US senators ask Assange to testify
WikiLeaks said Wednesday that its founder Julian Assange was "considering" a request by a US Senate committee to testify about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US elections.
The whistleblowing website posted on Twitter a letter purportedly from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asking Assange to "make yourself available for a closed interview with bipartisan committee staff at a mutually agreeable time and location".
It added: "WikiLeaks' legal team say they are 'considering the offer but the conditions must conform to a high ethical standard'."
In the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election, WikiLeaks published documents hacked from Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign.
US intelligence officials have blamed Russia for the theft of the documents, which they say was part of a deliberate attempt to hurt Clinton's chances.
They claim WikiLeaks knowingly acted in concert with Russian intelligence.
WikiLeaks has denied that the source of the material was the Russian government, while stressing it will never reveal where it gets its information.
On Wednesday, WikiLeaks said the Senate letter -- dated August 1 -- was delivered to Assange via the US embassy in London, but the mission declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
There was also no immediate confirmation from the Senate committee.
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