Nigel Farage, the former leader of the U.K.’s far-right Independence Party, visited the embassy where embattled WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living on Thursday, and he isn’t saying why.
Farage spent about 40 minutes inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, a source confirmed to The Independent, one day after WikiLeaks released documents it claims detail the CIA’s hacking abilities and methods.
When a BuzzFeed News reporter approached Farage as he exited, he said he couldn’t remember why he was in the building.
“I never discuss where I go or who I see,” Farage added when BuzzFeed asked if he had been there to meet with Assange, an Australian who’s been stranded at the embassy ever since Ecuador granted him asylum five years ago. If Assange leaves the embassy, he’ll be deported to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations against him.
It’s not clear what kind of relationship Farage and Assange have, but both men enjoy the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, who brought Farage along on his campaign stops and supported his advocacy for “Brexit,” the exit from the European Union that British voters approved last year.
Trump has also defended Assange, who denied that Russia was behind WikiLeaks’ release of Democratic emails widely perceived to have boosted Trump’s candidacy during the 2016 election. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Russian agents interfered in the election to help Trump.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer also sidestepped reporters’ questions about why Farage was at the embassy.
“I have no idea,” he said. “I have my own concerns here keeping track of what everyone is doing. I generally don’t worry about what’s going on across the pond.”
“This is silly,” Spicer continued when a reporter pressed him to clarify whether Farage was at the embassy on behalf of the White House. “I don’t think asking where random foreign leaders are and whether they are there … I’m sure he was there doing whatever. But I don’t keep his schedule.”
The Ecuadorian Embassy in London did not immediately return The Huffington Post’s request for comment.
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