USDA nominee Clovis was Trump adviser who encouraged Russia meeting: report

Source: The Hill | October 31, 2017 | Morgan Chalfant

Sam Clovis, a controversial nominee for President Trump’s Agriculture Department, was the campaign official who encouraged George Papadopoulos to set up a meeting with Russian officials, according to The Washington Post.

Clovis, who was then the campaign co-chairman, encouraged Papadopoulos to make the trip to Russia in order to take an “off the record” meeting with government officials there, the Post reported late Monday.

Papadopoulos was thrust into the spotlight on Monday when special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed court filings indicating that Papadopoulos, a former volunteer foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents about his contacts with Russia-connected foreign nationals. Mueller is leading an investigation into the campaign’s ties to Russia.

According to those documents, Papadopoulos corresponded with an unnamed individual identified only as a “campaign supervisor” in March regarding his contacts with a foreign professor and a Russian woman about setting up a meeting between Russian officials and the campaign. The documents alleged that the intention of the meeting was to discuss U.S.-Russia relations under a prospective Trump administration. “Great work,” the supervisor is quoted as telling Papadopoulos. 

Months later, the supervisor also told Papadopoulos to make a trip to Russia “if it is feasible” in order to take a meeting with Russian officials. The meeting in question never took place. Now, the Post is identifying the unidentified campaign supervisor as Clovis. 

Clovis’ lawyer Victoria Toensing told the Post that Clovis “always vigorously opposed any Russian trip for Donald Trump and/or the campaign” and described Clovis’ statements to Papadopoulos as him “being polite.”

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