Paul Manafort Speaks Out About Guardian Story Linking Him to Wikileaks
It certainly feels as though the Trump presidency has given us bombshell after bombshell, week after week.
Today’s script-flipping story came to us from The Guardian, who reported that Paul Manafort had secretly met with Wikileaks in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential election. The insinuation is that Mueller somehow helped to facilitate the whistleblower website’s release of Hillary Clinton campaign emails in order to improve now-President Trump’s chances in the contest.
The report comes as Manafort is being accused of lying to Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel in charge of the Russian collusion investigation, even after striking a plea deal.
Hours after the story broke, Wikileaks released a statement denying it.
Now, Manafort is speaking out as well.
STATEMENT from Manafort: "This story is totally false and deliberately libelous. I have never met Julian Assange or anyone connected to him. I have never been contacted by anyone connected to Wikileaks, either directly or indirectly." (1/2)
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 27, 2018
Wikileaks is going even further:
“WikiLeaks is suing The Guardian for libel over this serious fabrication. We must hold The Guardian to account: your contribution will help make this lawsuit possible. Please make a donation today,” the fundraiser description concludes.
The junk report, based on anonymous sources, was originally titled ‘Manafort Held Secret Talks With Assange in Ecuadorian Embassy.” Within 90 minutes, the Guardian changed the headline to add “sources say” and attempt to cover their asses.
The circus surrounding these likely libelous reports comes at a peculiar time, certainly, as both Manafort’s plea deal and a plea deal for Roger Stone acquaintance Jerome Corsi have both fallen apart.
Furthermore, many believe that the Mueller investigation could be on its last legs, either by choice or by the hand of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.