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Nigel Farage Just Made A Very Bizarre Visit To The Ecuadorian Embassy

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living in the embassy since 2012.
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By 

Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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. 

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Former United Kingdom Independence Party leader Nigel Farage speaks at the party's spring conference on Feb. 17, 2017.
Andrew Yates/Reuters

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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Before You Go

Wikileaks: Biggest Leaks
2007: Guantanamo Bay(01 of08)
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Wikileaks released a military manual entitled 'Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures' on November 7, 2007 with details about the Guantanamo detention facility. (credit:AP)
2008: Scientology(02 of08)
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Wikileaks released the Church of Scientology's 'Operating Thetans' documents on its website on March 26, 2008. The documents contained instructions from L. Ron Hubbard for each level of Scientology. (credit:AP)
2008: Sarah Palin(03 of08)
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The hacker group, Anonymous, got into Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account in September of 2008 and posted some screen shots of e-mails and family photos on the Wikileaks website. (credit:AP)
2009: September 11(04 of08)
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In 2009, Wikileaks released over half a million text pager intercepts covering the 24-hour period surrounding the events on 9/11. (credit:AP)
2010: Baghdad Airstrike(05 of08)
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A video of an American airstrike in Baghdad, killing two Reuters employees, was released on Wikileaks in April of 2010. (credit:YouTube)
2010: Afghanistan War(06 of08)
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In one of the biggest leaks, Wikileaks released over 90,000 reports on the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. This move was heavily criticized by the U.S. government and particularly the Pentagon. (credit:AP)
2010: Iraq War(07 of08)
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The largest military leak in history was released by Wikileaks in October of 2010 and contained about 400,000 documents about the war in Iraq. (credit:AP)
2011: Guantanamo Bay(08 of08)
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In 2011, Wikileaks revisited the issue of Guantanamo Bay and released over 700 documents on the Guantanamo detainees. (credit:AP)
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