Julian Assange said the U.S. media is "erecting a demon" by supporting Hillary Clinton, and added that Clinton "is whipping up a neo-McCarthyist hysteria" with accusations that her opposition is siding with Russia.

"What we are drawing attention to is the amazing transformation of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party into being the national security party, and the national security candidate, by whipping up a neo-McCarthyist hysteria about Russia," the WikiLeaks founder said in an interview with the New York Times.

"Any serious analyst understands that China and the United States are the only real gangs in town. China has 10 times the population of Russia, seven times the GDP. Russia has the GDP of Italy."

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Assange, the founder of secret-leaking website WikiLeaks, said Clinton was attempting to "declare media organizations" that published material leaked from the Democratic National Committee as "somehow us being Russian agents."

"Her campaign has effectively called, and maybe even directly called, Donald Trump ... a Russian agent," Assange noted. "Jill Stein, the Green Party's candidate, effectively the fourth candidate in terms of numbers, has also been called a Russian agent.

"This is a neo-McCarthyist environment. What kind of press environment is this going to lead to post-election?" said Assange. "The American liberal press, in falling over themselves to defend Hillary Clinton, are erecting a demon that is going to put nooses around everyone's necks as soon she wins the election, which she is almost certainly going to do."

The exchange followed repeated accusations by the reporter who conducted the interview, Jo Becker, that Assange might secretly support Trump. Asked whether that might be the case, Assange replied that the real questions should be asked of the Times.

"The New York Times has picked a candidate. The editorial board has come out in favor of Hillary Clinton. WikiLeaks would never do that."

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Becker struggled to reply, noting that WikiLeaks doesn't have an editorial board before returning to the accusation. "Well, you don't have an editorial board versus a newsroom," she said. "You're saying you don't have a dog in this fight. But on the other hand, you came to the defense of Mr. Trump, and said in your analysis that he has no ties to Russia."

Assange said the secrets published by WikiLeaks, which showed the Democratic Party working to tilt the scales in favor of Clinton during the party's presidential nomination process, were irrelevant to the concerns about Russia. "This question about WikiLeaks somehow interfering in the U.S. election by telling the public the truth, what's the suggestion here?" he asked.

Becker deferred responsibility to a listener named "Terry" who she said had submitted the question. "Well, you'd have to ask Terry. That's why I posed the question for you."