Donald Trump made no secret during the 2016 campaign that he appreciated WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange for publishing thousands of hacked Democratic e-mails, many of them damaging to his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
"I love WikiLeaks," he said more than once as the group posted e-mails stolen by Russian operatives from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's Gmail account.
But Thursday, as Assange was expelled from Ecuador's embassy in London, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, "I know nothing about WikiLeaks — it's not my thing."
That belies the praise he showered on the organization during his presidential campaign, as well as efforts by supporters to encourage its leaks of stolen Democratic documents.
"WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks," Trump said on Oct. 10, 2016, a few days after it began posting Podesta's e-mails.
"I have learned so much from WikiLeaks," he told Fox News's Bret Baier later that month. In the weeks leading up to the election, he called the e-mails it posted "incredible," "amazing" and a "treasure trove."
