The Trump-Russia scandal takes a bizarre new turn thanks to George Papadopoulos
Of all the criminals that have been convicted or pleaded guilty in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal, the case of George Papadopoulos may be the most bizarre. We now know that Papadopoulos’ drunken statements are one of the reasons the United States intelligence community started to investigate why Donald Trump and his campaign were in constant contact with Russians in the lead up to the 2016 election. We also know that Papadopoulos lied about the circumstances of his foreign contacts when the FBI first approached and interrogated him. This resulted in his plea deal and why he is now facing fourteen days in prison.
Since his guilty plea and subsequent cooperation with Robert Mueller’s team, Papadopoulos has been overtly conspiratorial on Twitter, often posting statements aimed at sabotaging the investigation, and often acting like a victim. Despite voluntarily testifying for seven hours before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees, he now is hesitating to do the same before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and he is now requesting immunity.
What could possibly cause someone to actually request the opportunity to testify before certain individuals, while also requiring the protection from prosecution for telling his story before a similar group? That can easily be determined by explaining the current differences in the House and Senate investigations into Trump’s treason with Russia. While the GOP-controlled House Intel Committee prematurely ended its farce of an investigation, all in an effort to protect Trump, the Senate Intel Committee continues to look into Trump’s attempts at subverting American democracy.
While George Papadopoulos continues to tweet conspiracy theories, the Senate investigation appears determined to obtain his testimony. It seems that Papadopoulos is just as eager to keep his testimony secret. Despite the extremely short prison sentence that resulted from his plea deal with Mueller, Papadopoulos has just recently expressed hesitation. “I’m considering withdrawing my agreement with the government,” he told Fox News. If he is that desperate to forego his short sentence just to prevent the need to testify, there is a good chance Mueller prepared for this and has a much longer sentence in mind.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.