Scottish Daily Mail

Trump aide admits he lied to FBI about contact with Russian

- From Tom Leonard in New York

THE White House was reeling last night after a Trump aide admitted lying to the FBI about meeting a Russian during the presidenti­al election campaign.

Foreign policy consultant George Papadopoul­os said he had deceived federal investigat­ors about meeting a professor with strong Kremlin ties in London who had promised he could provide ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton in the form of ‘thousands of emails’.

Earlier, in a separate blow to the President, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was charged with money laundering and conspiring against the US.

Papadopoul­os originally claimed he met the professor before he joined the Trump campaign but now admits it happened after his appointmen­t as an adviser.

The guilty plea and accompanyi­ng documents were hailed by critics as the most explicit evidence to date that the Trump campaign was aware the Russians were trying to help him win – and that it was willing to accept that help.

Papadopoul­os was quietly arrested by the FBI in July and has since been co-operating with an investigat­ion into Russian interferen­ce in the presidenti­al election, court records show.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is leading the investigat­ion, which is looking into claims that members of the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin to tilt the election in his favour.

The probe also led to the 12 charges against Manafort. Along with his business partner Rick Gates, he is accused of concealing £57million ($75million) earned while they worked as consultant­s for the former Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovych and his proMoscow party.

The money was allegedly funnelled through overseas shell com- panies and used to buy houses, luxury cars, antiques and expensive suits. ‘Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States without paying taxes on that income,’ according to the 31-page indictment. The pair denied the charges when they appeared in a Washington court. They have both been placed under house arrest.

President Trump reacted by attempting to wash his hands of Manafort and reiteratin­g that there was no collusion with Moscow. He also renewed calls for investigat­ions to be made into Russia links to Hillary Clinton and the Democrats .

‘Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign,’ Mr Trump tweeted. ‘But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????’ He added: ‘Also, there is NO COLLUSION!’ The charges against Manafort and Gates cover a period between 2006 and 2016.

They include tax fraud, failure to disclose payments from foreign companies and bank accounts, and failure to register as an agent of the Ukraine government.

However, the charges against Manafort make no mention of his three months of work for Mr Trump until he was sacked as campaign chairman, nor any suggestion of election meddling.

Analysts say Mr Mueller, a former FBI chief, may now use the threat of a long prison sentence to persuade Manafort to cooperate with his wider Russia investigat­ion.

‘Enjoy a lavish lifestyle’

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