Almost lost in all the news yesterday, largely because it was filed very, very late last night, and despite the best efforts of his handler, George Papadopoulos’s attorneys submitted their Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum to Judge Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. In the memo, Papadopoulos, speaking through his attorneys, implicated both the President and Attorney General Sessions in approving his proposal to set up a meeting between the President and Putin during the election in 2016. Moreover, this same statement provides another assertion that Attorney General Sessions committed perjury during his testimony to Congress. Here’s the relevant passage (emphasis mine):
Returning to Washington D.C., twenty-eight-year-old George witnessed his career skyrocketing to unimaginable heights. On March 31, 2016, he joined Mr. Trump, Senator Jeff Sessions, and other campaign officials for a “National Security Meeting” at the Trump Hotel. George’s photograph at this meeting flashed around the world via Twitter. Eager to show his value to the campaign, George announced at the meeting that he had connections that could facilitate a foreign policy meeting between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 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.
In their conclusion, Papadopoulos’s attorneys leave the following tantalizing statement (emphasis mine):
George Papadopoulos is now a convicted felon. When it came time to make a good decision he made a bad one. His arrest and prosecution served as notice to all involved that this was a serious investigation. He was the first domino, and many have fallen in behind. Despite the gravity of his offense, it is important to remember what Special Counsel said at George’s plea of guilty: he was just a small part of a large-scale investigation.
It is also important to remember that Papadopolous’s attorneys are struggling to dig their client out of a hole of his and his handler’s own making. Papadopolous didn’t really help the Special Counsel’s investigation. Rather, he lied to the FBI about the whereabouts of Joseph Misfud, which prevented the FBI from taking him into custody when he was in the US. As a result, Mifsud was able to successfully leave the US, was never questioned by the FBI or the Special Counsel’s investigators, and is now missing.
Open thread!