Mueller's team wants George Papadopoulos to spend 6 months in jail, says lying impeded investigation

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/17/politics/papadopoulos-jail-time-special-counsel/index.html

CNN)Federal authorities had cornered the man they suspected could be part of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election -- and they might have been more successful in their investigation in early 2017 if it had not been for George Papadopoulos, the special counsel alleged on Friday.

Special counsel prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Papadopoulos to up to six months in prison, according to a court filing on Friday. The former Trump campaign staffer pleaded guilty last October to one count of lying to investigators over his interactions about the Trump campaign with foreign contacts who had connections to Russia.

Papadopoulos lied to the FBI in January 2017 about his contact in London with Joseph Mifsud, identified in the filing as "the Professor." Mifsud had told Papadopoulos the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. Federal authorities then found Mifsud in DC two weeks later, but allowed him to leave the country.

"The defendant's lies undermined investigators' ability to challenge the Professor or potentially detain or arrest him while he was still in the United States," prosecutors wrote. "The defendant's false statements were intended to harm the investigation, and did so."

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