GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has expressed his desire to meet with imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, making him potentially the first presidential candidate to meet with the publisher while in prison. Ramaswamy told the Washington Free Beacon he has been unsuccessful in reaching out to Assange so far, but has asked former Congressman Ron Paul for assistance in arranging a meeting during a planned visit to London later this month.
Ramaswamy has promised to pardon Assange on his first day in office, criticizing his imprisonment and also expressing intentions to pardon former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Assange is currently awaiting extradition to the United States from His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh in London, facing charges of hacking as well as violations of the Espionage Act.