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WASHINGTON – Trump's first campaign advisor, arrested during the investigation of Robert Mueller's special adviser on Russian interference in the 2016 elections, was sentenced on Friday afternoon to 14 days in prison.
George Papadopoulos, 31, a Trump campaign foreign policy advisor, pleaded guilty in October 2017 to having lied to the FBI about his relationship with a professor who told him during the 2016 campaign. He appeared in federal court of the Supreme Court, before US District Judge Randolph D. Moss, who also sentenced Papadopoulos to 200 hours of community service and 12 months of probation.
Papadopoulos met with FBI agents investigating the Russian meddling in the January 2017 elections, nearly two months before FBI director James Comey officially acknowledged the existence of the investigation of the FBI. He lied to the investigators when he was told about Russian "dirtiness" on Clinton, telling them he had learned it before joining the campaign in what turned out to be a "very strange coincidence".
Papadopoulos was arrested at Dulles International Airport on July 27, 2017, but Mueller kept his arrest and guilt agreement thereafter until it was sealed last October.
On Friday, Judge Moss said Mr. Papadopoulos had put his own interests ahead of his country's interests and that his choice to lie to the FBI "does not reflect a good character". He stated that Mr. Papadopoulos "was climbing very high" at the time he lied to the FBI, and that the accused "had a lot of benefits in life". While noting that Papadopoulos had already faced "collateral consequences" that were "almost unbearable", the judge said that it was important to send a message to the public who lied to the FBI was a crime serious, especially in a matter of "great importance".
Papadopoulos spoke in advance of his conviction, stating to the court that he had "made a terrible mistake" and that he considered himself a patriotic American and that he was deeply embarrassed by his conduct. Her "whole life has been turned upside down" since her name became public, Papadopoulos said. "I hope to have a second chance."
Papadopoulos had no comment after the sentencing, but an orange "Putin team" shirt was thrown at him when he left the courthouse.
Thomas Breen, a lawyer representing Papadopoulos, told the court that his client had made a "stupid mistake" and that his actions were "unsophisticated" and those of a "fool". Papadopoulos lied to the FBI. keep his name in the bac 'for a position in the Trump administration.
Breen argued that his client had caused much less damage to the special advocate's investigation than Trump.
"The President of the United States has further impeded this investigation that George Papadopoulos has never been able to do," he said.
Mueller's team did not take a position on the specific sentence to be imposed, but argued that the sentencing guidelines provided for up to six months in prison and that Papadopoulos' crime warranted incarceration. .
Papadopoulos, Mueller's team wrote in a sentencing memorandum, "harmed the government's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election." Mueller's team argued that the fact to lie to federal investigators the accused lied to investigators about critical facts, in an investigation of national significance, after being explicitly warned that lying to the FBI was a federal offense.
His defense team said that Papadopoulos was "ashamed and remorseful" of his conduct, but that it was the result of his desire to "save his professional aspirations and preserve perhaps a mistaken loyalty to that." master".
The defense portrays him as a young, enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump who has landed his position as a campaign foreign policy advisor "though he has no experience of American and Russian diplomacy".
Papadopoulos's wife, Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos publicly lobbied the president to forgive her husband. The Law & Crime website said the couple was "prepare to turn infamy into fame and fortune"Through a book agreement.
Ryan Reilly is the senior judicial reporter for HuffPost. It covers the Department of Justice, Federal Enforcement, Criminal Justice and Legal Affairs. Have a tip? Reach him at [email protected] or on Signal at 202-527-9261.
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