Extrump aide sent to prison
Trump tweets to suggest the conviction was trivial for a probe that has cost millions
WASHINGTON: George Papadopoulos was sent to 14 days in jail, making him the first Trump campaign aide sentenced in connection with the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and possible collusion.
The first person to also be arrested in this case, Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to FBI about his contacts with a London-based professor who had put him in touch with Russians, promising political dirt on Donald Trump’s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
The low-profile campaign aide, who was named a foreign policy adviser to the campaign, had tried hard, but unsuccessfully, to arrange a meeting between Trump and Russians. Seeking leniency from the court, he said he had made “a terrible mistake for which I have paid a terrible price, and am deeply ashamed.”
Apart from two weeks in prison, he will also have 12 months of supervised release, perform 200 hours of community service and pay a fine of $9,500.
He is the first Trump campaign aide jailed yet.
Two others, Michael Flynn and Richard Gates, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the probe.
The fourth, Paul Manafort, was found guilty last month to eight counts of bank fraud and tax evasion and is set to go on trial in connection with a second case later in September.
None of them has been charged with colluding in Russian interference. Papadopoulos and Flynn were indicted for lying about their Russia contacts, and Manafort and Gates were accused of bank fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.
Since Papadopoulos’s arrest, indictment and guilty plea in October 2017, the Trump administration has sought to downplay his role in the campaign, calling him a “low-level volunteer”.
Trump was dismissive of the sentencing, tweeting, “14 days for $28 MILLION - $2 MILLION a day, No Collusion. A great day for America!”
The money is what the US is spending on the probe by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which the president routinely attacks in a bid to damage its credibility.