One of the biggest lies was about when he met with Professor Mifshud. He kept telling the FBI it was before he was appointed Trump's foreign policy advisor. He now admits that it was on August 26, 2016 that Professor Mifsud told him individuals in Moscow possessed “dirt” on candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails.”
The Government says in its sentencing memo that the lie hindered its ability to interview Mifsud before he left the U.S.
The defendant’s lies to the FBI in January 2017 impeded the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Most immediately, those statements substantially hindered investigators’ ability to effectively question the Professor when the FBI located him in Washington, D.C. approximately two weeks after the defendant’s January 27, 2017 interview. The defendant’s lies undermined investigators’ ability to challenge the Professor or potentially detain or arrest him while he was still in the United States. The government understands that the Professor left the United States on February 11, 2017 and he has not returned to the United States since then.
George will be giving interviews tonight. His wife has been all over the airwaves for months pleading his case and asking for legal help.The Government in its sentencing memorandum refutes the claims she made on TV in several footnotes.
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his meetings with people he thought could set up a meeting between Trump and Putin. The charge he pleaded guilty to is, with the specific lies, is here.
He did not get a cooperation deal (because he lied). His guidelines are 0 to 6 months. The Government is asking for some jail time in that range. Papadopoulos is asking for probation Instanter (already served).
Trump, of course, says he didn't even know him. Trump makes him out be a low-level campaign volunteer for a short period of time. Maybe he forgets he was the one who announced Papadopoulos had been appointed as a foreign policy advisor to his Campaign.
According to the defense sentencing memo, when George proposed setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin, Trump and Sessions nodded approvingly. That contradicts Sessions' testimony.
The Government says in its memo it does not know for sure what motivated Papadopoulus to lie, but it suspects it was because he was hoping for "a high-level position with the National Security Council, the State Department, or the Energy Department."
***********
So Papadopoulos gets 14 days for lying to the FBI. Martha Stewart must be shaking her head wondering why she got 5 months in jail for lying about a single personal stock trade.
