His lawyers say that after the meeting, he was “eager to show his value to the campaign” and “witnessed his career skyrocketing to unimaginable heights.” On March 31, he offered to use his new contacts to set up a meeting for Trump with Putin.
“While some in the room rebuffed George’s offer, Mr. Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr. [Jeff] Sessions who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it.”
After Trump won the election, he appointed Sessions as attorney general. Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation, leading to Robert Mueller’s command of the case.
“George Papadopoulos is now a convicted felon,” the lawyers wrote. “When it came time to make a good decision he made a bad one. His arrest and prosecution served as notice to all involved that this was a serious investigation. He was the first domino, and many have fallen in behind. Despite the gravity of his offense, it is important to remember what Special Counsel said at George’s plea of guilty: he was just a small part of a large-scale investigation.”
