George Papadopoulos

George Papadopoulos

¶George Papadopoulos was a foreign policy advisor to the Trump Campaign from March 2016 to early October 2016.³⁹⁴³⁹⁴ Papadopoulos met with our Office for debriefings on several occasions in the summer and fall of 2017, after he was arrested and charged in a sealed criminal complaint with making false statements in a January 2017 FBI interview about, inter alia, the timing, extent, and nature of his interactions and communications with Joseph Mifsud and two Russian nationals: Olga Polonskaya and Ivan Timofeev. Papadopoulos later pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to an information charging him with making false statements to the FBI, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a).Show full note In late April 2016, Papadopoulos was told by London-based professor Joseph Mifsud, immediately after Mifsud's return from a trip to Moscow, that the Russian government had obtained "dirt" on candidate Clinton in the form of thousands of emails. One week later, on May 6, 2016, Papadopoulos suggested to a representative of a foreign government that the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to candidate Clinton.

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¶Papadopoulos shared information about Russian "dirt" with people outside of the Campaign, and the Office investigated whether he also provided it to a Campaign official. Papadopoulos and the Campaign officials with whom he interacted told the Office that they did not recall that Papadopoulos passed them the information. Throughout the relevant period of time and for several months thereafter, Papadopoulos worked with Mifsud and two Russian nationals to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and the Russian government. That meeting never came to pass.

Origins of Campaign Work

¶In March 2016, Papadopoulos became a foreign policy advisor to the Trump Campaign.³⁹⁵³⁹⁵ A Transcript of Donald Trump's Meeting with the Washington Post Editorial Board, Washington Post (Mar. 21, 2016). As early as the summer of 2015, he had sought a role as a policy advisor to the Campaign but, in a September 30, 2015 email, he was told that the Campaign was not hiring policy advisors.³⁹⁶³⁹⁶ 7/15/15 LinkedIn Message, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (6:57 a.m.); 9/30/15 Email, Glassner to Papadopoulos (7:42:21 a.m.). In late 2015, Papadopoulos obtained a paid position on the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson.³⁹⁷³⁹⁷ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 2.

¶Although Carson remained in the presidential race until early March 2016, Papadopoulos had stopped actively working for his campaign by early February 2016.³⁹⁸³⁹⁸ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 2; 2/4/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Idris. At that time, Papadopoulos reached out to a contact at the London Centre of International Law Practice (LCILP), which billed itself as a "unique institution . . . comprising high-level professional international law practitioners, dedicated to the advancement of global legal knowledge and the practice of international law."³⁹⁹³⁹⁹ London Centre of International Law Practice, at https://www.lcilp.org/ (via web.archive.org). Papadopoulos said that he had finished his role with the Carson campaign and asked if LCILP was hiring.⁴⁰⁰⁴⁰⁰ 2/4/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Idris. In early February, Papadopoulos agreed to join LCILP and arrived in London to begin work.⁴⁰¹⁴⁰¹ 2/5/16 Email, Idris to Papadopoulos (6:11:25 p.m.); 2/6/16 Email, Idris to Papadopoulos (5:34:15 p.m.).

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¶As he was taking his position at LCILP, Papadopoulos contacted Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski via LinkedIn and emailed campaign official Michael Glassner about his interest in joining the Trump Campaign.⁴⁰²⁴⁰² 2/4/16 LinkedIn Message, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (1:28 p.m.); 2/4/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Glassner (2:10:36 p.m.). On March 2, 2016, Papadopoulos sent Glassner another message reiterating his interest.⁴⁰³⁴⁰³ 3/2/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Glassner (11:17:23 a.m.). Glassner passed along word of Papadopoulos's interest to another campaign official, Joy Lutes, who notified Papadopoulos by email that she had been told by Glassner to introduce Papadopoulos to Sam Clovis, the Trump Campaign's national co-chair and chief policy advisor.⁴⁰⁴⁴⁰⁴ 3/2/16 Email, Lutes to Papadopoulos (10:08:15 p.m.).

¶At the time of Papadopoulos's March 2 email, the media was criticizing the Trump Campaign for lack of experienced foreign policy or national security advisors within its ranks.⁴⁰⁵⁴⁰⁵ Clovis 10/3/17 302 (1 of 2), at 4. To address that issue, senior Campaign officials asked Clovis to put a foreign policy team together on short notice.⁴⁰⁶⁴⁰⁶ Clovis 10/3/17 302 (1 of 2), at 4. After receiving Papadopoulos's name from Lutes, Clovis performed a Google search on Papadopoulos, learned that he had worked at the Hudson Institute, and believed that he had credibility on energy issues.⁴⁰⁷⁴⁰⁷ [Redacted: (b) (3)] ; 3/3/16 Email, Lutes to Clovis & Papadopoulos (6:05:47 p.m.). On March 3, 2016, Clovis arranged to speak with Papadopoulos by phone to discuss Papadopoulos joining the Campaign as a foreign policy advisor, and on March 6, 2016, the two spoke.⁴⁰⁸⁴⁰⁸ 3/6/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Clovis (4:24:21 p.m.). Papadopoulos recalled that Russia was mentioned as a topic, and he understood from the conversation that Russia would be an important aspect of the Campaign's foreign policy.⁴⁰⁹⁴⁰⁹ Statement of Offense ¶ 4, United States v. George Papadopoulos, 1:17-cr-182 (D.D.C. Oct. 5, 2017), Doc. 19 ("Papadopoulos Statement of Offense"). At the end of the conversation, Clovis offered Papadopoulos a role as a foreign policy advisor to the Campaign, and Papadopoulos accepted the offer.⁴¹⁰⁴¹⁰ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 2.

Initial Russia-Related Contacts

¶Approximately a week after signing on as a foreign policy advisor, Papadopoulos traveled to Rome, Italy, as pali of his duties with LCILP.411 The pmpose of the ti·ip was to meet officials affiliated with Link Campus University, a for-profit institution headed by a fo1mer Italian government official. 412 During the visit, Papadopoulos was inti·oduced to Joseph Mifsud.

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Mifsud is a Maltese national who worked as a professor at the London Academy of Diplom acy in London, England. 413 Although Mifsud worked out ofLondon and was also affiliated with LCILP, the encounter in Rome was the first time that Papadopoulos met him.4 14 Mifsud maintained various Russian contacts while living in London, as described further below. Among his contacts was ,415 a one-time employee of the IRA, the entity that caITied out the Russian social media campaign (see ~ II, supra). In Janua1y and Febrnaiy 2016, Mifsud and [IDIQit3] discussed ~ possibly meeting in Russia. The investigation did not identi evidence of them meeting. Later, in the spring of 2016, [IDIQilifl was also in contact Uilill~Jal.lllli that was linked to an employee of tne Russian Ministry of Defense, and that account had overlapping contacts with a group of Russian milita1y­ conu-olled Facebook accounts that included accounts used to promote the DCLeaks releases in the course of the GRU's hack-and-release operations (see Volume I, Section III.B .1, supra).

According to Papadopoulos, Mifsud at first seem ed uninterested in Papadopoulos when they met in Rom e. 416 After Papadopoulos info1med Mifsud about his role in the Trnmp Campaign, however, Mifsud appear ed to tak e greater interest in Papadopoulos. 417 The two discussed Mifsud 's European and Russian contacts and had a general discussion about Russia; Mifsud also offered to inu-oduce Papadopoulos to European leaders and oth ers with contacts to the Russian government. 4 18 Papadopoulos told the Office that Mifsud's claim of substantial connections with Russian government officials interested Papadopoulos, who thought that such connections could increase his importan ce as a policy advisor to the Trnmp Campaign. 4 19

¶Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 2-3; Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ,i 5.

Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 2-3; Stephanie Kirchgaessner et al. , Joseph Mifsud: more questions than answers about mystery professor linked to Russia, The Guardian (Oct. 31, 2017) ("Link Campus University ... is headed by a fo1mer Italian interior minister named Vincenzo Scotti.").

¶Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ,i 5.

Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 3. -- , ! [Redacted: (b) (7)(E)] [Redacted: (b) (7)(E), (b) (3), (b) (7)(E)] l[Redacted: (b) (7)(E), (b) (3)] [Redacted: (b) (7)(E)] [Redacted: (b) (7)(E)]

¶Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ,i 5.

¶Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ,i 5.

Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 3; Papadopoulos 8/ 11/ 17 302, at 2. Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ,i 5.

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¶On March 17, 2016, Papadopoulos returned to London.⁴²⁰⁴²⁰ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 2. Four days later, candidate Trump publicly named him as a member of the foreign policy and national security advisory team chaired by Senator Jeff Sessions, describing Papadopoulos as "an oil and energy consultant" and an "[e]xcellent guy."⁴²¹⁴²¹ Phillip Rucker & Robert Costa, Trump Questions Need for NATO, Outlines Noninterventionist Foreign Policy, Washington Post (Mar. 21, 2016).

¶On March 24, 2016, Papadopoulos met with Mifsud in London.⁴²²⁴²² Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 3; 3/24/16 Text Messages, Mifsud & Papadopoulos. Mifsud was accompanied by a Russian female named Olga Polonskaya. Mifsud introduced Polonskaya as a former student of his who had connections to Vladimir Putin.⁴²³⁴²³ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 3. Papadopoulos understood at the time that Polonskaya may have been Putin's niece but later learned that this was not true.⁴²⁴⁴²⁴ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 3; Papadopoulos 2/10/17 302, at 2-3; Papadopoulos Internet Search History (3/24/16) (revealing late-morning and early-afternoon searches on March 24, 2016 for "putin's niece," "olga putin," and "russian president niece olga," among other terms). During the meeting, Polonskaya offered to help Papadopoulos establish contacts in Russia and stated that the Russian ambassador in London was a friend of hers.⁴²⁵⁴²⁵ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 3. Based on this interaction, Papadopoulos expected Mifsud and Polonskaya to introduce him to the Russian ambassador in London, but that did not occur.⁴²⁶⁴²⁶ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 8 n.1.

¶Following his meeting with Mifsud, Papadopoulos sent an email to members of the Trump Campaign's foreign policy advisory team. The subject line of the message was "Meeting with Russian leadership--including Putin."⁴²⁷⁴²⁷ 3/24/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Page et al. (8:48:21 a.m.). The message stated in pertinent part:

I just finished a very productive lunch with a good friend of mine, Joseph Mifsud, the director of the London Academy of Diplomacy--who introduced me to both Putin's niece and the Russian Ambassador in London--who also acts as the Deputy Foreign Minister.⁴²⁸⁴²⁸ Papadopoulos's statements to the Campaign were false. As noted above, the woman he met was not Putin's niece, he had not met the Russian Ambassador in London, and the Ambassador did not also serve as Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister.

The topic of the lunch was to arrange a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump. They are keen to host us in a "neutral" city, or directly in Moscow. They said the leadership, including Putin, is ready to meet with us and Mr. Trump should there be interest. Waiting for everyone's thoughts on moving forward with this very important issue.⁴²⁹⁴²⁹ 3/24/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Page et al. (8:48:21 a.m.).

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¶Papadopoulos ' s message came at a time when Clovis perceived a shift in the Campaign's approach toward Russia-from one of engaging with Russia throu h the NATO framework and takin a strnn stance on Russian a ression in Ukraine

¶Clovis 's response to Papadopoulos, however, did not reflect that shift. Replying to Papadopoulos and the other members of the foreign policy adviso1y team copied on the initial email, Clovis wrote:

This is most infonnative. Let me work it through the campaign. No commitments until we see how this plays out. My thought is that we probably should not go fo1ward with any meetings with the Russians until we have had occasion to sit with our NATO allies, especially France, Gennany and Great Britain. We need to reassure our allies that we are not going to advan ce anything with Russia until we have eve1yone on the same page.

¶More thoughts later today. Great work. 43 1

March 31 Foreign Policy Team Meeting

¶The Campaign held a meeting of the foreign policy adviso1y team with Senator Sessions and candidate Tnnnp approximately one week later, on March 31 , 2016, in Washington, D.C. 432 The meeting- which was intended to generate press coverage for the Campaign⁴³³⁴³³ Sessions 1/ 17/l 8 302, at 16-17.- took place at the Tnnnp International Hotel.⁴³⁴⁴³⁴ Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 4. Papadopoulos flew to Washington for the event. At the meeting, Senator Sessions sat at one end of an oval table, while Tnnnp sat at the other. As reflected in the photograph below (which was posted to Tmmp's Instagram account), Papadopoulos sat between the two, two seats to Sessions's left:

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¶March 31, 2016 Meeting of Foreign Policy Team, with Papadopoulos (Fourth from Right of Candidate Trump)

¶During the meeting, each of the newly announced foreign policy advisors introduced themselves and briefly described their areas of experience or expertise.⁴³⁵⁴³⁵ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 4. Papadopoulos spoke about his previous work in the energy sector and then brought up a potential meeting with Russian officials.⁴³⁶⁴³⁶ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 4. Specifically, Papadopoulos told the group that he had learned through his contacts in London that Putin wanted to meet with candidate Trump and that these connections could help arrange that meeting.⁴³⁷⁴³⁷ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 9; see Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 14; Carafano 9/12/17 302, at 2; Hoskins 9/14/17 302, at 1.

¶Trump and Sessions both reacted to Papadopoulos's statement. Papadopoulos and Campaign advisor J.D. Gordon—who told investigators in an interview that he had a "crystal clear" recollection of the meeting—have stated that Trump was interested in and receptive to the idea of a meeting with Putin.⁴³⁸⁴³⁸ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 4-5; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 4-5. Papadopoulos understood Sessions to be similarly supportive of his efforts to arrange a meeting.⁴³⁹⁴³⁹ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 5; Papadopoulos 8/11/17 302, at 3. Gordon and two other attendees, however, recall that Sessions generally opposed the proposal, though they differ in their accounts of the concerns he voiced or the strength of the opposition he expressed.⁴⁴⁰⁴⁴⁰ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 17; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 5; Hoskins 9/14/17 302, at 1; Carafano 9/12/17 302, at 2.

George Papadopoulos Learns That Russia Has "Dirt" in the Form of Clinton Emails

¶Whatever Sessions's precise words at the March 31 meeting, Papadopoulos did not understand Sessions or anyone else in the Trump Campaign to have directed that he refrain from making further efforts to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and the Russian government. To the contrary, Papadopoulos told the Office that he understood the Campaign to be supportive of his efforts to arrange such a meeting.⁴⁴¹⁴⁴¹ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 4-5; Papadopoulos 8/11/17 302, at 3; Papadopoulos 9/20/17 302, at 2. Accordingly, when he returned to London, Papadopoulos resumed those efforts.⁴⁴²⁴⁴² Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 10.

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¶Throughout April 2016, Papadopoulos continued to correspond with, meet with, and seek Russia contacts through Mifsud and, at times, Polonskaya.⁴⁴³⁴⁴³ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶¶ 10-15. For example, within a week of her initial March 24 meeting with him, Polonskaya attempted to send Papadopoulos a text message— which email exchanges show to have been drafted or edited by Mifsud—addressing Papadopoulos's "wish to engage with the Russian Federation."⁴⁴⁴⁴⁴⁴ 3/29/16 Emails, Mifsud to Polonskaya (3:39 a.m. and 5:36 a.m.). When Papadopoulos learned from Mifsud that Polonskaya had tried to message him, he sent her an email seeking another meeting.⁴⁴⁵⁴⁴⁵ 4/10/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Polonskaya (2:45:59 p.m.). Polonskaya responded the next day that she was "back in St. Petersburg" but "would be very pleased to support [Papadopoulos's] initiatives between our two countries" and "to meet [him] again."⁴⁴⁶⁴⁴⁶ 4/11/16 Email, Polonskaya to Papadopoulos (3:11:24 a.m.). Papadopoulos stated in reply that he thought "a good step" would be to introduce him to "the Russian Ambassador in London," and that he would like to talk to the ambassador, "or anyone else you recommend, about a potential foreign policy trip to Russia."⁴⁴⁷⁴⁴⁷ 4/11/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Polonskaya (9:21:56 a.m.).

¶Mifsud, who had been copied on the email exchanges, replied on the morning of April 11, 2016. He wrote, "This is already been agreed. I am flying to Moscow on the 18th for a Valdai meeting, plus other meetings at the Duma. We will talk tomorrow."⁴⁴⁸⁴⁴⁸ 4/11/16 Email, Mifsud to Papadopoulos (11:43:53). The two bodies referenced by Mifsud are part of or associated with the Russian government: the Duma is a Russian legislative assembly,⁴⁴⁹⁴⁴⁹ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 10(c). while "Valdai" refers to the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based group that "is close to Russia's foreign-policy establishment."⁴⁵⁰⁴⁵⁰ Anton Troianovski, Putin Ally Warns of Arms Race as Russia Considers Response to U.S. Nuclear Stance, Washington Post (Feb. 10, 2018). Papadopoulos thanked Mifsud and said that he would see him "tomorrow."⁴⁵¹⁴⁵¹ 4/11/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Mifsud (11:51:53 a.m.). For her part, Polonskaya responded that she had "already alerted my personal links to our conversation and your request," that "we are all very excited the possibility of a good relationship with Mr. Trump," and that "[t]he Russian Federation would love to welcome him once his candidature would be officially announced."⁴⁵²⁴⁵² 4/12/16 Email, Polonskaya to Papadopoulos (4:47:06 a.m.).

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¶Papadopoulos's and Mifsud's mentions of seeing each other "tomorrow" referenced a meeting that the two had scheduled for the next morning, April 12, 2016, at the Andaz Hotel in London. Papadopoulos acknowledged the meeting during interviews with the Office,⁴⁵³⁴⁵³ Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 7. and records from Papadopoulos's UK cellphone and his internet-search history all indicate that the meeting took place.⁴⁵⁴⁴⁵⁴ 4/12/16 Email, Mifsud to Papadopoulos (5:44:39 a.m.) (forwarding Libya-related document); 4/12/16 Email, Mifsud to Papadopoulos & Obaid (10:28:20 a.m.); Papadopoulos Internet Search History (Apr. 11, 2016 10:56:49 p.m.) (search for "andaz hotel liverpool street"); 4/12/16 Text Messages, Mifsud & Papadopoulos.

¶Following the meeting, Mifsud traveled as planned to Moscow.⁴⁵⁵⁴⁵⁵ See, e.g., 4/18/16 Email, Mifsud to Papadopoulos (8:04:54 a.m.). On April 18, 2016, while in Russia, Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos over email to Ivan Timofeev, a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).⁴⁵⁶⁴⁵⁶ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 5. Mifsud had described Timofeev as having connections with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),⁴⁵⁷⁴⁵⁷ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 11. the executive entity in Russia responsible for Russian foreign relations.⁴⁵⁸⁴⁵⁸ During the campaign period, Papadopoulos connected over LinkedIn with several MFA- affiliated individuals in addition to Timofeev. On April 25, 2016, he connected with Dmitry Andreyko, publicly identified as a First Secretary at the Russian Embassy in Ireland. In July 2016, he connected with Yuriy Melnik, the spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Washington and with Alexey Krasilnikov, publicly identified as a counselor with the MFA. And on September 16, 2016, he connected with Sergei Nalobin, also identified as an MFA official. See Papadopoulos LinkedIn Connections (obtained pursuant to SW 17-mj-460).Show full note Over the next several weeks, Papadopoulos and Timofeev had multiple conversations over Skype and email about setting "the groundwork" for a "potential" meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials.⁴⁵⁹⁴⁵⁹ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 11. Papadopoulos told the Office that, on one Skype call, he believed that his conversation with Timofeev was being monitored or supervised by an unknown third party, because Timofeev spoke in an official manner and Papadopoulos heard odd noises on the line.⁴⁶⁰⁴⁶⁰ Papadopoulos 8/10/17 302, at 5; Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 10. Timofeev also told Papadopoulos in an April 25, 2016 email that he had just spoken "to Igor Ivanov[,] the President of RIAC and former Foreign Minister of Russia," and conveyed Ivanov's advice about how best to arrange a "Moscow visit."⁴⁶¹⁴⁶¹ 4/25/16 Email, Timofeev to Papadopoulos (8:16:35 a.m.).

¶After a stop in Rome, Mifsud returned to England on April 25, 2016.⁴⁶²⁴⁶² 4/22/16 Email, Mifsud to Papadopoulos (12:41:01 a.m.). The next day, Papadopoulos met Mifsud for breakfast at the Andaz Hotel (the same location as their last meeting).⁴⁶³⁴⁶³ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 14; 4/25/16 Text Messages, Mifsud & Papadopoulos. During that meeting, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that he had met with high-level Russian government officials during his recent trip to Moscow. Mifsud also said that, on the trip, he learned that the Russians had obtained "dirt" on candidate Hillary Clinton. As Papadopoulos later stated to the FBI, Mifsud said that the "dirt" was in the form of "emails of Clinton," and that they "have thousands of emails."⁴⁶⁴⁴⁶⁴ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 14. On May 6, 2016, 10 days after that meeting with Mifsud, Papadopoulos suggested to a representative of a foreign government that the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information that would be damaging to Hillary Clinton.⁴⁶⁵⁴⁶⁵ This information is contained in the FBI case-opening document and related materials. The information is law-enforcement sensitive (LES) and must be treated accordingly in any external dissemination. The foreign government conveyed this information to the U.S. government on July 26, 2016, a few days after WikiLeaks's release of Clinton-related emails. The FBI opened its investigation of potential coordination between Russia and the Trump Campaign a few days later based on the information.Show full note

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Russia-Related Communications With The Campaign

¶While he was discussing with his foreign contacts a potential meeting of campaign officials with Russian government officials, Papadopoulos kept campaign officials apprised of his efforts. On April 25, 2016, the day before Mifsud told Papadopoulos about the emails, Papadopoulos wrote to senior policy advisor Stephen Miller that "[t]he Russian government has an open invitation by Putin for Mr. Trump to meet him when he is ready," and that "[t]he advantage of being in London is that these governments tend to speak a bit more openly in 'neutral' cities."⁴⁶⁶⁴⁶⁶ 4/25/16 Email, Papadopoulos to S. Miller (8:12:44 p.m.). On April 27, 2016, after his meeting with Mifsud, Papadopoulos wrote a second message to Miller stating that "some interesting messages [were] coming in from Moscow about a trip when the time is right."⁴⁶⁷⁴⁶⁷ 4/27/16 Email, Papadopoulos to S. Miller (6:55:58 p.m.). The same day, Papadopoulos sent a similar email to campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, telling Lewandowski that Papadopoulos had "been receiving a lot of calls over the last month about Putin wanting to host [Trump] and the team when the time is right."⁴⁶⁸⁴⁶⁸ 4/27/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (7:15:14 p.m.).

¶Papadopoulos's Russia-related communications with Campaign officials continued throughout the spring and summer of 2016. On May 4, 2016, he forwarded to Lewandowski an email from Timofeev raising the possibility of a meeting in Moscow, asking Lewandowski whether that was "something we want to move forward with."⁴⁶⁹⁴⁶⁹ 5/4/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (8:14:49 a.m.). The next day, Papadopoulos forwarded the same Timofeev email to Sam Clovis, adding to the top of the email "Russia update."⁴⁷⁰⁴⁷⁰ 5/5/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Clovis (7:15:21 p.m.). He included the same email in a May 21, 2016 message to senior Campaign official Paul Manafort, under the subject line "Request from Russia to meet Mr. Trump," stating that "Russia has been eager to meet Mr. Trump for quite sometime and have been reaching out to me to discuss."⁴⁷¹⁴⁷¹ 5/21/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Manafort (2:30:14 p.m.). Manafort forwarded the message to another Campaign official, without including Papadopoulos, and stated: "Let[']s discuss. We need someone to communicate that [Trump] is not doing these trips. It should be someone low level in the Campaign so as not to send any signal."⁴⁷²⁴⁷² Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 19 n.2.

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¶On June 1, 2016, Papadopoulos replied to an earlier email chain with Lewandowski about a Russia visit, asking if Lewandowski "want[ed] to have a call about this topic" and whether "we were following up with it."⁴⁷³⁴⁷³ 6/1/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (3:08:18 p.m.). After Lewandowski told Papadopoulos to "connect with" Clovis because he was "running point," Papadopoulos emailed Clovis that "the Russian MFA" was asking him "if Mr. Trump is interested in visiting Russia at some point."⁴⁷⁴⁴⁷⁴ 6/1/16 Email, Lewandowski to Papadopoulos (3:20:03 p.m.); 6/1/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Clovis (3:29:14 p.m.). Papadopoulos wrote in an email that he "[w]anted to pass this info along to you for you to decide what's best to do with it and what message I should send (or to ignore)."⁴⁷⁵⁴⁷⁵ 6/1/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Clovis (3:29:14 p.m.). Papadopoulos's email coincided in time with another message to Clovis suggesting a Trump-Putin meeting. First, on May 15, 2016, David Klein— a distant relative of then-Trump Organization lawyer Jason Greenblatt—emailed Clovis about a potential Campaign meeting with Berel Lazar, the Chief Rabbi of Russia. The email stated that Klein had contacted Lazar in February about a possible Trump-Putin meeting and that Lazar was "a very close confidante of Putin." DJTFP00011547 (5/15/16 Email, Klein to Clovis (5:45:24 p.m.)). The investigation did not find evidence that Clovis responded to Klein's email or that any further contacts of significance came out of Klein's subsequent meeting with Greenblatt and Rabbi Lazar at Trump Tower. Klein 8/30/18 302, at 2.Show full note

¶After several email and Skype exchanges with Timofeev,⁴⁷⁶⁴⁷⁶ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 21(a). Papadopoulos sent one more email to Lewandowski on June 19, 2016, Lewandowski's last day as campaign manager.⁴⁷⁷⁴⁷⁷ [Redacted: (b) (3)] The email stated that "[t]he Russian ministry of foreign affairs" had contacted him and asked whether, if Mr. Trump could not travel to Russia, a campaign representative such as Papadopoulos could attend meetings.⁴⁷⁸⁴⁷⁸ 6/19/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (1:11:11 p.m.). Papadopoulos told Lewandowski that he was "willing to make the trip off the record if it's in the interest of Mr. Trump and the campaign to meet specific people."⁴⁷⁹⁴⁷⁹ 6/19/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Lewandowski (1:11:11 p.m.).

¶Following Lewandowski's departure from the Campaign, Papadopoulos communicated with Clovis and Walid Phares, another member of the foreign policy advisory team, about an offthe-record meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials or with Papadopoulos's other Russia connections, Mifsud and Timofeev.⁴⁸⁰⁴⁸⁰ Papadopoulos Statement of Offense ¶ 21; 7/14/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Timofeev (11:57:24 p.m.); 7/15/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Mifsud; 7/27/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Mifsud (2:14:18 p.m.). Papadopoulos also interacted directly with Clovis and Phares in connection with the summit of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group on Counterterrorism (TAG), a group for which Phares was co-secretary general.⁴⁸¹⁴⁸¹ Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 16-17; 9th TAG Summit in Washington DC, Transatlantic Parliament Group on Counter Terrorism. On July 16, 2016, Papadopoulos attended the TAG summit in Washington, D.C., where he sat next to Clovis (as reflected in the photograph below).⁴⁸²⁴⁸² 9th TAG Summit in Washington DC, Transatlantic Parliament Group on Counter Terrorism.

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¶George Papadopoulos (far right) and Sam Clovis (second from right)

¶Although Clovis claimed to have no recollection of attending the TAG summit,⁴⁸³⁴⁸³ [Redacted: (b) (3)] Papadopoulos remembered discussing Russia and a foreign policy trip with Clovis and Phares during the event.⁴⁸⁴⁴⁸⁴ Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 16-17. Papadopoulos's recollection is consistent with emails sent before and after the TAG summit. The pre-summit messages included a July 11, 2016 email in which Phares suggested meeting Papadopoulos the day after the summit to chat,⁴⁸⁵⁴⁸⁵ 7/11/16 Email, Phares to Papadopoulos. and a July 12 message in the same chain in which Phares advised Papadopoulos that other summit attendees "are very nervous about Russia. So be aware."⁴⁸⁶⁴⁸⁶ 7/12/16 Email, Phares to Papadopoulos (14:52:29). Ten days after the summit, Papadopoulos sent an email to Mifsud listing Phares and Clovis as other "participants" in a potential meeting at the London Academy of Diplomacy.⁴⁸⁷⁴⁸⁷ 7/27/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Mifsud (14:14:18).

¶Finally, Papadopoulos's recollection is also consistent with handwritten notes from a jomnal that he kept at the time.⁴⁸⁸⁴⁸⁸ Papadopoulos 9/20/17 302, at 3. Those notes, which are reprinted in part below, appear to refer to potential September 2016 meetings in London with representatives of the "office of Putin," and suggest that Phares, Clovis, and Papadopoulos ("Walid/Sam me") would attend without the official backing of the Campaign ("no official letter/no message from Trnmp").⁴⁸⁹⁴⁸⁹ Papadopoulos declined to assist in de-Ciphering his notes, telling investigators that he could not read his own handwiiting from the journal. Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 21. Tue notes, however, appear to read as listed in the column to the left of the image above. September: 7efk,-?~ ~ ~ Have an explorato1y meeting ,H .-< ~ .--tiff- h /luJ..Yj # ~ te or lose. In September - if allowed they will blast Mr. Trnmp. {o ~ . ff'f fq?J, ,.,i.W - ,.._ T{- ,-. [A_,,_/

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¶We want the meeting in t--:; 11.:f/ &l•1/-- 11r. 1r.;,v•{

¶London/England

~ 'vw t...,-J.- k ~ w...<:»/ 5-t..vV Walid/Sam me (Y. l.wt;Jc-/ '½h,J ~ No official letter/no message

¶from Tnnnp 7J; o.fi;r ,-r.1 l-et-/..-v/ fl

'ry; f'\x6t,,..,._,. ~ \ ~ 'I Tuey are talking to us. -It is a lot of1isk. -Office of Putin. -Explore: we are a campaign.

off Israel! EGYPT Willingness to meet the FM sp

¶with Walid/Sam

-FM coming -Useful to have a session with

¶him.

¶Later communications indicate that Clovis detennined that he (Clovis) could not travel. On August 15, 2016, Papadopoulos emailed Clovis that he had received requests from multiple foreign governments, "even Russia[] ," for "closed door workshops/consultations abroad," and asked whether there was still interest for Clovis, Phares, and Papadopoulos "to go on that trip."⁴⁹⁰⁴⁹⁰ 8/15/16 Email, Papadopoulos to Clovis (1 1:59:07 a.m.). Clovis copied Phares on his response, which said that he could not "travel before the election" but that he "would encomage [Papadopoulos] and Walid to make th e trips, if it is feasible."⁴⁹¹⁴⁹¹ 8/15/16 Email, Clovis to Papadopoulos (12:01 :45 p.m.).

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¶Papadopoulos was dismissed from the Tmmp Campaign in early October 2016, after an interview he gave to the Russian news agency Inte1fax generated adverse publicity.⁴⁹²⁴⁹² George Papadopoulos: Sanctions Have Done Little More Than to Tum Russia Towards China, Inte1fax (Sept. 30, 2016).

Trump Campaign Knowledge of "Dirt"

¶Papadopoulos admitted telling at least one individual outside of the Campaign­ specifically, the then-Greek foreign minister -about Russia's obtaining Clinton-related emails.⁴⁹³⁴⁹³ Papadopoulos 9/19/ 17 302, at 14-15; Def. Sent. Mem ., United States v. George Papadopoulos, l:17-cr-182 (D.D.C. Aug. 31 , 2018), Doc. 45. In addition, a different foreign government infon ned the FBI that, 10 days after meeting with Mifsud in late April 2016, Papadopoulos suggested that the Tnnnp Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of info1mation that would be damaging to Hillaiy Clinton .494 (This conversation occmTed after the GRU speai-phished Clinton Campaign chaiiman John Podesta and stole his emails, and the GRU hacked into the DCCC and DNC, see Volume I, Sections III.A & III.B, supra.) Such disclosm es raised questions about whether Papadopoulos info1m ed any Tnnnp Campaign official about the emails.

¶When interviewed, Papadopoulos and the Campaign officials who interacted with him told the Office that they could not recall Papadopoulos's sharing the info1mation that Russia had obtained "dni" on candidate Clinton in the fo1m of emails or that Russia could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of info1mation about Clinton. Papadopoulos stated that he could not clearly recall having told anyone on the Campaign an d wavered about wheth er he accm ately remembered an incident in which Clovis had been upset after hearing Papadopoulos tell Clovis that Papadopoulos thought "they have her emails."⁴⁹⁵⁴⁹⁵ Papadopoulos 8/ 10/ 17 302, at 5; Papadopoulos 8/ 11/17 302, at 5; Papadopoulos 9/20/ 17 302, at 2. The Campaign officials who interacted or con esponded with Papadopoulos have similarly stated, with vaiying degrees of ce1iainty, that he did not tell them . Senior policy advisor Stephen Miller, for example, did not remember hearing anything from Papadopoulos or Clovis about Russia having emails of or di1i on candidate Clinton.⁴⁹⁶⁴⁹⁶ S. Miller 12/ 14/ 17 302, at 10. 497 [Redacted: (b) (3)] 498 [Redacted: (b) (3)] Clovis stated that he did not recall anyone, including Papadopoulos, having given him non-public information that a forei n overnment mi ht be in ossession of material <lama in to Hillai Clinton .497

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¶No documentaiy evidence, and nothing in the email accounts or other commun1cat10ns ac1 1ties reviewed by the Office, shows that Papadopoulos shai·ed this infonnation with the Cainpaign.

Additional George Papadopoulos Contact

¶The Office investigated another Russia-related contact with Papadopoulos. The Office was not folly able to explore the contact because the individual at issue-Sergei Millian-remained out of the countiy since the inception of om investigation and declined to meet with members of the Office despite om repeated effo1is to obtain an interview.

¶Papadopoulos first connected with Millian via Linked.In on July 15, 2016, sho1ily after Papadopoulos had attended the TAG Summit with Clovis.⁵⁰⁰⁵⁰⁰ 7/ 15/ 16 Linkedln Message, Millian to Papadopoulos. Millian, an American citizen who is a native of Belaius, inti·oduced himself"as president of [the] New York-based Russian American Chamber of Commerce," and claimed that through that position he had "insider knowledge and direct access to the top hierai·chy in Russian politics." 501 Papadopoulos asked Timofeev whether he had heai·d ofMillian. 502 Although Timofeev said no,503 Papadopoulos met Millian in New York City.⁵⁰⁴⁵⁰⁴ 7/ 16/ 16 Text Messages, Papadopoulos & Millian (7:55 :43 p.m.). sos 7/30/ 16 Text Messages, Papadopoulos & Millian (5:38 & 6:05 p.m.); 7/31/16 Text Messages, Millian & Papadopoulos (3:48 & 4:18 p.m.); 8/ 1/ 16 Text Message, Millian to Papadopoulos (8:19 p.m.). The meetings took place on July 30 and August 1, 2016. 505 Afte1wai·ds, Millian invited Papadopoulos to attend-and potentially speak at- two international energy conferences, including one that was to be held in Moscow in September 2016.⁵⁰⁶⁵⁰⁶ 8/2/16 Text Messages, Millian & Papadopoulos (3:04 & 3:05 p.m.); 8/3/ 16 FacebookMessages, Papadopoulos & Millian (4:07:37 a.m. & 1:11:58 p.m.). Papadopoulos ultimately did not attend either conference.

¶On July 31 , 2016, following his first in-person meeting with Millian, Papadopoulos emailed Trnmp Campaign official Bo Denysyk to say that he had been contacted "by some leaders of Russian-American voters here in the US about their interest in voting for Mr. Tnnnp," and to ask whether he should "put you in touch with their group (US-Russia chamber of commerce)."⁵⁰⁷⁵⁰⁷ 7/31/ 16 Email, Papadopoulos to Denysyk (12:29:59 p.m.). Denysyk thanked Papadopoulos "for taking the initiative," but asked him to "hold off with outreach to Russian-Americans" because "too many articles" had already portrayed the Campaign, then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and candidate Trump as "being pro-Russian."⁵⁰⁸⁵⁰⁸ 7/31/16 Email, Denysyk to Papadopoulos (21:54:52).

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¶On August 23, 2016, Millian sent a Facebook message to Papadopoulos promising that he would "share with you a disruptive technology that might be instrumental in your political work for the campaign."⁵⁰⁹⁵⁰⁹ 8/23/16 Facebook Message, Millian to Papadopoulos (2:55:36 a.m.). Papadopoulos claimed to have no recollection of this matter.⁵¹⁰⁵¹⁰ Papadopoulos 9/20/17 302, at 2.

¶On November 9, 2016, shortly after the election, Papadopoulos arranged to meet Millian in Chicago to discuss business opportunities, including potential work with Russian "billionaires who are not under sanctions."⁵¹¹⁵¹¹ 11/10/16 Facebook Message, Millian to Papadopoulos (9:35:05 p.m.). The meeting took place on November 14, 2016, at the Trump Hotel and Tower in Chicago.⁵¹²⁵¹² 11/14/16 Facebook Message, Millian to Papadopoulos (1:32:11 a.m.). According to Papadopoulos, the two men discussed partnering on business deals, but Papadopoulos perceived that Millian's attitude toward him changed when Papadopoulos stated that he was only pursuing private-sector opportunities and was not interested in a job in the Administration.⁵¹³⁵¹³ Papadopoulos 9/19/17 302, at 19. The two remained in contact, however, and had extended online discussions about possible business opportunities in Russia.⁵¹⁴⁵¹⁴ E.g., 11/29/16 Facebook Messages, Papadopoulos & Millian (5:09 - 5:11 p.m.); 12/7/16 Facebook Message, Millian to Papadopoulos (5:10:54 p.m.). The two also arranged to meet at a Washington, D.C. bar when both attended Trump's inauguration in late January 2017.⁵¹⁵⁵¹⁵ 1/20/17 Facebook Messages, Papadopoulos & Millian (4:37-4:39 a.m.).