President Donald Trump and surrogates are out this morning attempting to sping George Papadopoulos as a “low-level volunteer” to the campaign and nothing more than a “coffee boy.”
Here’s former Trump campaign staffer Michael Caputo on CNN this morning:
Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo says "he never heard of" George Papadopoulos: "He was the coffee boy" https://t.co/frJ1vOgEO9
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 31, 2017
And here’s what the president tweeted earlier today:
The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts lawyer said, there was "no collusion" and events mentioned took place long before he…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
….came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
However, the Washington Post is reporting that the coffee boy was in contact with former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, adviser Sam Clovis as well as Paul Manafort. According to the Post, the interactions between Papadopoulos and team Trump were about Russia, not lattes:
Manafort, Corey Lewandowski, and Sam Clovis all were interacting with George Papadopoulos: https://t.co/ga696c30lU https://t.co/298DpH3bDx
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 31, 2017
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Clovis’ attorney told the Post that he was just being a “polite gentleman from Iowa” and that why he was responded to Papadopoulos with, “I would encourage you [to] … make the trip [to Russiaia], if it is feasible”:
Sam is just a "polite gentleman from Iowa" is the new "Donny is a good kid." https://t.co/56Qbv57pPS
— Natalie Jennings (@nataliejennings) October 31, 2017
Also, Trump’s tweet calling Papadopoulos a “known liar” doesn’t really accomplish what the president thought it would:
Proven to be a liar … when he lied to the FBI about his contacts with Russian actors. https://t.co/2mgdUUZsix
— Philip Bump (@pbump) October 31, 2017
Others were quick to remind the president that the only reason we know about Papadopoulos in the first place is because the president mentioned him by name as a member of the campaign’s foreign policy team:
We know him because you told WaPo he was one of your five national security advisers & then tweeted a photo of him. https://t.co/cGJkTmaSyT
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) October 31, 2017
Here’s what Trump said to the Post back in March 2016:
Remember that on March 21, 2016 Trump praised George Papadopoulos when discussing his campaign's foreign policy team. pic.twitter.com/n4hSNIXjq0
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 30, 2017
And later on, Trump posted this photo labeled as a “national security meeting” with Papadopoulos in attendance:
Low level volunteers always have a seat at the table, right? https://t.co/GJzgJTDUMG pic.twitter.com/iNnkqfnVR2
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) October 31, 2017
Today’s Post also reported that 5 days after the meeting. Papadopoulos traveled to London to meet a contact who could introduce him to “senior Russian government officials”:
Five days after Trump named Papadopoulos as one of his advisers during a meeting at The Post, Papadopoulos and Mifsud met in London. The professor brought with him a Russian woman who was introduced as a relative of President Vladimir Putin who had connections to senior Russian government officials.
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