George Papadopoulos: What I would say to the people who surveilled me
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos said he knows what he would say to the people who surveilled him and those he accuses of entrapping him during his time on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
"I would just say... this was very un-American. And I really think it was an affront to everything that makes America great," he said on Fox Nation's "Liberty File with Judge Andrew Napolitano"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Civil liberties were violated. The electoral process in this country was violently interfered with. And clearly, the trust that we as Americans have in the institutions that we hope would protect us has really been eviscerated in many ways," he continued. "I think that's a real shame and it might take years to repair."
The new remarks from the Papadopoulos come after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a 400-plus page report detailing the FBI handling of investigations into four Trump campaign officials, including Papadopoulos.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Horowitz concluded that he could not find "documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation" influenced the FBI's decision. But the IG did identity "identified at least 17 significant errors or omissions" the FBI's application to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Papadopoulos said he was shocked to see that his name was splashed across the IG report, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report and an expected report from federal prosecutor John Durham.
"I'm an individual who has never traveled to Russia. I've never met a Russian official in my entire life," said Papadopoulos. "So you could understand how taken aback I was when I've noticed that somehow my name was at the center of a Mueller report, a Horowitz report, and likely a future report moving forward."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Papadopoulos served 12 days for lying to investigators and he was released from prison in December 2018. According to his plea agreement, he admitted to lying to Mueller team about his interaction with a Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud. Mifsud allegedly told Papadopoulos that Russia had damaging information about Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
However, Papadopoulos said he believes that his meeting with Mifsud and other foreign officials -- before and after -- he joined the Trump campaign was a set-up from the start.
"On April 26, 2016, Joseph Mifsud gives me the 'dirt' info that the Russians have Hillary Clinton's e-mails. And a week later, conveniently, the Australians want to meet with me again at a bar to basically talk about the campaign," he told the judge. "So you could understand what I'm trying to say here. Within a week, two weeks, three weeks of joining a presidential campaign. I'm essentially being groomed or asked to meet with various foreign governments for no other reason except obviously to probe me, the campaign and likely sabotage it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This Nov. 12, 2014 photo made available by the Organization of American States shows Maltese academic Joseph Mifsud during a meeting in Washington. It was Mifsud who allegedly dropped the first hint that the Russians were interfering into the 2016 U.S. presidential election and he has not been seen publicly for nearly a year. An Associated Press investigation published Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, shows it isn’t the first time Mifsud has gone to ground. (Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS via AP)
Papadopoulos conceded that the DOJ IG did not find any conclusive evidence that the investigation of the Trump campaign was politically motivated, but he did stress that he believes that there was a clear abuse of government powers.
"The IG states this malfeasance could have been intentional or it could have just been a result of egregious misconduct. He doesn't know the answer yet, but I think the country was turned on its head for all the wrong reasons and we can't let this happen again."
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