President Trump mocked the light sentence handed out to George Papadopoulos on Friday as proof there was ‘no collusion’ with Russia, heralding the news ‘a great day for America’.
But his comments came shortly before an interview aired on CNN in which his former aide admitted he ‘can’t guarantee’ he never told anyone on the Trump campaign that Russian officials had damaging emails on Hillary Clinton.
Papadopoulos told the network he did not remember sharing the information with anyone on the campaign, before adding: ‘I might have, but I have no recollection of doing so. I can’t guarantee.’
George Papadopoulos admitted he ‘can’t guarantee’ never having told anyone on the Trump campaign that the Russians had damaging emails on Hillary Clinton
Papadopoulos, the first campaign aide sentenced in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into alleged collusion, received 14 days in prison and a $9500 fine for lying to the FBI, well short of the six months pursued by the prosecution.
According to a sweeping indictment this summer, Russian intelligence had stolen emails from Clinton’s campaign and other Democratic groups by April 2016, the same month Papadopoulos was told by Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud that Russians had told him they had ‘dirt’ on Clinton in the form of ‘thousands of emails’.
Speaking to Jake Tapper for an interview recorded before his guilty plea, but airing on Friday, Papadopoulos refused to rule out the possibility he ever informed the Trump team that he knew Russia held the emails.
‘As far as I remember, I absolutely did not share this information with anyone on the campaign,’ Papadopoulos said, adding, ‘I might have, but I have no recollection of doing so. I can’t guarantee.
‘All I can say is, my memory is telling me that I never shared it with anyone on the campaign.’
He also repeated his claim that then senator Jeff Sessions was supportive about the idea of a meeting between candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin – contradicting the now Attorney General’s testimony to Congress.
Papadopoulos said Trump gave ‘a sort of a nod’ when he raised the idea of the meeting, but that Sessions was ‘actually enthusiastic’ about it taking place. Sessions told a Congress hearing he had ‘pushed back’ against the idea.
![The comments were made in a TV interview made shortly after Trump heralded his short 14-day sentence as evidence his trial had not uncovered any collusion with Russia](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/08/03/4FDC423F00000578-6145183-image-a-73_1536372561264.jpg)
The comments were made in a TV interview made shortly after Trump heralded his short 14-day sentence as evidence his trial had not uncovered any collusion with Russia
![President Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Fargo, North Dakota, on Friday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/08/03/4FD7FDAA00000578-6145183-image-a-72_1536372530211.jpg)
President Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Fargo, North Dakota, on Friday
In statements made after his sentencing, Papadopoulos said he was ‘deeply embarrassed and ashamed’ for having lied to FBI agents during an interview last year and acknowledged that his actions could have hindered their work.
‘I made a dreadful mistake, but I am a good man who is eager for redemption,’ Papadopoulos said on Friday. Earlier on Friday Trump, who dismisses the Mueller probe as a ‘witch hunt’, had denied knowing him.
Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign, has been a central figure in the Russia investigation dating back before Mueller’s May 2017 appointment.
![Papadopoulos also repeated his claim that then senator Jeff Sessions (pictured in Alabama on Friday) was supportive about the idea of a meeting between candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/08/03/4FDAF40300000578-6145183-image-a-78_1536372608185.jpg)
Papadopoulos also repeated his claim that then senator Jeff Sessions (pictured in Alabama on Friday) was supportive about the idea of a meeting between candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
He was the first to plead guilty in Mueller’s probe while his case was also the first to detail a member of the Trump campaign having knowledge of Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election while it was ongoing.
US District Judge Randolph Moss said that Papadopoulos’ deception was ‘not a noble lie’ and that he had lied because he wanted a job in the Trump administration and did not want to jeopardise that possibility by being tied to the Russia investigation.
‘In some ways it constitutes a calculated exercise of self interest over the national interest,’ the judge said.
Memos authored by House Republicans and Democrats, now declassified, also show that information about Papadopoulos’ contacts with Russian intermediaries triggered the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation in July 2016 into potential co-ordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.
That probe was later taken over by Mueller.
Papadopoulos used his connections with Professor Mifsud, a Maltese, and other Russian nationals in an attempt to broker a meeting between then-candidate Trump and Putin.
![Papadopoulos leaves US District Court in Washington, DC, on Friday after receiving his sentence](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/08/03/4FDB455800000578-6145183-image-a-74_1536372570974.jpg)
Papadopoulos leaves US District Court in Washington, DC, on Friday after receiving his sentence
He admitted last year to lying to the FBI about those contacts. In court papers filed ahead of the sentencing, prosecutors say those lies caused irreparable harm to the investigation during its early months.
Prosecutors wrote that those false statements, made during a January 2017 interview with federal investigators, caused the FBI to miss an opportunity to interview Mifsud while he was in the United States.
‘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,’ they wrote, noting that Mr Mifsud left the US in February 2017 and has not returned.