Paul Manafort on Tuesday slammed a story published by the Guardian that claims he secretly met with WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange multiple times, and said he’s considering a lawsuit against the paper.
“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. I have never reached out to Assange or WikiLeaks on any matter,” Manafort said in a Tuesday afternoon statement through his spokesperson, Jason Maloni.
The Guardian reported that Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, secretly met with Assange in 2013, 2015, and 2016 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
According to the report, which was written in London and Ecuador, the last meeting took place in March 2016, right before WikiLeaks released hacked Democratic National Committee emails in June and July of 2016. Manafort was hired by Trump on March 29, 2016.
However, the story by the Guardian has since been softened, according to the website News Sniffer.
For example, 90 minutes after publication the Guardian modified its “Manafort held secret talks with Assange” headline to add “sources say.”
WikiLeaks has fiercely denied the two ever met.
“Remember this day when the Guardian permitted a serial fabricator to totally destroy the paper’s reputation. @WikiLeaks is willing to bet the Guardian a million dollars and its editor’s head that Manafort never met Assange,” WikiLeaks’ official Twitter account said early Tuesday.
Manafort also said legal options are on the table.
“We are considering all legal options against the Guardian who proceeded with this story even after being notified by my representatives that it was false,” his statement said.
Manafort, 69, is currently in jail after being convicted on bank and tax fraud in Virginia stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and possible links with the Trump campaign.
In addition to being jailed in Virginia, Manafort is facing jail time in Washington stemming from Mueller’s investigation.
On Monday, federal prosecutors alleged that Manafort has breached the plea agreement he reached in Washington in September by lying to federal investigators, and details of those “crimes and lies” will be revealed in a forthcoming court filing.
Manafort’s lawyers have denied that, and said he “has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations.”
“He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement,” the lawyers said.
It was then reported Tuesday afternoon by CNN that Mueller’s team is investigating a meeting Manafort had with Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno in Quito in 2017 and has specifically asked if Assange or WikiLeaks were discussed in the meeting.
