What Was Manafort Doing In Ecuador?

Yesterday evening I eagerly read this new story from the Times about Paul Manafort’s discussions with the then-President-elect of Ecuador about the fate of Julian Assange. Remember that a week ago The Guardian published what seemed like a bombshell report that Manafort had met repeatedly with Assange and as recently as the Spring of 2016. If true, this would bring central elements of the conspiracy together more tightly than even many Trump/Russia maximalists might have suspected. But no other news outlets could independently confirm the report. Manafort, meanwhile, issued a broad, blanket denial. A couple days later some people were wondering if The Guardian had gotten burned or even been the target of a hoax. Now we have the Times picking up on this closely related but distinct part of the story – Manafort’s meeting with Lenin Moreno about Assange leaving the Embassy. But the Times article just doesn’t make sense. Or rather, it keeps the critical question unresolved.

Let’s discuss this.