Former Ecuadorian president says Assange interfered in election

Ecuador’s former president, Rafael Correa, confirmed that Julian Assange ran an election interference initiative out of the country’s embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder was at first a welcome then an unwanted guest for seven years.

"We did notice that he was interfering in the elections and we do not allow that because we have principles, very clear values, as we would not like anyone to interfere in our elections," Rafael Correa told CNN, following a report of Assange’s activities detailed through surveillance records of private security firm UC Global. “We are not going to allow that to happen with a foreign country and friend like the U.S.”

Assange took full advantage of his protected status in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, likely using the diplomatic post where he lived for seven years as a command center to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and sway the results toward Donald Trump, based on surveillance by UC Global, a private security company hired by the Ecuadorian Embassy.

The company’s logs show that Assange met with hackers and Russians during his stay at the embassy, according to CNN, which viewed the documents and received confirmation of their authenticity from a member of the Ecuadorian intelligence community.

"WikiLeaks' justification was that they were providing truthful information," said Correa, who despite granting Assange asylum in the London embassy only met him once. The truth-telling, though, “was just about Hillary Clinton, not about Trump,” said Correa. “So, they were not saying all the truth. And not saying all the truth is called manipulation. And we are not going to allow that."

Assange, became an increasingly unwanted houseguest as his residency stretched on – Ecuador at times cut off his internet to keep him from interfering with other countries’ affairs and even took him to task for failing to care properly for his cat.