Tag: George Papadopoulos

Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up

Peter Strzok would like to clear a few things up

“I’m sorry to bother you. But it turns out Trump just accused me of treason.”

Peter Strzok, who was still an FBI employee that day in January 2018 and couldn’t respond to the president’s attack, was appealing to his boss: “The bureau can’t let this stand,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Pete,” came the response. “We’re not going to say anything.”

Nearly three years later, Strzok — who led the FBI’s Russia investigation, dubbed Crossfire Hurricane, until he was removed over several anti-Trump texts he’d sent during the election amid an affair with a colleague — is finally able to speak publicly and on his terms for the first time since he joined the FBI more than two decades ago. Continue reading.

Roger Stone joins the remarkable universe of criminality surrounding President Trump

Washington Post logoOn Friday, President Trump’s longtime political adviser Roger Stone was found guilty on seven criminal charges related to testimony he gave to Congress as part of investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Those charges included five counts of offering false statements, one of obstruction and one of witness tampering. Stone is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.

Stone was with Trump at the very beginning of the president’s time in politics. In fact, Stone long pushed Trump to enter into the political world, encouraging him repeatedly to announce presidential bids in previous cycles. He was sidelined during Trump’s 2016 run after either quitting or being fired; as with many things related to Stone, details are murky.

Friday’s convictions seem to bring to an end the high-profile criminal probes stemming from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The convictions also contribute to a truly remarkable universe of admitted, proved or alleged criminal behavior involving people linked to Trump.

View the complete November 15 article by Philip Bump on The Washington Post website here.

Trump fumes about Mueller as yet another campaign aide heads to prison

Credit: Evan Vucci, AP Photo

Trump heralded the imprisonment of yet another one of his top campaign aides with an unhinged rant against special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump launched his latest Twitter tirade about special counsel Robert Mueller on the same day yet another of his senior campaign aides heads to prison.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the Trump campaign’s involvement in that attack.

On Twitter, Trump asked if Mueller will “be covering all of his conflicts of interest in a preamble” to his final report, and whined that the special counsel should “be recommending action on all of the crimes of many kinds from those ‘on the other side’.”

View the November 26 article by Oliver Willis on the ShareBlue.com website here.

Papadopoulos sentenced to 14 days in jail in Mueller probe

The following article by Morgan Chalfant was posted on the Hill website September 7, 2018:

George Papadopoulos Credit: Agence France-Presse. Getty Images

Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos has been sentenced to 14 days in federal prison and one year supervised release for lying to FBI investigators about his Russia contacts.

Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty in October to lying to FBI agents, is the first Trump campaign official to be sentenced as part of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe into Russia’s election interference.

The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser was also sentenced on Friday afternoon in federal court in Washington, D.C., to 200 hours of community service and faces a $9,500 fine.

View the complete article here.

Former Trump adviser Papadopoulos asks judge to spare him jail time

The following article by Spencer S. Hsu and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website September 1, 2018:

Trump officials have tried to cast George Papadopoulos as a low-level figure on the campaign, but documents show extensive contact with top campaign officials. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Candidate Donald Trump “nodded with approval” when a former campaign adviser suggested a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladi­mir Putin in 2016, according to a court filing by lawyers seeking a lighter sentence for the adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts during the campaign.

The description of the meeting with Trump and then-Sen. Jeff Sessions was revealed Friday in the filing, which argued that George Papadopoulos should be spared jail time because his lies did not hinder the special counsel’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In the filing, the attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss to put Papadopoulos on probation at his sentencing, which is set for Friday. They said claims that his falsehoods impeded prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III were “speculative and contrary to the evidence.”

View the complete article here.

Mueller moves to sentence Papadopoulos, signaling key step

The following article by Josh Gerstein was posted on the Politico website May 23, 2018:

A court filing Wednesday from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office may be a signal that his investigation into Russian efforts to coordinate with the Trump campaign is nearing a conclusion.

The filing asks a federal judge to start the process of preparing a pre-sentencing report for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty last year to lying to investigators in the Trump-Russia probe. Continue reading “Mueller moves to sentence Papadopoulos, signaling key step”

Five key takeaways from the Russian indictments

The following article by Niall Stanage was posted on the Hill website February 17, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein Credit: Mary Turner/Reuters

New indictments of 13 Russians who allegedly meddled in the 2016 election set the political world abuzz on Friday.

The charges were first posted on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website but were fleshed out by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteinat a hastily convened news conference.

What are the key political ramifications from the new charges?

Fire and fury from Trump?

President Trump is hypersensitive to any suggestion that his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 was illegitimate. These new indictments are sure to get under his skin for precisely that reason. Continue reading “Five key takeaways from the Russian indictments”

George Papadopoulos, his bride-to-be, and the Russia-linked ‘professor’ who brought them together

The following article by Eli Rosenberg was posted on the Washington Post website February 7, 2018:

George Papadopoulos with his fiancee, Simona Mangiante. Credit: Simona Mangiante

Simona Mangiante, the fiancee of former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, describes the moment she decided to speak out on behalf of her partner.

A day after the bombshell announcement that Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contact with the Russians — an indication that he was likely cooperating — Michael Caputo, another adviser on the campaign, said on television that Papadopoulos was nothing more than “the coffee boy.”

With those few words, Mangiante decided to stop turning down the interview requests that had been pouring in for weeks. Continue reading “George Papadopoulos, his bride-to-be, and the Russia-linked ‘professor’ who brought them together”

Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice

The following article by Michael Daly was posted on the Daily Beast website February 2, 2018:

To cast suspicion on the FBI, the memo notes Papadopoulos triggered the bureau’s probe—but omits that he later pleading guilty to lying about his dealings with the Russians.

Credit: Joshua Roberts<

However FBI Agent Peter Strzok felt about FBI lawyer Lisa Page, his texts to his supposed mistress became most emotional not about her but about a dire threat to our national security.

The threat that rouses such ardor in Strzok draws only a shrug from some in the White House and Congress who most loudly proclaim themselves patriots. President Trump excoriates those who go down on one knee during the national anthem, but himself goes down on both knees to an avowed enemy. Continue reading “Nunes Memo Does Russia’s Work of Eroding Trust in American Justice”

Papadopoulos’s fiancée says she interviewed with Mueller’s team

The following article by John Bowden was posted on the Hill website January 6, 2018:

© Instagram/realdonaldtrump

The fiancée of a former Trump campaign aide who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI last year revealed in a new interview that she spoke with investigators on Robert Mueller‘s special counsel team.

George Papadopoulos‘s fiancée, Simona Mangiante, told Business Insiderthat she interviewed with Mueller’s team for two hours following a subpoena last year. Continue reading “Papadopoulos’s fiancée says she interviewed with Mueller’s team”