Papadopoulos claims to have had contact with a foreign professor whom he believed to have "substantial connections" to Russian government officials and informed him that the Russians possessed "dirt" on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He said he was told of the dirt in April 2016, before the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chair John Podesta were hacked.
The professor, identified as Joseph Misfud of the London Academy of Diplomacy, disputed Papadopoulos' account of the meeting and denies that he has connections to the Russian government.
President Trump has characterized Popadopoulos as a 'proven liar.' Papadopoulos has been revealed to have embellished the credentials listed on his LinkedIn page.
Mueller took over the counterintelligence investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, originally started by fired FBI agent Peter Strzok on July 31, 2016, with the mandate of investigating "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
So far, the probe has netted indictments pertaining only to the latter mandate. Mueller alleged a number bank fraud and other corruption crimes against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
Approximately 41 percent of Americans want Mueller to conclude his investigation before the 2018 elections in November, a poll commissioned by The Hill found on Friday.
