Julian Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden to face questioning on allegations of sex crimes. He and his supporters say he is ultimately seeking to avoid being handed over to the United States to face punishment for publishing leaked U.S. government documents. On Monday, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland rejected Assange’s concerns.

Victoria Nuland: “Well, let me start with the fact that he is making all kinds of wild assertions about us, when, in fact, his issue with the government of the United Kingdom has to do with whether he’s going to go stand — you know, face justice in Sweden for something that has nothing to do with WikiLeaks. It has to do with charges of sexual misconduct. So he is clearly trying to deflect attention away from the real issue, which is whether he’s going to face justice in Sweden, which is the immediate issue. So that case has nothing to do with us. It’s a matter between the U.K., Sweden, and now Ecuador has inserted itself.”