BREAKING (h/t DM): Greek media is telling a *very* different story about George Papdopoulos and Trump than we're reading here. Check it out.
1/ How long did Papadopoulos work for Trump? Greek media says he was *meeting foreign dignitaries on behalf of Trump* at *the inauguration*.
2/ At the inauguration, the Greek Defense Minister "met with Chief of Staff Priebus and Trump adviser Papadopoulos." ekathimerini.com/215454/article…
3/ Then there's this critical text, which I'll offer a translation of in the next tweet:
4/ Here's the relevant portion of the translation:
5/ So right before the election, the Trump campaign appears to *let go and then re-hire* Papadopoulos—perhaps trying to distance themselves.
6/ What does "done his piece" mean? Why was Papadopoulos—known to Trump as a Kremlin tool—brought back just to spread propaganda on Clinton?
7/ What was the campaign afraid he'd say right before the election, that he had to be directed as to what his eligible talking points were?
8/ Why was he *ever* separated from the campaign, if he'd stay on through at least (per Kathimerini, a major Athens daily) the inauguration?
9/ And then there's this text, from the same November 13th, 2016 Kathimerini article (translation in a moment):
10/ Here's the relevant portion of the translation:
11/ So it appears that, two days before the election, Papadopoulos was *brought back*—and to talk *Russia policy*—to potential Trump voters.
12/ Added to his Trump work in British, Russian and Israeli media between his March 2016 hire and the inauguration, this is no "coffee boy."
13/ This is clearly someone the campaign was strategically deploying on Russia policy to win over key voting blocs. But it's more than that.
14/ Papadopoulos met British diplomats in London 5 days before the election. And Greek diplomats in September 2016. ekathimerini.com/213560/article…
15/ And what sort of "low-level" staffer meets—on Trump's behalf—foreign ministers, and gets a special "callback" right before Election Day?
16/ And why did Trump keep *shedding* NatSec advisors throughout 2016, but we now know Papadopoulos worked for him for *at least* 10 months?
17/ Greek media said Greek pols felt "the position of Papadopoulos—one of Trump's five advisors on foreign policy—is important for Greece."
18/ That article is from November 9, 2016, and quotes a Greek minister. Note that it's looking *forward* to 2017. tovima.gr/en/article/?ai…
19/ So Papadopoulos was in a position to represent that he was a) staying with the Trump administration and b) had a significant role in it.
20/ His presence at the inauguration confirms his representation was a) reasonable and b) one the Trump administration helped him cultivate.
21/ Indeed—on *this* evidence the *new* question that arises is, when did Trump *dump* Papadopoulos, and did he do it because of Jim Comey?
22/ It's clear Papadopoulos was holding himself out as—as Kathimerini appeared to put it in one article—someone who'd be at Trump's side.
23/ And then all that changed. I suspect we'll learn Papadopoulos quietly exited Trump's orbit when *this* happened: washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…
24/ And that may well be why Bob Mueller—as recently as this past Monday—thought Papadopoulos had access to top Trump aides. Because he did.
25/ The WH is lying about Papadopoulos' ties to Trump—maybe even how well he knew him (remember their mutual pal Millian). Stay tuned. {end}
PS/ March 31, 2016: Papadopoulos reveals himself to Trump as a Kremlin agent trying to set up a meet with Putin. Trump is "flattered" (FNC).
PS2/ April 2, 2016 (just two days later): Papadopoulos, whose "expertise" is Middle Eastern oil, is sent to Israel to talk *Russia policy*.
PS3/ That looks suspiciously like an *expansion* of his role, as reward for bringing Kremlin contacts to Team Trump. israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx…
PS4/ August 17, 2017: In a Daily Caller article, Trump aides *lie* about what happened when Papadopoulos revealed himself as a Kremlin tool.
PS5/ Their claims he was shot down and told not to raise the issue again—contradicted by Papadopoulos' affidavit—are consciousness of guilt.
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