Donald Trump will give “very serious consideration” to pardoning Julian Assange over espionage charges if he wins the US presidential election.

The WikiLeaks founder is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces charges for obtaining and publishing classified information.

After a protracted legal battle, a British court earlier this month granted Assange permission to appeal his extradition.

Asked in an interview with podcaster Timothy Pool whether he would grant a pardon should he win the November election, the former Republication president replied: “Well I’m going to talk about that today, and we’re going to give it very serious consideration.”

US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House in April that he was considering Australia’s request to drop the charges against Assange.

Prosecutors are seeking to put Assange on trial for publishing military documents about the war in Afghanistan and Iraq which authorities claim damaged national security and endangered the lives of agents.