Mueller seeks jail term for ex-adviser to Trump campaign
WASHINGTON: The US special counsel investigating Russian interference in elections has recommended a sentence of up to six months for George Papadapoulos, a member of the Trump campaign, for lying.
Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents when they first interviewed him about his contacts with Russians and was the first to be indicted. He has since been cooperating with the investigation.
“The government does not take a position with respect to a particular sentence to be imposed, but respectfully submits that a sentence of incarceration, within the applicable Guidelines range of 0 to 6 months’ imprisonment, is appropriate and warranted,” the prosecution said in a court filing.
Most others indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller have also pleaded guilty, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump campaign official Rick Gates.
Meanwhile, the judge in the trial of Paul Manafort, a former chairman of the Trump campaign, declined to release details about the jurors, citing security reasons.
T S Ellis on Friday said he himself had been threatened.
“I don’t feel right if I release their names,” he said of the jurors.
Papadopoulos had served as a foreign policy adviser on the Trump campaign, a role that President Donald Trump and his aides have since the indictment sought to play down.
Shortly after his appointment, he had been approached by a London-based professor who would put him in touch with Russians.
Papadopoulos met a Russian woman who was in touch with an official in the Russian foreign ministry through phone ad email. He had kept senior members of the campaign in the loop about these interactions and was encouraged to pursue them. During one such meeting, he was told Russians had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate in the presidential election.