What does news that George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI mean? (Hint: He's flipping)

[ehrnst]

Link to tweet

1/ Today Trump Advisor George Padadopoulos pleaded guilty to one count of lying to the FBI. The charge is here: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4163402/Papadopoulos-Statement-Offense.pdf …

2/ Unlike the charges against Manafort and Gates, Padadopoulos is not charged via indictment. He has agreed to waive that right.

3/ That is something that defendants do when they are trying to be cooperative with the prosecutor. It saves the grand jury's time.

4/ Also it gives the defense some input into what is in the charging document (called an "information&quot because they are agreeing to it.

5/ In and of itself, the fact that he agreed to an information doesn't necessarily mean that he has "flipped."

6/ "Flipping" means that someone has agreed to completely and truthfully cooperate with the government, including testify against others.

7/ In addition to agreeing to an information, there are two other signs that strongly suggest to me that Padadopoulos has "flipped."


8/ First, he is pleading guilty. If Papadopoulos is not receiving any benefit from Mueller, there is little to be gained from doing that.

9/ He could wait to receive the evidence that Mueller plans to use (something called "discovery&quot and see what Mueller has on him.

10/ In addition, Papadopoulos is charged with only a single, narrow crime. That is also strongly suggestive of cooperation.

11/ Attorneys representing cooperators typically try to bargain with prosecutors over what crime they are charged with.

12/ Typically federal prosecutors require that defendants plead to a single felony crime that has a sufficient maximum criminal penalty

13/ to cover all of the criminal conduct they committed, because judges consider all of a defendant's activity when determining a sentence.

14/ Lying to the FBI is a fairly narrow crime, but it carries a five-year maximum sentence, which is sufficient to cover his liability.

15/ The fact that this charge was released now, along with Manafort and Gates, suggests to me that he will cooperate against one of them.

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Already flipped

And read his admission, basically he's saying they colluded and he lied about that.

[dalton99a]

3. +1

[ehrnst]

4. Yep.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. OT

but that graphic is cool!

[JustAnotherGen]

5. +1

October 5th - was a bad day for the 45/140 Admin.

[Imajika]

8. He is, at minimum, cooperating...

I wouldn't use the word "flipped". That assumes he really has anything to offer. Cooperating just means he is saving everyone time and agrees to tell the truth now, that does not mean he has anything particularly important to say - that is something we may find out down the line.

Though the timing suggests to me he has been cooperating for awhile and IF he has anything to contribute to this investigation then Mueller's team probably knows every detail now. I think this guilty plea may be far more important than the other 2 indictments. It appears far more directly relevant to the broader Russian collusion case.

[Johnny2X2X]

9. Read his admission

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4163402/Papadopoulos-Statement-Offense.pdf

This is an admission of collusion.

[uncle ray]

14. now we see exactly why trump is always going on about her emails. nt

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Here

Papadopoulos reached a plea deal with prosecutors, and has since been cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Prosecutors’ statement of the offense alleges Papadopoulos “made material false statements and material omissions” during a Jan. 27 interview with the FBI. He was arrested July 27. Prosecutors agreed to recommend between no prison time to six months under the plea agreement.

Papadopoulos told the FBI an overseas professor had “told him about the Russians possessing ‘dirt’ on then-candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of ‘thousands of emails,’ but stated multiple times that he learned that information prior to joining the campaign,” according to court documents. In fact, Papadopoulos was contacted after he learned he’d be joining the campaign, and the professor only mentioned the “thousands of emails” after he’d been on the Trump campaign for more than a month.

The professor, the statement indicates, had “substantial connections to Russian government officials” even though Papadopoulos claimed the professor was “a nothing.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/george-papadopolous-trump-russia-probe_us_59f7354be4b07fdc5fbfa210?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[Nevernose]

16. Where can I find that?

I’m at work and almost internet paralyzed. I might be able to print something out and read on paper, old fashioned, on the sly

[Freethinker65]

2. And Trump is flipping out

[herding cats]

6. He took a plea deal ... He's flipped and is working with the FBI.

Since July he's been working with the FBI. Imagine Trump Team finding this out suddenly today. They're in full on panic mode.

Here's a link to his indictment and subsequent plea deal.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/george-papadopoulos-stipulation-and-plea-agreement

[smirkymonkey]

7. +1000

[Lint Head]

10. Flipping like a...

[Saviolo]

12. Also, of interest and of note:

He pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI *about HRC's emails*

This is going to be the one to watch. Manafort's a great, but obvious catch. This one is going to be bigger, I feel:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029769233

[eleny]

15. RE: your Point #8 - He could be negotiating for a lesser sentence in exchange for a guilty plea

[Cirque du So-What]

17. I hope it also means something else

That Manafort sees a closing window of opportunity to sing & try to cut a deal for himself. Sing, Mani-Pedi, sing!