Trump previously praised WikiLeaks after the group reportedly sent a private message to Trump Jr.

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November 14, 2017 12:13 AM

Shortly after WikiLeaks privately messaged Trump Jr. a link to its publication, the elder Trump praised the website on Twitter.

WikiLeaks appeared to develop a correspondence with President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.

WikiLeaks appeared to develop a correspondence with at least one member of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign during the election cycle, and in one instance, was praised by Trump, shortly after the group messaged his son, Donald Trump Jr., according to messages obtained by The Atlantic.

WikiLeaks, an organization dedicated to publishing leaked information, reportedly thanked Trump Jr. on October 12, 2016, after Trump talked about its publications at a campaign rally, two days before. Speaking to supporters at the rally on October 10, Trump held up some documents and said, "This just came out. WikiLeaks! I love WikiLeaks."

"Strongly suggest your dad tweets this link if he mentions us," WikiLeaks allegedly said in a private Twitter message to Trump Jr. "There’s many great stories the press are missing and we’re sure some of your follows [sic] will find it. Btw we just released Podesta Emails Part 4."

Trump Jr. did not respond to WikiLeaks' message, according to The Atlantic. However, Trump tweeted a glowing review of the group, 15 minutes after WikiLeaks sent the message to Trump Jr.: "Very little pick-up by the dishonest media of incredible information provided by WikiLeaks. So dishonest! Rigged system!"

The messages between Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks were turned over to congressional investigators as part of their inquiry into Russia's meddling during the 2016 presidential election, The Atlantic reported. According to the report, the correspondence between WikiLeaks and Trump Jr. continued through July 2017.

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