A court in London has heard an allegation that Julian Assange was offered a US presidential pardon if he agreed to say that Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic Party emails.

Key points: New evidence was presented to the court, including a statement from Assange's lawyer

New evidence was presented to the court, including a statement from Assange's lawyer It alleged Assange was offered a presidential pardon for saying Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 US Presidential campaign leaks

It alleged Assange was offered a presidential pardon for saying Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 US Presidential campaign leaks It claimed US Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited Assange on the instruction of the US President

The claim was made at a hearing at the Westminster Magistrates Court ahead of Assange's extradition case, due to begin next week.

Assange's lawyer Edward Fitzgerald QC told the court his team wanted to submit more evidence — including a statement from another of Assange's lawyers, Jennifer Robinson.

He told the court the statement detailed an allegation that the former US Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher visited Assange on the instructions of US President Donald Trump.

The statement said the congressman offered him a pardon in return for saying Russia had nothing to do with the 2016 presidential campaign leaks.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser allowed the evidence.

The 48-year-old's extradition hearing is due to start on Monday at Woolwich Crown Court, near the Belmarsh prison where he is being held.

The Australian appeared in court on Wednesday via video-link.

The 2016 Democratic National Committee (DNC) leak of thousands of party emails was an embarrassing blow for the party just days before its convention in 2016, where it declared Hillary Clinton its presidential candidate.

A subsequent dump of party emails was released just two days before the 2016 election, in which Mrs Clinton was beaten by Mr Trump.

'A complete fabrication and a total lie'

The Mueller inquiry into Russian meddling in the presidential election alleged that Russian hackers were responsible for the leak.

Following the meeting between Assange and Mr Rohrabacher, the pro-Russia congressman lobbied publicly for a deal to be done.

At the time, Mr Rohrabacher's office said Assange "emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved in the hacking or disclosure of those emails".

Mr Trump's press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the claim was "a complete fabrication and a total lie".

"The President barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he's an ex-congressman," she said.

"He's never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject.

"This is probably another never-ending hoax and total lie from the DNC."

Assange has been in jail since he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London last April and arrested for skipping bail.

Prior to that he had spent seven years inside the embassy after seeking asylum in 2012.

His extradition hearing will take four weeks, with the trial split between now and May.