A pair of references to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a major target of the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election, in an unrelated court filing reveals the US government efforts to charge him, the media reported on Friday.

In a filing unsealed last week, prosecutors for the Eastern District of Virginia included two references to charges against Assange while arguing to keep an unrelated case sealed for a different person charged with coercion and enticement of a minor, according to CNN.