The Italian fiancee of George Papadopoulos offered the first public defense of the embattled former Trump campaign adviser, who in October was revealed as the first campaign adviser to plead guilty and cooperate with the special counsel’s Russia probe.
“George is very loyal to his country,” Simona Mangiante told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview. “He is already on the right side of history. I think he will make a big difference.”
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and has agreed to cooperate with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. He is due to be sentenced in January.
Mangiante said she decided to speak publicly to counter claims from President Donald Trump and his aides that Papadopoulos was, as Trump tweeted, a “young, low level volunteer.” Or in the words of campaign adviser Michael Caputo, a “coffee boy.”
Mangiante said he was far from a bit player in the historic Republican campaign.
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“First of all, I would love George to learn how to make a coffee, because it’s absolutely out of his skills,” she joked. “George is a remarkable young man with incredible experience in the field of energy and oil policies. This experience led him to get into the campaign and to advise the president at only 28 years old.”
Mangiante said Papadopoulos “set up meetings with leaders all over the world” for senior campaign officials. He was “constantly in touch with high-level officials in the campaign,” she added. That included direct communication with now-former senior Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn, Mangiante said, adding that she had seen correspondence supporting the assertion.
Neither Bannon nor an attorney for Flynn responded to a request for comment Thursday.
How close Papadopoulos got to the upper ranks of the campaign remains unclear. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has said previously that his role was “extremely limited.”
“It was a volunteer position,” she said in October.
Met, here how mi see di thing ya now. Similar to Roy Moore’s defiance to now bow out of the Alabama senatorial race, pretty much following Trump’s playbook, if Trump is held culpable for anything short of anything that is clearly criminal, I don’t think that the Republican-led Congress is going to impeach him.
There is an movement underfoot to discredit all things Robert Mueller. Robert Mueller findings will be split down party lines and similar to those hypocritical Alabama voters, folks who support Trump are not going to believe anything that comes form Robert Mueller.
A political civil war seems inevitable…
Discrediting Mueller was expected but if the GOP does not impeach him that will be the end of the Republican party so they can hold on all they want it only gets worst for all of them
I want to agree with you; however, I can’t put anything past these folks. If the Democrats were a viable option, your position will be a whole lot more appealing. If you look, Most Southern states will never vote Democrat.
They are a bunch of Hypocrites for supporting liar and womanize in Trump and pedophile Moore; while castigating Clinton for getting a consensual blow job.
I have come to realize that they are just going to always change the rules to benefit their political interest and farce lifestyle.
Its not my personal position, polls show that a lot of republicans have changed their minds about the party. They are worst than hypocrites, I did not know America was filled with so many spineless cowards until now.
Agreed, Americans are spineless immoral beings–the two-party system has peaked and they need to do aways with it.
One thing though, I have learned not to trust polls. The polls had Hillary winning and she lost.
Per the polls, only 26% of the populous support the new tax bill and it passed both houses of congress. Per the Polls, Trump has a 35% favorability ratings, Congress’ ratings are worst and yet still, they do whatever they want. The system is just rigged. They use the polls only when said polls benefit their politics/interest.
Throw the whole phucking white House weh