{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/top-democrats-demand-briefing-secretary-pompeo%E2%80%99s-meeting-ecuadorian-foreign-minister", "Top Democrats Demand Briefing On Secretary Pompeos Meeting With Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Jose ValenciaSpecifically Regarding Julian Assanges Presence In Ecuadorian Embassy In London", "2018-12-12", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Jerrold Nadler", "N000002", "nadler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. Top Senate and House DemocratsSenate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding an immediate briefing on his meeting with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Jose Valencia, specifically regarding whether the future of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange's presence in the Ecuadorian embassy in London was discussed. The Democrats assert that Congress and the American people deserve answers about foreign interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the State Department's efforts to hold accountable those responsible, including WikiLeaks.\nTo this end, the Democrats requested that the State Department brief Congress on a series of questionsoutlined in the letterconcerning the details surrounding the activities of both Paul Manafort and Julian Assange in London. Additionally, the Democrats expressed the urgency behind swiftly resolving the challenges posed by Julian Assange's presence at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and urged Secretary Pompeo to remain in close contact with Foreign Minister Valencia.\nSenate and House Democrats' letter to Secretary Pompeo can be found here and below:\nDear Secretary Pompeo:\nWe write to request that the State Department immediately brief Congress on your November 26 meeting with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Jose Valencia.\nWhile the State Department has been unwilling to confirm the details publicly,we remaindeeplyinterested in knowing whetheryou discussed thefutureof Julian Assange's presence in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Londonin your meeting with Foreign Minister Valencia.\nAs you are aware, in January 2017, the unclassified reportby the U.S.IntelligenceCommunity assessed with high confidence that Russian military intelligence used proxies to transfer hacked data obtained in cyber operations to WikiLeaks. These activitieswere explicitly intendedto interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.\nCongress and the American people deserve answers about foreign interference in our elections andyour effortsto hold accountable those responsible.To that end,we ask that the State Department brief Congress on the following questions:\n1.Did you ask Foreign Minister Valencia to confirm whether PaulManafortvisited Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, including as recently as March 2016, as has been described in media reports?\n2.Didyou request thatthe complete, unedited log of Julian Assange's visitors at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London be made available to all ongoing U.S. investigations?\n3. Did youask Foreign Minister Valencia to provide you withany security camera footage or other electronic media thatwas maintainedby the Ecuadorian Government to supplement the visitor logs?\n4.Did yourequest that Foreign Minister Valencia confirm whether PaulManafortspoke to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno about Julian Assange in Quito, Ecuador in May 2017?\n5.In the event that you received affirmative confirmation, did you ask Foreign Minister Valencia to provide you with all relevant notes and information from Paul Manafort's meeting with Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno?\n6.Did you ask Foreign Minister Valencia about thestatusof the Ecuadorian Government's discussions with the British Government regarding the status of Julian Assange?\nWhile we understandthat Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno inherited from his predecessor the challenges posed by Julian Assange's presence at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, it is imperative thatthis situation beresolved swiftly.We trust that you will remain in close contact with Foreign Minister Valencia on this matter.\nThank you for your attention to this letter and we look forward to the State Department briefing Congress next week.\nSincerely,\nCharles E. Schumer  \n\t\t\t\t\tDemocratic Leader  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Senate\nRichard J. Durbin  \n\t\t\t\t\tDemocratic Whip  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Senate\nRobert Menendez  \n\t\t\t\t\tRanking Member  \n\t\t\t\t\tCommittee on Foreign Relations  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Senate\nDianne Feinstein  \n\t\t\t\t\tRanking Member  \n\t\t\t\t\tCommittee on the Judiciary  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Senate\nEliot L. Engel  \n\t\t\t\t\tRanking Member  \n\t\t\t\t\tCommittee on Foreign Affairs  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. House of Representatives\nJerrold Nadler  \n\t\t\t\t\tRanking Member  \n\t\t\t\t\tCommittee on the Judiciary  \n\t\t\t\t\tU.S. House of Representatives", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://nadler.house.gov/press-release/top-democrats-demand-briefing-secretary-pompeo%E2%80%99s-meeting-ecuadorian-foreign-minister"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.3567689824849367, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}