Categories
Julian Assange News

The Guardian publishes fabricated claims of Paul Manafort visiting Assange

The Embassy’s visitor logs – maintained by Ecuador – show no such visits, since they did not occur. Paul Manafort and Assange have both issued statements unequivocally denying the alleged visits. WikiLeaks is fundraising to sue the Guardian for libel

The Guardian has published claims from unnamed sources that Paul Manafort, former head of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, had “secret talks” with Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on three occasions. These claims are completely false and the story has been fabricated.

The Embassy’s visitor logs – maintained by Ecuador – show no such visits, since they did not occur.

This is not the first time that The Guardian, and in particular its writer Luke Harding, have fabricated a story about Assange.

After widespread criticism from journalists across the political spectrum, The Guardian has begun to backpedal its story, adding “sources say” to the headline and editing hedging qualifications throughout the piece.

WikiLeaks is fundraising to file a lawsuit against The Guardian for libel. Contribute here.

Update: 3 December 2018

The Canary reports that former Consul to Ecuador Fidel Narváez “insisted that the claim that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort met with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is entirely false.” The Daily Dot reports as well.

The Guardian concealed third author of Manafort-Assange fabrication: Fernando Villavicencio, the CIA-connected advisor thought to potentially be The Guardian‘s source for the story, is actually listed on the article’s print edition byline.

Reactions

Follow Courage on Twitter for continuous updates and reactions.

Update: 

Original story