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(THREAD) BREAKING: Trump Aide George Papadopoulos Had Extensive Secret Contact With Putin Ally, May Have Met Putin in Athens in May of 2016 
1/ On May 27, 2016, Vladimir Putin traveled to Athens, Greece. This video of his arrival includes some key footage.
2/ The man Putin met on the tarmac—as seen in this May 27, 2016 photo—was Panos Kammenos, the Greek Defense Minister and an ally of Putin.
3/ Kammenos' Institute for Geopolitical Studies—has an MoU with Putin's Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. thedailybeast.com/is-putin-playi…
4/ RISS is "the public face of Putin’s vast intelligence apparatus," and helped orchestrate Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election.
5/ Beyond the damning official connection between Kammenos and Putin, much has been written on ties between the two: businessinsider.com/putin-is-makin…
6/ Panos Kammenos was a key foreign contact for George Papadopoulos during the 2016 presidential election, and they met and spoke regularly.
7/ Kammenos was repeatedly quoted in Greek media discussing how close Papadopoulos was to Trump and how key he was to Greece-U.S. relations.
8/ Athens daily Kathimerini says Papadopoulos was in Athens two months after joining Trump's team on March 21, 2016. kathimerini.gr/883364/article…
9/ In this photo—posted by Papadopoulos on social media—we see the Trump NatSec aide meeting with Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece.
10/ The meeting, which occurred at Pavlopoulos' presidential mansion in Athens, is the highest-level foreign meeting Papadopoulos ever had.
11/ If the timeline Kathimerini provided is accurate, Papadopoulos was in Athens at the same time—the week of May 23rd, 2016—that Putin was.
12/ We have confirmation that Papadopoulos met with Kammenos during the same May 2016 trip he met with Pavlopoulos. translate.google.com/translate?dept…
13/ Moreover, Papadopoulos' May 2016 Athens trip was described by Greek media as "secret," "incognito," and "almost with absolute secrecy."
14/ Here's an article in Greek media about Papadopoulos' "secret" and "incognito" visit to Kammenos and Pavlopoulos: translate.google.com/translate?dept…
15/ This means *both* Papadopoulos *and* Putin were in Athens at the *same time*—the former secretly—meeting with the same two Putin allies.
16/ The White House clearly lied about Papadopoulos' "low-level" role during the 2016 presidential campaign. nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
17/ Papadopoulos' diplomatic contacts in Israel and England—and Russian interview—are now known, but his Athens trip hasn't been discussed.
18/ Yet it was to Greek government officials, and in Greek media generally, that Papadopoulos was most commonly portrayed as a major player.
19/ The Trump-Papadopoulos story *in Greece* is nothing like what the White House has said, as this thread explains:
20/ George Papadopoulos was still working for Trump 10 months post-hire—and met with Kammenos *at the inauguration*. ekathimerini.com/215454/article…
21/ Papadopoulos was mysteriously separated from the campaign 2 weeks before the election—then rehired to reconnect with his Greek contacts.
22/ This excerpt from a Kathimerini—well-respected Athens daily—article tells a strange tale no one in the White House has yet explained:
23/ But it's clear Papadopoulos was rehired by Trump to continue discussing Russia (as he did with Israel) with his powerful Greek contacts:
24/ This despite the fact Papadopoulos was nominally only an "expert" on Middle Eastern oil. Trump's campaign switched him to Russia policy.
25/ Papadopoulos was switched from Middle East to Russian policy just *48 hours* after revealing himself to Trump as a Kremlin intermediary.
26/ On April 2, 2016—two days after revealing himself as a Kremlin agent to Trump—Papadopoulos was sent to Israel to talk Russia policy.
27/ This may explain why, when Trump disbanded his 13-person NatSec team in July—without pay—Papadopoulos was one of the *only* men kept on.
28/ Note that Trump lied about how well he knew Papadopoulos. In fact, he called and dined with him before his hire. translate.google.com/translate?act=…
29/ And Trump pal—and Putin ally—Sergei Millian admitted to having contact with Papadopoulos before Trump hired him. washingtonpost.com/politics/trump…
30/ Perhaps this is why Panos Kammenos told everyone he knew Papadopoulos was *close to Trump*—despite Trump's lies. sputniknews.com/us/20170121104…
31/ It could be coincidence Putin was in Athens while Papadopoulos was also there—meeting with the same allies of Russia—but it's unlikely.
32/ It's unlikely because Papadopoulos claimed access to Putin, Putin wanted a channel to Trump, and Kammenos was well-connected with both.
33/ To break that down: we know from Papadopoulos' plea affidavit and Kushner's December Kislyak meeting that Putin wanted access to Trump.
34/ We know from Papadopoulos' affidavit that both before and after his 2016 Athens trip he claimed to have access to top Kremlin officials.
35/ We know Kammenos was a Papadopoulos pal, had access to Putin, wanted Trump to win and wanted to aid Putin in his intelligence endeavors.
36/ We know Papadopoulos traveled in secret to meet Kammenos in Athens while Putin was meeting him there—we know the WH lied about his role.
37/ We know Trump lied about not calling/meeting Papadopoulos before 3/31/16—and the WH hasn't disclosed the Trump-Millian-Papadopoulos tie.
38/ We know the White House—and Sessions—lied on whether there was a second NatSec meeting at which Sessions had contact with Papadopoulos.
39/ At the second meetup—just after Papadopoulos returned from Athens—Papadopoulos and Sessions sat with each other. washingtonpost.com/politics/for-l…
40/ We know from the excellent work done by @scottmstedman on Medium that Papadopoulos-Kammenos ties were numerous. medium.com/@ScottMStedman…
41/ We know "coffee boy"/"low-level" George Papadopoulos was repeatedly sent to Greece to meet Putin ally Kammenos. ekathimerini.com/213560/article…
42/ At the time, Papadopoulos' relatively low profile and the fact Greece is an ally of the U.S. made the trips both obscure and deniable.
43/ Which makes Papadopoulos traveling to Athens in May 2016—as Putin was—in "secret," "incognito," "almost in absolute secrecy" suspicious.
44/ But it would explain why Trump aide J.D. Gordon just told Sky News the NatSec team felt it had to "appease and not upset" Papadopoulos.
45/ Clearly, Papadopoulos was felt to be closer to Trump than anyone has yet revealed—and had more power in the campaign than any have said.
46/ That'd almost have to be the case—as Papadopoulos wasn't *qualified* to be on the NatSec team and had faked much of his professional CV.
47/ But he *did* have three Kremlin contacts: Mifsud, a Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contact, and an unnamed female Russian national.
48/ And we now know he could take regular trips to Greece to meet with Putin allies there. And, if careful, perhaps even meet Putin himself.
49/ It's now clear Trump knew Papadopoulos—and his assets—before announcing the unqualified young man as part of his small NatSec committee.
50/ And if *during the campaign* Trump used Papadopoulos to get the channel to Putin he and Kushner always wanted, it's a smoking gun. {end}
PS/ Connected or not, it's worth noting 1 of the 7 suspicious Russian-diplomat deaths in 9 months ran Russia's consular section in Greece.
PS2/ So on the outside chance this—which follows Putin's MO for "diplomatic homicide"—is connected, putting it here: independent.co.uk/news/world/eur…
PS3/ The only Papadopoulos Athens trip noted as being "secret" was the one he took while Putin was there—he met Kammenos *openly* otherwise.
PS4/ Putin's willingness to be directly involved in meeting Trump/his aides is confirmed by Papadopoulos—indeed it's just what Putin sought.
PS5/ So given Putin's longstanding desire for a high-level backchannel (see also the Kushner-Kislyak plot from December 2016) this all fits.
CONFIRMATION/ CONFIRMED: Kathimerini (Athens daily) has CONFIRMED that Papadopoulos was in Athens while Putin was there. Media: investigate.
CONFIRMATION (cont.)/ There's no innocent explanation for Trump sending Papadopoulos to Athens while Putin was there meeting the same 2 men.
CONFIRMATION (cont.)/ And there's no innocent explanation for Trump/Sessions lying about their number of private contacts with Papadopoulos.
UPDATE/ Greek media has picked up my reporting on the May '16 Papadopoulos-Putin nexus in Athens. US media? Silence. translate.google.com/translate?hl=e…
UPDATE2/ But now I can start a pool on how many months it'll take for my reporting to pop up in Big Media as someone else's "breaking news."
UPDATE3/ More seriously: what matters is that this news be reported. If you're willing to retweet the first tweet in this thread, my thanks.
UPDATE4/ A second Greek outlet has picked up my story on a possible Papadopoulos-Putin meeting in Athens in May '16. thecaller.gr/callers-choice…
UPDATE5/ SKAI TV (Greece) confirms Papadopoulos was in Athens the same day Putin was: May 27th, 2016. Already confirmed: he was "incognito."
UPDATE6/ Given Papadopoulos' December 2016 trip was public, no good reason for him to be "in secret"/"almost with absolute secrecy" in May.
UPDATE7/ By 12/2016 he was telling Greek pols he "helped Trump win the election" and had a "blank check" to choose any WH job (Kathimerini).
UPDATE8/ Coupled with JD Gordon—Trump NatSec aide—saying the NatSec team had to "appease and not upset" Papadopoulos, it means he had power.
UPDATE9/ Every single fact we have on Papadopoulos now suggests he was *actively* used by Team Trump as a direct conduit to Kremlin figures.
UPDATE10/ According to WaPo in August, Papadopoulos reached out to Campaign Manager Manafort on a Putin meeting just before his Athens trip:
