Paul Manafort met in secret multiple times with Julian Assange before the Wikileaks founder published emails that were the product of Russian hacking, according to The Guardian. On Monday Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly dropped his cooperation agreement with the former Trump campaign chairman, citing repeated lies from Manafort.
Manafort “held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and visited around the time he joined Trump’s campaign,” The Guardian reports.
“Sources have said Manafort went to see Assange in 2013, 2015 and in spring 2016 – during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.”
The Guardian’s report also includes several other interesting notes, including that Manafort’s visits to Assange were not logged by Equadorian security. It is normal for visitors to register and show their passports.
Also, the report states a “separate internal document written by Ecuador’s Senain intelligence agency and seen by the Guardian lists ‘Paul Manaford [sic]’ as one of several well-known guests. It also mentions ‘Russians’.”
UPDATE: 1:51 PM ET –
Some respected experts are calling into question aspects of The Guardian’s story, as Law & Crime notes.
CNN adds that “Mueller’s team has been investigating a meeting between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno in Quito in 2017 and has specifically asked if WikiLeaks or its founder, Julian Assange, were discussed in the meeting.”
This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.