The Guardian’s sensational story that Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort met with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is still unconfirmed by other news organizations. It is a tantalizing story but is it true?
The fact that other news organizations have not been able to confirm it quickly makes the question more urgent as time passes.
If the story is true, it undermines Assange’s already weak claim that he did serve as conduit for Russian hackers who stole emails from the Democratic National Committee.
If the story is not true, the story damages the Guardian’s reputation and lends credence to critics who say the British web site’s antipathy for the Assange has gotten the better of its news judgement.
The article , by Luke Harding, relies on anonymous sources, not a good sign. Manafort’s visits were not recorded in the Embassy visitor logs. The story also provides specific details that point to sources within the Ecuadoran embassy who say they saw Manafort.
The Guardian story has been vehemently denied by Wikileaks and Manfort. For the record, Wikileaks’ previous denials of contact with Trump trickster Roger Stone proved inaccurate. And Manafort repeatedly lied to special prosecutor Robert Mueller after agreeing to cooperate, according to court papers filed this week.
