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(THREAD) CONFIRMED: Top Trump aides lied to Fox News (of all places) to hide what Trump knew of Papadopoulos' offer to set up Putin meeting. 
1/ News that George Papadopoulos outed himself as a "Kremlin intermediary" (Washington Post) *directly to Trump* dropped August 17, 2017.
2/ The Daily Caller, a *conservative* publication, published the scoop but *buried its lead so no one would see it*. dailycaller.com/2017/08/17/tru…
3/ The August 17, 2017 revelation Trump knew he had a Kremlin agent on staff on March 31, 2016 was *so* buried CNN just reported it as news.
4/ Here's CNN reporting The Daily Caller story as "breaking news" 3+ months after the conservative pub *buried* it. cnn.com/2017/11/01/pol…
5/ In late September, Fox News *added* to The Daily Caller scoop on Trump-Papadopoulos but *also* buried its lede. foxnews.com/politics/2017/…
6/ Specifically, Fox News reported that Trump *heard* Papadopoulos offer Trump a meeting with Putin but had "no reaction to the idea." 
7/ Fox News' source was "at the meeting"—so, a member of the NatSec team who was at Trump International Hotel in D.C. on March 31st, 2016.
8/ Fox New said this person at the meeting TOLD FBI INVESTIGATORS that Mr. Trump had "no reaction" to the offer from Vladimir Putin to meet.
9/ 2 days ago, The New York Times confirmed the member of the NatSec team who told the FBI Trump had "no reaction" LIED TO THE FBI—a CRIME.
10/ While FNC in September had a second source saying Trump was "flattered" by the offer, the Times had *much* more. nytimes.com/2017/10/31/us/…
11/ According to the Times Mr. Trump very *much* had a reaction and was *very* engaged when he discovered Vladimir Putin wanted to meet him. 
12/ Here's why this matter: it means one of the dozen members of Donald Trump's NatSec team LIED TO THE FBI and will be or HAS BEEN charged.
13/ Lying to the FBI is a crime, and it's a charge that Mueller has *already* brought against *one* member of the NatSec team: Papadopoulos.
14/ There is *no* reason to think a NatSec aide who tried to *shield the FBI from learning Trump reacted to Putin's offer* won't be charged.
15/ Trump's line, via Huckabee Sanders, is "he can't recall" interacting with Papadopoulos on March 31. This aide was providing Trump cover.
16/ Charging a top Trump NatSec aide with Making False Statements to law enforcement to cover for POTUS is *exactly* what Mueller would do.
17/ We know the aide who lied *wasn't* Papadopoulos because Papadopoulos was arrested on July 27 and FNC developed its source in September.
18/ We know the aide wasn't Sessions; he hasn't spoken to investigators. That leaves 1 of the 10 men in this pic looking at federal charges. 
19/ The 10 men in the preceding picture, one of whom is facing or received federal charges, heard Trump order a GOP platform change on 3/31.
20/ It's been noted that there are four unsealed cases in the D.C. court docket between Papadopoulos and Manafort's and Gates' indictments.
21/ It now seems possible one of these is for a *second* member of Trump's NatSec team who is *not* Papadopoulos—or that charges are coming.
22/ The man Mueller might *most* want to talk to—charges or not—is J.D. Gordon, who told CNN's Jim Acosta Trump *ordered* a platform change.
23/ He's pictured in the pic atop this thread sitting between Sessions and Papadopoulos, and appears to have been Sessions' top NatSec aide.
24/ If Mueller has now—or can get—charges on any person involved in the GOP platform change who can confirm Trump ordered it, Trump is done.
25/ The reason: Trump would've ordered the change AFTER knowing Putin wanted to meet, and MAINTAINED his order after he knew about hacking.
26/ Per Papadopoulos, we have every reason to think Trump/Sessions knew Russia had HRC emails as of April 2016. Trump maintained his order.
27/ Once Trump knew Russia was committing computer crimes he LOST the legal authority to safely order a unilateral pro-Putin platform shift.
28/ The reason: it'd be Conspiracy to Commit Computer Crimes to reward Putin for hacking at a time both parties knew that both parties knew.
29/ So the media *must* now find out, somehow, who the NatSec aide was who was referenced in the Fox News story of September 29th, 2017.
30/ Because that person either has been charged (sealed) or *will* be charged with Making False Statements to federal law enforcement. {end}
PS/ Here are the participants at Trump's first meeting of his NatSec team. I've heard some say one of the two *uncaptioned* men is Mike Lee. 
