Former Donald Trump presidential campaign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents during the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the Associated Press reports.
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty on Oct. 5 to one count of lying to FBI agents about the nature of his interactions with "foreign nationals" who he thought had close connections to senior Russian government officials. The plea was unsealed Monday.
Papadopoulos is the first person to face criminal charges that cite interactions between Trump campaign associates and Russian intermediaries during the 2016 presidential campaign. However, Trump aides have said he played a limited role in the campaign and had no access to Trump.
In August, The Washington Post reported Papadopoulos suggested then-presidential candidate Trump meet with Russian leaders in March of 2016. He allegedly emailed the foreign policy team on the Trump campaign about “a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump,” the Post reported.
Papadopoulos started working for the Trump campaign in early 2016 after switching from the Ben Carson campaign, Newsweek reports. His LinkedIn account has recently listed him working as an independent oil, gas and policy consultant. He is 2009 graduate of DePaul University.
News of the guilty plea comes just a few hours after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort turned himself in to the FBI, following indictments for conspiracy against the U.S., tax fraud and more.
The indictments are the first ones to come as a result of Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
McClatchy’s Mandy Matney contributed to this report, as did the Associated Press.