Special counsel Robert Mueller is probing a reported 2017 meeting between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, according to CNN.
The Tuesday report of Mueller’s interest in the meeting came on the same day Manafort and Wikileaks emphatically denied an explosive story in The Guardian claiming the longtime political operative met with Wikileaks founder julian Assange as the 2016 election began to heat up.
Mueller’s team is probing whether Manafort and Mr. Moreno discussed Mr. Assange during a meeting last year in Quito, Ecuardo, according to CNN.
Mr. Moreno told reporters about the meeting last year, saying the two discussed a bid by Chinese businessman for a share in Ecuador’s state-owned power company. The plan was ultimately rejected.
The meeting occurred before Manafort’s 2017 indictment for failing to register as a foreign agent. It is not known whether other topics were discussed, the Associated Press reported.
News of the special counsel’s probe into Manafort’s meeting in Eduardo comes just hours after The Guardian’s report that he met with Mr. Assange on at least three occasions. Both Manafort and WikiLeaks on Tuesday said The Guardian story was false.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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