Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort held secret talks with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange in Ecuadorean embassy
- Sources say Paul Manafort visited Julian Assange three times, before WikiLeaks released a stash of Democratic Party emails stolen by Russian spies
- A list compiled by Ecuador’s intelligence agency lists ‘Paul Manaford’ and ‘Russians’ among Assange’s visitors
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, and visited around the time he joined Trump’s campaign, The Guardian has been told.
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.
It is unclear why Manafort wanted to see Assange and what was discussed. But the last meeting is likely to come under scrutiny and could interest Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
A well-placed source has told The Guardian that Manafort went to see Assange around March 2016. Months later WikiLeaks released a stash of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails stolen by Russian intelligence officers.
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Manafort, 69, denies involvement in the hack and says the claim is “100 per cent false”. His lawyers declined to answer The Guardian’s questions about the visits.