 2016 campaign by nefarious Russian actors”.
WikiLeaks disseminated hacked emails from top Clinton campaign adviser John Podesta, as well as hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee. These were later revealed to have come from an online personae calling itself Guccifer2.0, a fictitious entity created by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.
The release of the emails “also seemed strategically timed” Vox’s Matthew Yglesias has noted: “The DNC emails disrupted efforts to create a show of unity between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, while the Podesta emails were released right after the infamous Access Hollywood tape.”
Nor was that the sum total of WikiLeaks’ involvement in the 2016 election.
Longtime Trump political fixer Roger Stone claimed to have been in touch with WikiLeaks in the summer of 2016, while according to The Atlantic, Assange also exchanged secret correspondence with Donald Trump Jr.
Assange, who’s wanted on charges of rape and has avoided extradition by hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, has always denied his organisation worked with Russia.
In January 2017 he told Fox News’s Sean Hannity: “Our source is not the Russian government”.
Despite this, WikiLeaks was apparently cited, though not by name, in last month's indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officials by special counsel Robert Mueller's team, who were accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
CNN says “the indictment suggested Assange and WikiLeaks were a conduit for Russian intelligence in distributing hacked Democratic Party emails in 2016”.
This should come as no surprise, says Vox, given “WikiLeaks’ ties to Russia have long been known, even before the last presidential race”.
According to a lengthy New Yorker profile, “WikiLeaks internally understood the damage that contemporaneous suspicion that Guccifer2.0 was Russian intelligence could pose to its reputation, and debated responses”.
All this raises the question of what Assange could reveal if he did choose to give evidence, but “his presence in the embassy means that the Senate’s requested interview is packed with geopolitical and legal complications—like much about WikiLeaks circa 2018”, says the Daily Beast.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Amazon's 'James Bond' deal could mean a new future for 007
In the Spotlight The franchise was previously owned by the Broccoli family
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Why are Republicans suddenly panicking about DOGE?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Trump and Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government, a growing number of Republicans worry that the massive cuts are hitting a little too close to home
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What is JD Vance's Net Worth?
In Depth The vice president is rich, but not nearly as wealthy as his boss and many of his boss' appointees
By David Faris Published
-
Why are Republicans suddenly panicking about DOGE?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Trump and Musk take a chainsaw to the federal government, a growing number of Republicans worry that the massive cuts are hitting a little too close to home
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
What's JD Vance's net worth?
In Depth The vice president is rich, but not nearly as wealthy as his boss and many of his boss' appointees
By David Faris Published
-
'It also means the start of a virtuous ecological cycle'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Mitch McConnell won't seek reelection
Speed Read The longest-serving Senate party leader is retiring
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump reportedly wants to take over US Postal Service
Speed Read President Trump is making plans to disband the leadership of USPS and absorb the agency into his administration
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New FBI Director Kash Patel could profit heavily from foreign interests
The Explainer Patel holds more than $1 million in Chinese fashion company Shein
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump's Ukraine about-face puts GOP hawks in the hot seat
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's pro-Russia pivot has alienated allies, emboldened adversaries, and placed members of his party in an uncomfortable position
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump seeks to end New York's congestion pricing
Speed Read The MTA quickly filed a lawsuit to stop the move
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published