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The owner of a Twitter account that seems to belong to Trump's former advisor, George Papadopoulos, took part in a tirade about former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
The tweets seem to be an attempt to undermine Mr. Downer and present him as an opponent of the Trump campaign.
What does Mr. Downer have to do with that?
Papadopoulos met Mr Downer for the first time in a London bar in May 2016, while Mr Downer was the Australian High Commissioner in the UK.
He reportedly told Downer that the Trump campaign had detrimental information about Hillary Clinton and that it had been provided by the Russian intelligence services.
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The Australian government then warned the US intelligence services of the meeting.
The meeting appears to have triggered the investigation into Russia's interference in the election, which would become Special Advisor Robert Mueller's investigation.
What has been said about Mr. Downer today?
The account @ georgepapa19 tweeted today that Mr. Downer is a "Clinton friend" who is "connected to MI6 and private intelligence organizations in London".
He also stated that Mr. Downer wanted to meet in "incredibly suspicious circumstances".
The tweets make unfounded statements about Mr. Downer's relationship with British Prime Minister David Cameron, and say the two have discussed Papadopoulos' connection to energy projects in Israel.
@ georgepapa19 tweeted that Mr. Downer had been sent by "an organization to meet me" and that Mr. Downer's links needed to be studied.
Papadopoulos said in several media interviews that he did not remember talking to Mr. Downer about e-mails or Russian dirt on Mrs. Clinton.
The tweets also say that Mr. Downer must be "as exposed as Christoper (sic) Steele".
The ABC contacted Mr. Downer for a comment.
Christopher Steele? Who is it?
Mr Steele is the former British spy who was instructed to write the famous Steele dossier, which made salacious statements on a wild weekend presumed by US President Donald Trump in Russia.
The use of the names of Mr. Steele and Ms. Clinton in the tweets aligns closely with the conspiracy theories launched by Mr. Trump's supporters.
Regarding the veracity of the tweets, the American network of information on MSNBC, Fairfax and Ten television channels reported that the Twitter account belonged to Papadopoulos.
What is the point of going after Mr. Downer?
The May 2016 meeting between Papadopoulos and Mr. Downer is one of the most important moments of any Trump / Russia investigation.
Doubt over Mr. Downer and the reasons for the meeting became the holy grail of Mr. Trump's legal defense team.
If they can prove that there was something questionable about Mr. Downer, they can potentially invalidate the entire investigation.
Republican pro-asset congressmen and conservative commentators have attempted to establish a connection between Mr. Downer and Ms. Clinton.
They say that a $ 25 million payment the Australian government made to the charitable foundation Bill and Hillary Clinton in 2006 shows that Mr. Downer is struggling with the Clinton.
A spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton described this link as "pathetic".
What happened to Papadopoulos?
Last week, Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison for lying to the FBI, which he still has to serve.
The account @ georgepapa19 tweeted today, he regrets having lied to the FBI, and he hopes that they have investigated his fears that he was being recorded by Mr. Downer on his phone during of their conversation.
Originally, Papadopoulos agreed to cooperate with the investigators in exchange for their indulgence.
But this relationship ended up getting bored.
Mr. Mueller's office said Mr. Papadopoulos compromised the investigation and slowed them down.
They also stated that Papadopoulos and his wife had given several misleading interviews in the media.
Instead of asking for a lenient sentence, the special advocate recommended a term of imprisonment.
Russia, if you listen, is a podcast on the investigation of Russia's interference in the US elections. Find it in the Listen app, in Apple podcasts or in your favorite podcasting app.
Topics:
US elections,
world politics,
social media,
United States,
Australia
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