Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos told “Fox and Friends” Friday morning that he was “shocked” Robert Mueller accurately described why he was “illicitly targeted” and reiterated the report’s findings that there was no collusion.
“I was actually really impressed and quite frankly shocked that Bob Mueller told the truth about why I was illicitly targeted and it really had nothing to do with Russia. It had to do with my ties to Israel,” Papadopoulos said.
“I was actually really impressed and quite frankly shocked that Bob Mueller told the truth about why I was illicitly targeted and it really had nothing to do with Russia. It had to do with my ties to Israel.”
TRUMP'S WRITTEN -- AT TIMES SNARKY -- ANSWERS TO MUELLER'S QUESTIONS REVEALED
“Now, this is why this is really important. Because if I was targeted for my ties to Israel, and I had all these various spies approaching me while I was just joining the campaign and they were discussing Israel with me,” he continued. “
“I think that's very disturbing and probably is going to reveal quite frankly how this entire investigation started.”
Papadopoulos went on to respond to mainstream media outlets and media figures such as CNN’s Jim Acosta who pointed to his case, for which he was sentenced to 12 days in prison for making false statements to federal prosecutors, as the evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
“There was no collusion and of course I wasn't colluding because I have never met a Russian official in my entire life. Let alone on the campaign or the transition team,” Papadopoulos said.
“There was no collusion and of course I wasn't colluding because I have never met a Russian official in my entire life. Let alone on the campaign or the transition team.”
“Quite comically the guy at the epicenter of this fake collusion story Joseph Mifsud was outed yesterday by the Italians living next to the U.S. Embassy for the last year,” he added, referring to Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud who Papadopoulos claimed told him in an April 2016 meeting that the Russians had “dirt” that could damage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
SPECULATION RAGES OVER PAPADOPOULOS TIPSTER'S ROLE: WHO WAS MALTESE PROF WORKING FOR?
It has long been suggested – in court documents filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team, by Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the media – that Mifsud was connected to Russian intelligence, though others insist that he more closely associated with Western governments and their intelligence agencies, a view shared by Papadopoulos.
“Quite frankly, I don't think anybody is buying that this guy was some Russian intermediary or Russian spy trying to collude with me. Quite frankly, even people like Rudy Giuliani are going public and stating that he was probably part of some sort of setup,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“That's why my case is so fascinating and important moving forward, like I stated because there was targeting of me for my ties to Israel which attracted all of these spies and two who was running these guys and where did it come from?
“Was it the Obama administration? Was it the head of the U.K. Government? We’ll have to find out.”
More from Politics
Fox News Politics
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.