In September 2017, Rohrabacher appeared on camera and said that he took part in a "confidential interaction" with the White House in order to secure Assange a deal.
Rohrabacher: "I told him that if he could provide me information and evidence about who actually gave him the DNC emails, I would then call on President Trump to pardon him."
This story was broken by a tweet by SBS reporter Ben Lewis:
"Julian Assange court appearance today- His lawyer mentioned a statement, that alleges former US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited Assange, saying he was there on behalf of the President, offering a pardon if JA would say Russia had nothing to do with DNC leaks."