Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lawmakers quiz ex-Trump aide
Sentenced for lying, Papadopolous interviewed on Russia ties
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, met with House lawmakers Thursday to answer questions about his outreach to Russian officials and contacts with individuals who have become a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the president’s alleged Russia ties.
It is the first time that Papadopoulos, who was sentenced in September to two weeks in jail for lying to the FBI, has spoken to any of the congressional panels examining aspects of Russian interference in U.S. politics. The meeting was closed to the public.
Lawmakers have wanted to interview Papadopoulos for more than a year but were unable to do so while he was cooperating with Mueller. He volunteered to speak with congressional committees after his sentencing, though he has not yet served his time.
Papadopoulos emerged as a key witness in the Russia probe because of an offer he made to connect the Trump campaign with Russian officials — a suggestion at which Trump “nodded with approval,” Papadopoulos’ lawyer said during his sentencing — and his claim to have known that Russia accessed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s email, weeks before that information became public.
But in advance of his interview, Papadopoulos claimed he was set up by the FBI, and used as “a patsy for a ‘Russia’ conspiracy,” he said in a tweet, adding: “My set up was carefully orchestrated.”
The FBI has pointed to a May 2016 conversation Papadopoulos had in Britain with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer, calling the meeting a pivotal incident that caused federal law enforcement to open a counterintelligence investigation into then-candidate Trump.
That runs counter to accusations from House Republicans loyal to the president, who accuse the FBI of basing its investigation on a now-famous dossier compiled by a former British intelligence agent whose work was partially paid for by the Democratic National Committee and partially by the Clinton campaign. Trump’s allies have used that claim to suggest the entire probe, including the special counsel investigation, is biased.
Before Papadopoulos’ appearance, some of Trump’s allies on the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees sought to demonstrate the FBI ignored what Papadopoulos told authorities. They surmised this from assertions that the FBI had intentionally left out information from applications to surveil another former member of the Trump campaign, Carter Page.
“George Papadopoulos, the supposed key informant, told the FBI there was no collusion BEFORE the FISA warrant — and the FBI omitted that exculpatory information from the application anyway,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the House Freedom Caucus, said on Twitter this week. FISA refers to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires the government to obtain warrants before authorities can conduct surveillance on Americans in national security cases. “With all we’ve learned about FISA abuses, this is deeply troubling.”
Democrats, who already believe the committees’ joint inquiry is a farce designed to undermine Mueller’s work, are skeptical that Papadopoulos will say anything credible.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the only Democrat expected to be present for the interview, pointed out Thursday that Papadopoulos is a convicted liar, noting that one must “take his testimony for what it’s worth” — intimating it would be worth little or nothing at all.
“I see this whole thing as a footnote to a sideshow of a wild-goose chase,” Raskin said. “We’re in Alice in Wonderland.”
Papadopoulos has accused Downer, the Australian diplomat, of conspiring with former director of national intelligence James Clapper to hide what Papadopoulos said was “the most profound, and illegal, spying operation against an American and the presidential campaign he worked for in history.”