Former Trump aide insists he never met with Assange
UK newspaper says Paul Manafort had secret talks with WikiLeaks boss
Donald Trump’s former election campaign manager Paul Manafort denied that he ever met WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, after a British newspaper report alleged the pair met on three occasions in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Manafort said yesterday The Guardian’s report on the meeting was “totally false and deliberately libellous”.
The accused political operative said he had never been contacted by “anyone connected to WikiLeaks, either directly or indirectly”.
He also said the newspaper published the story after being told by his representatives that it was false.
The report alleged that Manafort met Mr Assange “around March 2016”, the same month he joined the Trump campaign, with previous meetings allegedly held in 2013 and 2015.
Manafort is facing renewed troubles after the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller dropped him as a key witness on Monday.
Manafort, who months ago struck a plea deal in return for co-operation in the inquiry into possible collusion with Russia, has since lied to the FBI, according to the newspaper and is facing imminent sentencing and years in prison.
In August he was convicted by a Virginia court of five counts of tax fraud, two of bank fraud and one of failing to disclose a foreign bank account. He is in custody but now stands accused of breaching the agreement he struck with federal investigators to limit his jail time.
As such he could lose any protection he secured through offering to answer questions posed by Mr Mueller’s team.
The 69-year-old’s initial conviction stemmed from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. Faced with a second trial in the US capital over conspiracy and witness-tampering claims, Manafort admitted in September to two offences. He offered to answer “fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly” any questions “and all matters” of interest to the US government.
However, a court filing late on Monday said he had not kept his side of the plea bargain, one day before the second trial was due to start.
“After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the special counsel’s office on a variety of subsequent matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement,” said the three-page filing submitted on the authority of Mr Mueller.
“As the defendant has breached the plea agreement, there is no reason to delay sentencing.”
Lawyers for Manafort deny that he broke the deal.
“Manafort has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his co-operation obligations. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterisation or that he breached the agreement,” the same court filing said.
Manafort is a key figure in Mr Mueller’s investigation of the US president, which has dogged Mr Trump’s time in the White House.
On Friday, the president said he had written answers to questions from Mr Mueller – whose inquiry he has repeatedly called a witch hunt – but had not yet submitted them.
The special counsel’s ongoing inquiry concerns possible interference in the 2016 presidential election and ties between Russia and Mr Trump’s campaign.
“You have to always be careful when you answer questions with people that probably have bad intentions,” Mr Trump said of the investigation. “But no, the questions were very routinely answered by me.”
The president did not say when he would turn over the answers to Mr Mueller and he maintains that there was no collusion, describing the investigation as a waste of millions of dollars.