One of the directors of “Get Me Roger Stone,” a 2017 documentary about the longtime political strategist and President Trump’s former campaign adviser, said that plans to film Mr. Stone meeting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange amid the 2016 U.S. presidential race were repeatedly discussed during production.
Mr. Stone wanted to travel to London to meet Mr. Assange during filming, and documentarians embedded with him subsequently considered plans to record the event, journalist and filmmaker Morgan Pehme told MSNBC.
Mr. Assange, an Australian-born activist, has been residing within the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since receiving political asylum from Quito in 2012.
“In July and June of 2016, he told us that he was trying to meet with Julian Assange. We spoke with him about the possibility of bringing our crew to London to film them meeting,” Mr. Pehme said of Mr. Stone during an interview Tuesday on “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
Mr. Stone denied the claim afterwards, prompting Mr. Pehme to reappear on the program Wednesday evening to reiterate.
“It was something that we spoke about from a logistical standpoint, preparing in case Roger did have this meeting. Again, as far as we know, it did not pan out,” Mr. Pehme added. “We were certainly prepared. The idea of Roger meeting with Assange was not ludicrous. But at the same time we never saw that come to pass.”
Asked to comment on the filmmaker’s claim Thursday, Mr. Assange told The Washington Times: “WikiLeaks speaks to whomever it wants whenever it wants.”
“WikiLeaks & Assange have repeatedly confirmed that they have never communicated with Stone,” WikiLeaks tweeted in 2017.
Mr. Stone previously told The Washington Times that he didn’t travel abroad in 2015 or 2016.
Russian hackers breached Democratic targets during the 2016 race and then leaked their contents through outlets including WikiLeaks and “Guccifer 2.0,” a pseudonymous internet persona, as part of a state-sponsored interference campaign targeting the 2016 race and the Democratic candidate in particular, U.S. intelligence officials have assessed with high confidence.
Federal investigators are probing both Russia’s involvement in the race and any potential collusion on the part of Mr. Trump’s inner circle. The Department of Justice recently subpoenaed fellow former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg for his communications with individuals including Mr. Stone, rekindling concerns about the latter’s alleged ties to Mr. Assange.
Mr. Stone bragged of being in contact with Mr. Assange throughout the 2016 race, and The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the former Trump adviser allegedly told at least two associates that the two were in communication, Mr. Nunberg included.
“There is no evidence that I participated in or have any knowledge of any collusion with the Russians to effect the 2016 elections. I had no advance notice of the content, source or timing of the Wikileaks publication of any material,” Mr. Stone said in reaction to that report.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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