"They found they were mutual lovers of mine," Assange said in a BBC interview when asked to explain what he thinks happened. "They got into a bit of a tizzy about whether there was the possibility of STD, and they went to the police. It was a ridiculous thing to go to the police about."
He also defended his past love life.
Carl Court, AFP / Getty Images
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the two Swedish women accusing him of sexual assault may have been coerced into making some of the allegations.
"I've never had a problem before with women," he said. "Women have been extremely helpful and generous with me and put up with me, assisting me in my work, caring for me, loving me and so on. That's what I'm used to."
Assange maintains that the sex was consensual between him and his two accusers and denies the allegations against him, which include rape, molestation and unlawful coercion. He has not been charged with anything yet.
The 39-year-old Australian went on the offensive as the week began, attacking his opponents in a series of newspaper and radio interviews. He accused his onetime strongest media collaborator and supporter, The Guardian, of undermining him on Saturday by publishing the details of the accusations against him. The Guardian has helped Assange edit and publish some of the thousands of leaked U.S. Embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks.
Assange made the comments about The Guardian in an interview with its rival paper, The Sunday Times (paywall.)
He also told the Times that WikiLeaks has enough material to bring down the bosses of one of the world's biggest banks and will release that data early next year. Bank of America has been rumored to be one of WikiLeaks' targets.
The rumors date back to an article in Computer World magazine in Oct. 2009 in which Assange was quoted saying he possessed a 5GB (gigabyte) document from the hard drive of one of Bank of America's executives.
Assange also spoke to Forbes last month, saying he would release a "megaleak" in early 2011 regarding a major U.S. bank that include "tens of thousands" of documents revealing unethical behavior.
On Friday, Bank of America joined the growing list of financial and technology companies that have cut payments or services to WikiLeaks. Assange did not name the bank when he spoke to the Sunday Times.
"We don't want the bank to suffer unless it's called for," Assange told the Times. "But if its management is operating in a responsive way there will be resignations," he said.
During the often hard-hitting BBC interview, which was conducted at the English country estate where Assange is under house arrest while contesting extradition to Sweden, he said his accusers may have been coerced into making some of the allegations.
"That's why I've never criticized these women," Assange said. "We don't know what kind of pressures they're under. They've never used the word 'rape,' for example. That's been adduced by other parties. They may be victims in this process."
He told The Sunday Times that there is "very suggestive evidence" that the alleged victims were motivated by money, revenge and pressure from prosecutors.
Asked by the BBC if he is a "sexual predator," given reports that he has a fairly promiscuous lifestyle and takes advantage of his appeal to women, Assange said no and noted he has not had a problem with past lovers.
"I am not promiscuous," Assange said in his Sunday Times interview. "I just really like women."
The anti-secrecy campaigner refused to answer questions from the BBC about how many women he has slept with.
"A gentleman doesn't count," he said.
Assange also defended his decision to fight extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about the allegations that occurred over a 10-day period in August when he came to lecture at a seminar organized by one of his accusers.
He said he spent five weeks in Sweden last fall after the allegations were made and got the OK from prosecutors to leave.
"They said there was no reason to stay," Assange said. "Now they've said they want another interview. Well, there are many ways to do that. They can come here, I've offered to do it by video-link. I don't need to go back to Sweden."
Assange said he had information that he would be held "incommunicado" if he goes to Sweden and said "no natural justice" will occur.
Sponsored Links
The Guardian defended its coverage in a editorial saying that is "unusual for a sex-offense case to be presented outside of the judicial process in such a manner, but then it is unheard of for a defendant, his legal team and supporters to so vehemently and publicly attack women at the heart of a rape case."The author of the article detailing the allegations was Nick Davies, a senior correspondent and former close friend of Assange who has since appeared to have turned on him.
The BBC interviewed Assange at the Ellingham Hall estate in Suffolk where he is staying as a guest of a supporter. The conditions of his bail require him to report to a nearby police station every day and wear an electronic monitoring device.
The BBC said Assange would not show them the device, saying that wearing it made him feel "emasculated."
His next court hearing is Jan. 11.