Trump campaign officials encouraged Papadopoulos to contact Russians

George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to President Trump, communicated with top Trump campaign officials like Stephen Bannon and Michael Flynn about his foreign outreach efforts and received encouragement from a senior-level official to make contact with Russians, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts last year, was reportedly urged to accept an interview with a Russian news agency by the campaign’s deputy communications director, Bryan Lanza. "You should do it,” Lanza wrote, per an email that was "described" to the Post. The message further touted the potential gains to be had from a U.S. “partnership with Russia.”

Trump and his staffers have sought to downplay the role that Papadopoulos played in the campaign, calling him a "low-level volunteer" and merely a "coffee boy." But emails revealed to the Post show that Bannon, then the campaign CEO, and Flynn, then a top campaign adviser, were frequently in touch with Papadopoulos to discuss possible meetings between Trump and foreign officials.

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Papadopoulos is cooperating in the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference and whether the Trump campaign was involved. Read more at The Washington Post.