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posted by takyon on Thursday December 06 2018, @05:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the watch-the-front-door dept.

Former diplomat challenges 'fake' Guardian claims about Julian Assange meeting Paul Manafort

The Canary previously reported on criticisms from WikiLeaks and others which stressed that Guardian claims about [former Trump campaign manager Paul] Manafort meeting Assange in 2013, 2015 and March 2016 were false.

WikiLeaks said it was preparing to sue the Guardian on the matter. And Manafort is also considering legal action, saying this story is "totally false and deliberately libellous".

Narváez was initially consul and then first secretary at the Ecuadorian Embassy from 2010 to July 2018. He has now told The Canary that, to his knowledge, Manafort made no visits at any time during that period. He insisted:

"It is impossible for any visitor to enter the embassy without going through very strict protocols and leaving a clear record: obtaining written approval from the ambassador, registering with security personnel, and leaving a copy of ID. The embassy is the most surveilled on Earth; not only are there cameras positioned on neighbouring buildings recording every visitor, but inside the building every movement is recorded with CCTV cameras, 24/7. In fact, security personnel have always spied on Julian and his visitors. It is simply not possible that Manafort visited the embassy."

takyon: Paul Manafort did, however, speak to the Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno about the potential removal of Julian Assange from the embassy in London:

The President of Ecuador spoke with Paul Manafort about his desire to remove Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, a Manafort spokesperson confirmed Monday. "When Mr. Manafort met with President Moreno of Ecuador to discuss the China Development Fund, the president raised with Mr. Manafort his desire to remove Julian Assange from Ecuador's embassy," Jason Maloni, a Manafort spokesman, told CNN in a statement. "Mr. Manafort listened but made no promises as this was ancillary to the purpose of the meeting," Maloni's statement added. "There was no mention of Russia at the meeting."

The New York Times was first to report that President Lenin Moreno and his aides had expressed their desire to have Assange leave the embassy in at least two meetings with Manafort in exchange for concessions from the US like debt relief, citing three people familiar with the talks. Assange has been holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy, since 2012.

See also: Manafort denies ever meeting with Assange
Did Someone Plant a Story Tying Paul Manafort to Julian Assange?


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @07:41PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 07 2018, @07:41PM (#771276)

    Oh, so you're one of those "he said it out loud in public so it can't be a crime" huh?

    I'll take your stupid bait, list the accusations I made that you want more info on. What is going to happen is I will list out public statements and "coincidences" such as the Saudi's booking millions of dollars worth of Trump hotel rooms and you will simply respond with "then why hasn't Trump been charged and put in jail then?" to which I will reply "Good fucking question!". Actually, more likely you would say "it isn't a crime to book hotel rooms" which would point to your 100% intellectual dishonesty. Either you're a trumptard who will say anything to preserve your version of reality or you're a shill. I'm guessing the latter.

    How he made it to the presidency with "grab her by the pussy" and "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" is beyond me, and how you can keep defending such a craven human being is baffling. Your tactics are slimy and you don't give a shit about the truth.

  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Friday December 07 2018, @11:31PM (2 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 07 2018, @11:31PM (#771339) Journal

    I'll take your stupid bait, list the accusations I made that you want more info on. What is going to happen is I will list out public statements and "coincidences" such as the Saudi's booking millions of dollars worth of Trump hotel rooms and you will simply respond with "then why hasn't Trump been charged and put in jail then?" to which I will reply "Good fucking question!". Actually, more likely you would say "it isn't a crime to book hotel rooms" which would point to your 100% intellectual dishonesty. Either you're a trumptard who will say anything to preserve your version of reality or you're a shill. I'm guessing the latter.

    That's not evidence of crime. We're still coming up empty here.

    Oh, so you're one of those "he said it out loud in public so it can't be a crime" huh?

    No, I'm one of those people who believe that if you're going to accuse someone of something, you better have evidence supporting that accusation.

    How he made it to the presidency with "grab her by the pussy" and "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue" is beyond me, and how you can keep defending such a craven human being is baffling. Your tactics are slimy and you don't give a shit about the truth.

    What exactly is supposed to be bad about those remarks? I read the context and I just don't care about statements taken out of context. And of course, they aren't evidence of crime.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @09:25PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08 2018, @09:25PM (#771669)

      Immoral fuckwit you are, at least you make a good foil for the discussions around here.

      Morality and the Law are not actually the same thing, but that is a bigger topic for when your balls drop.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday December 09 2018, @12:03AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday December 09 2018, @12:03AM (#771707) Journal
        Still no evidence. Why do you continue to waste our time with empty assertions?