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George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign advisor, sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison in connection with Prosecutor General Robert Mueller's investigation in Russia, said Sunday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was "enthusiastic" Trump and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that campaign members were "fully aware" of his efforts.
Papadopoulos's remarks directly contradict what Sessions told Congress under oath, namely, that he "pushed back" the potential meeting.
"My memories differ from those of Jeff Sessions," said Papadopoulos on the show "This Week" on Sunday.
Papadopoulos was then asked if he thought Mueller's investigation would show the collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russians.
"All I can say is that my testimony could have helped move things forward, but I have no idea," he said.
Papadopoulos said that he had raised the idea of organizing a meeting between Trump and Putin at a campaign meeting on March 31, 2016 and that there were mixed reactions .
"The Trump candidate at that time, he nodded to me, I do not think it was committed anyway. He was open to the idea and he of course repulsed Senator Jeff Sessions, whom I remember being very enthusiastic about the welcome, "Papadopoulos said Sunday.
He added that after the March meeting, other campaigners were aware of his efforts to continue a Trump-Putin meeting, including Corey Lewandowski, campaign director at the time , and his main assistant Sam Clovis.
"I have actively sought to exploit my contacts with the professor to host this meeting," said Papadopoulos, referring to a professor who would be a member of the Russian government. "The campaign was fully aware of what I was doing."
He said that Clovis had told him "excellent work" while he was discussing with the group that he was talking with Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud, who could potentially hold a meeting with Putin.
Papadopoulos was sentenced to prison on Friday and one year on probation for lying to the FBI about his interactions with Mifsud.
According to Papadopoulos and the prosecutors, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that the Russians possessed incriminating information about Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails".
He later referred to e-mails to an Australian diplomat during what the New York Times described as a night of heavy drinking in an upscale London bar in May 2016.
The diplomat, Alexander Downer, sent the information to the FBI, triggering the federal government's investigation into Russian electoral interference.
Papadopoulos repeated Sunday that he was "remorseful" for his actions. He said that he did not remember telling Downer, but that he remembered telling another high-level diplomat. He also stated that he did not remember talking about these emails to anyone in the campaign.
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty last October for making a false statement to the FBI during his interview in January 2017.
