A former advisor to US President Donald Trump whose contacts with Russians set off the investigation into possible collusion with Moscow was jailed Friday for lying to the FBI.
US District Judge Randolph Moss sentenced foreign policy aide George Papadopoulos to 14 days in prison, acknowledging his guilty plea and his remorse, but noting that he “lied in an investigation that was important to national security.”
Papadopoulos was the second person ordered to prison in the sprawling, 16-month Russia collusion investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and came just over two weeks after two former top aides to Trump were convicted of felony crimes in cases that grew out of the probe.
Trump sought to ridicule the sentence, suggesting that it was trivial accomplishment for an investigation that has cost millions since it began in May 2017 — while ignoring the 35 indictments, five guilty pleas and one trial conviction Mueller has racked up so far.
“14 days for $28 MILLION – $2 MILLION a day, No Collusion. A great day for America!” Trump tweeted.
But Senator Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has its own Russia collusion investigation, applauded Mueller’s work.
“Despite constant attacks by the President and his allies, Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team have once again demonstrated that they are conducting a serious, professional investigation into the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians during the 2016 election,” Warner said in a statement.
