George Papadopoulos, a former aide to then-Republican candidate Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, was sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty last year to lying to federal agents investigating whether campaign members coordinated with Russia before the election. Prosecutors for Special Counsel Robert Mueller said Papadopoulos lied to agents about his contacts with Russians during the campaign "to minimize both his own role as a witness and the extent of the campaign's knowledge of his contacts," according to the government's sentencing memorandum.
Among those contacts were London-based professor Joseph Mifsud, who told him the Russians had "dirt" on Trump's Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails." Papadopoulos defended himself and contradicted White House officials in a CNN special program Saturday night, "The Mysterious case of George Papadopoulos."
In the interview with CNN reporter Jake Tapper, Papadopoulos said that he raised the prospect of Trump and his campaign officials meeting with the Russians. "The candidate (Trump) gave a nod, but did not commit either way," he said. Trump has denied knowing anything about contact with Russians and his campaign. Russia has denied US allegations that it interfered in the campaign and Trump denies campaign collusion.
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