George Papadopoulos gets two weeks in prison for lying to the FBI
Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos helped kick off the Russia investigation after a night at a bar. Now, he'll spend a bit of time behind bars.
Papadopoulos was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty to making false statements to the FBI, reports BuzzFeed News. Papadopoulos lied about his 2016 communications with a British professor who said Russians could offer the Trump campaign "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.
Though he pleaded guilty, he asked for no jail time, explaining that he was merely "misguided" in his effort to remain loyal to his "master." The judge reportedly found him "remorseful," opting to give him a short sentence, a $9,500 fine, and 200 hours of community service, reports CNN. While prosecutors said he had hindered the investigation into whether the Trump campaign was involved with Russian election interference in 2016, Papadopoulos' defense attorneys argued that "the president of the United States hindered this investigation more than George Papadopoulos ever did."
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Papadopoulos was arrested more than a year ago and has since maintained that while he was told that Russians could offer "dirt," he never passed that information along to anyone else on the campaign team. Read more at BuzzFeed News.
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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