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Bill Maher is joined by WikiLeaks Editor-In-Chief Julian Assange via satellite for an interview about the recent DNC leaks on Friday's broadcast of HBO's Real Time. Assange defended the integrity of the manner in which the organization released documents, referring to truthful and valid materials. Assange said the hacked DNC e-mails showed money laundering, FEC violations
Maher challenged Assange why the organization targeted the DNC, and perhaps doing the Russian government's bidding, but have not attacked the RNC or Donald Trump's taxes.
"We have a 10-year perfect record of never getting it wrong in relation to the integrity of what we release," Assange said. "There's no allegation, even from Debbie Wasserman Schultz or any of these people, that any of the material is not completely valid and true."
"Obviously, we know these came from Russia and we also know that you don’t like Hillary Clinton, as does not Vladimir Putin," Maher said. "So it looks like you are working with a bad actor to put your thumb on the scale and basically bugger with the one person who stands in the way of us being ruled by Donald Trump."
"Why don't you hack into Donald Trump's tax returns?" Maher asked.
"Well, we're working on it," Assange replied to laughter and applause.
Maher asked Assange about criticism from Snowden and the divide between privacy and transparency.
"It's interesting. Edward Snowden criticized you. Democratizing information has never been more vital and WikiLeaks has helped," Maher said.
Assange responded to the criticism, saying he and his organization, WikiLeaks, "saved his ass." He attributed it to Snowden trying to get a pardon before Obama leaves the presidency.
"He did one thing," Assange said of Snowden. "It was a very important thing. And it was in fact so important that I, and this organization, saved his ass by rescuing him from Hong Kong, getting him asylum, making 23 asylum applications, and setting up his defense fund of the Courage Foundation, which I am a trustee of today."
"I know Edward is trying to get a pardon," he added. "So he's playing that game. I understand. He's in a very serious situation."
After the interview WikiLeaks said Assange's comment on Trump's tax returns was a "joke."
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