The Washington Post reports Trump campaign and transition emails show George Papadopoulos often sought and received approval from top officials to reach out to foreign contacts or speak to the media on behalf of the candidate. The correspondence serves to debunk the assertion that Papadopoulos was nothing more than a low level volunteer as the president and his allies have claimed.
WaPo:
When a Russian news agency reached out to George Papadopoulos to request an interview shortly before the 2016 election, the young adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump made sure to seek approval from campaign headquarters.
“You should do it,” deputy communications director Bryan Lanza urgedPapadopoulos in a September 2016 email, emphasizing the benefits of a U.S. “partnership with Russia.”
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... [E]mails described to The Washington Post, which are among thousands of documents turned over to investigators examining Russia’s interference in the 2016 campaign, show that Papadopoulos had more extensive contact with key Trump campaign and presidential transition officials than has been publicly acknowledged.
Among those who communicated with Papadopoulos were senior campaign figures such as chief executive Stephen K. Bannon and adviser Michael Flynn, who corresponded with him about his efforts to broker ties between Trump and top foreign officials, the emails show.
As late as December 2016, as President-elect Trump was preparing to take office, Papadopoulos tried to serve as a conduit for the defense minister of Greece, transmitting what he said was a proposal for a strategic alliance from the Russian-allied Greek official that was reviewed by both Bannon and Flynn, then in line to be national security adviser
Papadopoulos started emailing Corey Lewandowski in July 2015 looking for a job. Lewandowski said he had nothing at the time. When Papadopoulos circled back nine months later, Lewandowski told him to contact deputy campaign manager Michael Glassner, who now serves as executive director of Trump’s reelection effort. Glassner connected an eager Papadopoulos with campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis in March 2016.
Clovis and Papadopoulos spoke by phone four days later, a conversation in which Clovis said improving relations with Russia was a top campaign foreign policy goal, according to what Papadopoulos later told prosecutors. Clovis, who did not respond to a request for comment, has previously denied that account.
Later that month, Trump himself named Papadopoulos among a list of five people advising his campaign on foreign policy during a meeting with The Washington Post editorial board. “Excellent guy,” the candidate said.
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In May, Papadopoulos forwarded to campaign officials a note he received from [a director of a Moscow think tank whom he had met through London professor Joseph Mifsud named Ivan] Timofeev informing him that Russian foreign ministry officials were open to a Trump visit. That idea was batted down by campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who emailed his associate Rick Gates: “We need to communicate that DT is not doing these trips.”
Still, Papadopoulos persisted and was encouraged by Clovis in August to pursue meetings on his own “if feasible,” according to court documents. A lawyer for Clovis has said he was merely being polite and did not authorize Papadopoulos to represent the campaign abroad.
The emails also show Papadopoulos served as a conduit to foreign government officials beyond Russia. He was involved in helping set up a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi and Trump.
The emails show Papadopoulos was the first to alert the campaign to al-Sissi’s interest in meeting and then connected top campaign leadership to the Egyptian embassy.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Egyptian embassy confirmed that an embassy official contacted Papadopoulos as a way to reach the Trump campaign.
Bannon requested talking points from Papadopoulos for the meeting, sought a phone call with him to discuss it and ultimately asked Papadopoulos to contact the embassy to alert an official when a time was finalized, the emails show. Papadopoulos’s role in the meeting was first reported by the New York Times.
“This is a great move on our side. A home run,” Papadopoulos wrote to Bannon, in an email that has not previously been reported.
“Agree,” Bannon responded. “But very hard sell to DJT.”
Trump and al-Sissi met the next night at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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Papadopoulos continued to position himself as a go-between for Trump’s top staff and key foreign officials after Trump’s victory.
Read More: ‘You should do it.’ Trump officials encouraged George Papadopoulos’s foreign outreach, documents show. (WaPo)