Ex-Trump campaign adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI wants to be a congressman

George Papadopoulos, a former Trump adviser whose comments about Hillary Clinton's emails sparked the FBI's Russia investigation, is running for Congress.

Papadopoulos filed the paperwork on Tuesday to run for the seat in California's 25th Congressional District, which is being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Hill. Hill announced on Sunday that she is resigning, after being accused of having an improper relationship with her legislative director; she denies the allegation.

In May 2016, Papadopoulos told an Australian diplomat that Russia had emails related to Clinton; after the Democratic National Committee hacking in July, Australia notified U.S. authorities, which led to the FBI Russia investigation. Papadopoulos eventually pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and served 12 days in prison.

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There are three Republicans already in the race, with Assemblywoman Christy Smith the lone Democrat running. She tweeted on Tuesday: "If he pled guilty to lying to the FBI, how do we know he'll tell us the truth? We deserve someone from our community serving as our voice — not [Trump's] wannabe political hack!"