A former campaign aide accused of lying to the FBI said that then-candidate Donald Trump “nodded with approval” at his suggestion of setting up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
George Papadopoulos’ lawyers argued in new probation filings that President Trump was open to his suggestions about meeting with the foreign leader in March of 2016, The Associated Press reported Saturday.
Papadopoulos allegedly volunteered to set up a meeting between Trump and Putin during a gathering with Trump’s foreign policy advisers, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who was a GOP senator at the time.
“While some in the room rebuffed George’s offer, Mr. Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr. Sessions who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it,” defense lawyers wrote.
His lawyers argued in a 16-page defense memo that Papadopoulos was “eager to show his value to the campaign” and should receive leniency.
The aide was hired to the campaign in March 2016 without any previous knowledge of Russian or U.S. diplomacy, AP noted.
Papadopoulos lied to FBI agents not to hurt special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation but to “save his professional aspirations and preserve a perhaps misguided loyalty to his master,” his defense lawyers wrote, according to the AP.
They acknowledge that he “lied, minimized and committed material facts.”
However, due to his loyalty to Trump and his desire to play a pivotal role in his new administration, “he hoisted himself upon his own petard,” his lawyers argued.
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty last year to lying to FBI agents about his communications with Russians and a London professor and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
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Papadopoulos: Candidate Trump "nodded with approval" when I offered to arrange a meeting between him and Putin https://t.co/LKeZ85f7tL pic.twitter.com/WIJ4cBazZk
— The Hill (@thehill) September 1, 2018
From late last night in a court filing: George Papadopoulos says Sessions supported Putin-Trump campaign meeting, contradicting the Attorney General’s sworn testimony to Congress https://t.co/xoFHtAvSqW
— Katelyn Polantz (@kpolantz) September 1, 2018
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