Trump: The Consummate BS-er: He Loves WikiLeaks but Hates Leaks About Himself

From NBC — Trump loves leakers except when they tell on him

LONDON (The AP) — Julian Assange: Hacker. Journalist. Diplomat? 

The headlines:

“Newly published files confirm plan to move Assange to Russia”

Newly released Ecuadorean government documents have laid bare an unorthodox attempt to extricate, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, from his embassy hideaway in London by naming him as a “political counselor to the country's embassy in Moscow.” 

But that plan was nipped in the bud when British authorities vetoed his diplomatic status. That effectively blocks him from taking up his new post in Russia.

The files were made public by Ecuadorean opposition lawmaker Paola Vintimilla who opposes her government's decision to grant Assange nationality. The Guardian newspaper reported that Ecuador attempted the elaborate maneuver just before Christmas 2017.

Noteworthy background: Assange's relationship with the Russian authorities has been the subject of intense scrutiny following the 2016 U.S. election. That was when Russian spies are alleged to have handed WikiLeaks the drove of hack/leaked emails from then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign and staff officials in a bid to help elect Trump (or so the story goes).

As for as Assange, he has denied receiving the files from the Russian government or backing Trump’s campaign that despite a growing body of evidence suggesting he received material directly from Russia's Military Intelligence Agency (the GRU) and coordinated media strategy with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.

Related Points:

This is not the first time Assange has apparently considered seeking refuge in Russia. The AP reported earlier that he tried to obtain a Russian visa. He also signed a letter in November 2010 granting power of attorney to “My friend” Israel Shamir – a controversial supporter who passed leaked U.S. State Department cables from Assange to journalists in Moscow.

Shamir would deliver Assange’s passport to the Russian consulate, and collect it afterwards, Assange instructed in his note.

Note: At that same time Assange was facing allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women in Sweden. Then in 2012, he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy after he lost a battle against extradition in the Supreme Court.  

As far as Assange, he denied the women’s claims, and Swedish authorities eventually dropped both cases after the statute of limitations expired. But, Assange also faces arrest for breaching his bail conditions.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump praised WikiLeaks that in fact did damage Hillary Clinton (how did he know it was 33,000 emails). 

October 10, 2016 speech

Then Trump Russia publicly to find the “30,000” missing ones and the media would reward them”).

July 27, 2016 speech and press Q&A

Confidential visitor logs obtained by the Guardian reveal that Assange received several Russian nationals during the summer of 2016, including senior figures from RT (the Kremlin’s international propaganda channel).

In March 2017 WikiLeaks published confidential CIA documents. Assange believes a grand jury indicted him over this and other leaks, with the charges filed under seal. Were he to leave the embassy the U.S. would seek his extradition, his lawyers say.

My 2 cents: This part of the whole Trump-Russia collusion is not over yet, but I believe that Mueller will make a compelling case against Trump when he reports to Dep AG Rod Rosenstein, whom he has to only give the report to – not anyone else or the public – therein that gets very, very sticky – more on that here from Bloomberg.

Best advice is just stay up-to-date on all this.

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