Despite both Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone and Wikileaks claiming they did not communicate directly with one another, new Twitter messages revealed by The Atlantic the two corresponded with each other during the 2016 presidential election.

WikiLeaks claimed to not have talked with Stone in a March 2017 tweet…

@kyletblaine WikiLeaks & Assange have repeatedly confirmed that they have never communicated with Stone. Why did CNN not include this fact? — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 20, 2017

…and the informal Trump advisor — while testifying under oath — told the House Intelligence Committee in September 2017 that he only talked to the controversial group via an “intermediary,” but the new direct messages show the two corresponded just weeks before the election.

The October 16, 2016 messages between the two went as follows, via The Atlantic:

STONE: “Since I was all over national TV, cable and print defending wikileaks and assange against the claim that you are Russian agents and debunking the false charges of sexual assault as trumped up bs you may want to rexamine the strategy of attacking me- cordially R.” WIKILEAKS: “We appreciate that. However, the false claims of association are being used by the democrats to undermine the impact of our publications. Don’t go there if you don’t want us to correct you.” STONE: “Ha! The more you ‘correct’ me the more people think you’re lying. Your operation leaks like sieve. You need to figure out who your friends are.” WIKILEAKS: “Happy?” WIKILEAKS: “We are now more free to communicate.”

The communication between the two is particularly noteworthy, as Stone’s longstanding relationship with the president brings-up questions over whether or not Trump had knowledge of his confidant’s relationship with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange — amid their release of damaging info against his opponent Hillary Clinton.

Stone did note the messages were real, but suggested they were not of importance — telling The Atlantic the DMs are “ridiculously out of context” and “a paste up.” This statement confirming the correspondence comes after Stone told lawmakers under oath that he “never said or written that I had any direct communication with Julian Assange and have always clarified in numerous interviews and speeches that my communication with WikiLeaks was through the aforementioned journalist.”

[images via screengrab]

Follow the author on Twitter (@calebecarma).

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