There has been no shortage of speculation as to not only who would be providing cooperative testimony during the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, but what kind of information those witnesses might provide.
Most agree that if Paul Manafort had pleaded guilty when he was indicted alongside his associate Rick Gates, he might not be on trial right now, likely facing a prison sentence that will last the rest of his life, considering the numerous combined counts against him of which he is very very likely to be found guilty. But Gates did, and he ended up testifying against Manafort in court.
The same scenario is playing out in the larger investigation with a number of witnesses, but one of the first to enter a guilty plea was the man whose meeting with an Australian diplomat while both men were in London marked the event that sparked the entire investigation. Donald Trump and his legal team have been careful to downplay George Papadopoulos’ involvement in the campaign as minimal, and though he has been found to have been the instigator of many foreign meetings for Trump’s foreign policy team during the campaign, it appears Robert Mueller thinks that he is less important than other players may end up being as well.
In a filing late on Friday, Mueller’s prosecution team filed a recommendation to the court that Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI, be sentenced to a maximum of six months in prison. Mueller’s team said that the witness provided no “substantial assistance” in the case, and reiterated the severity and effect of Papadopoulos’ lies to the FBI during the investigation.
He lied repeatedly over the course of more than two hours, and his lies were designed to conceal facts he knew were critical.”
Papadopoulos is scheduled to be sentenced September 7.
Featured image via screen capture
