Trump campaign emails show aideâs repeated efforts to set up Russia meetings
George Papadopoulos
The adviser   George Papadopoulos   offered to set up âa meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under President Trump â telling them  his  Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity  according to internal campaign emails read to The Washington Post.
But  Papadopoulos   a campaign volunteer with scant foreign policy experience  persisted. Between March and September  the self-described energy consultant sent at least a half-dozen requests for Trump  as he turned from primary candidate to party nominee  or for members of his team to meet with Russian officials. Among those to express concern about the effort was then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort  who rejected in May 2016 a proposal from  Papadopoulos  for Trump to do so.
The exchanges are among more than 20 000 pages of documents the Trump campaign turned over to congressional committees this month after review by White House and defense lawyers. The selection of  Papadopoulos âs emails were read to The Post by a person with access to them. Two other people with access to the emails confirmed the general tone of the exchanges and some specific passages within them.
A 2016 tweet from Donald Trump shows George Papadopoulos  third from left. (Twitter)
 Papadopoulos  emerges from the sample of emails as a new and puzzling figure in the examination of the Trump campaignâs contacts with Russian officials and their proxies during the 2016 election  now the subject of a special-counsel investigation.
Less than a decade out of college   Papadopoulos  appeared to hold little sway within the campaign  and it is unclear whether  he  was acting as an intermediary for the Russian government  although  he  told campaign officials  he  was.
While the emails illustrate  his  eagerness to strengthen the campaignâs connections to the Russian government   Papadopoulos  does not spell out in them why it would be in Trumpâs interest to do so.  His  entreaties appear to have generated more concern than excitement within the campaign  which at the time was looking to seal the Republican nomination and take on a heavily favored Hillary Clinton in the general election.
Three months after  Papadopoulos  raised the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Russian President VladiÂ­mir Putin  the presidentâs son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a delegation led by a Russian lawyer offering to provide damaging information on Clinton.
Manafort attended that Trump Tower session in June 2016  a meeting now under scrutiny in the special counselâs collusion inquiry. But the new emails reveal that Manafort had rejected a request from  Papadopoulos  just the previous month to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian officials.
And also in July  a few weeks after  Papadopoulos  asked  his  superiors whether other campaign advisers or aides could accept some of the Russiansâ invitations  Carter Page  another foreign policy adviser  spoke at a Russian university in Moscow. Page said  he  made the trip independently of the campaign.
Papadopoulos  a former intern and researcher at the conservative Hudson Institute  was on a list of campaign volunteers that Trump announced as his foreign policy advisory team during a meeting with The Postâs editorial board in March 2016. Trump called  Papadopoulos  an âexcellent guy.â
Almost immediately   Papadopoulos  came under scrutiny for  his  lack of experience.  He  graduated from college in 2009  and  his  LinkedIn profile cited  his  participation in a Model U.N. program for students among  his  qualifications.  Papadopoulos  did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Page  who has been the subject of a foreign surveillance warrant over  his  connections to Russia  said the  Papadopoulos  email exchange was another sign that the Russia communications were inconsequential.
âThe entirely benign offer from a volunteer member of the Trump movement is infinitely less relevant than the real collusion in the 2016 election â said Page  who was copied on the first  Papadopoulos  email communication in March. Page said in an email exchange Saturday that âthe real scandal lies among Clinton and Obama associates who fed false evidenceâ to investigators that he said formed the basis of the federal warrant concerning him.
 Papadopoulos  made more than a half-dozen overtures on behalf of Russians or people with Russia contacts whom  he  claimed to know.
Undeterred   Papadopoulos  alerted then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in an April email that  he  was receiving âa lot of calls over the past monthâ about arranging a Russia meeting.
[TGT] offered to set up âa meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under President Trump â telling them   [TGT]   Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity  according to internal campaign emails read to The Washington Post.
But  Papadopoulos   a campaign volunteer with scant foreign policy experience  persisted. Between March and September  the self-described energy consultant sent at least a half-dozen requests for Trump  as he turned from primary candidate to party nominee  or for members of his team to meet with Russian officials. Among those to express concern about the effort was then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort  who rejected in May 2016 a proposal from  Papadopoulos  for Trump to do so.
The exchanges are among more than 20 000 pages of documents the Trump campaign turned over to congressional committees this month after review by White House and defense lawyers. The selection of  Papadopoulos âs emails were read to The Post by a person with access to them. Two other people with access to the emails confirmed the general tone of the exchanges and some specific passages within them.
A 2016 tweet from Donald Trump shows  [TGT] third from left. (Twitter)
  [TGT] emerges from the sample of emails as a new and puzzling figure in the examination of the Trump campaignâs contacts with Russian officials and their proxies during the 2016 election  now the subject of a special-counsel investigation.
Less than a decade out of college    [TGT] appeared to hold little sway within the campaign  and it is unclear whether   [TGT]   was acting as an intermediary for the Russian government  although   [TGT]   told campaign officials   [TGT]   was.
While the emails illustrate   [TGT]   eagerness to strengthen the campaignâs connections to the Russian government    [TGT] does not spell out in them why it would be in Trumpâs interest to do so.   [TGT]   entreaties appear to have generated more concern than excitement within the campaign  which at the time was looking to seal the Republican nomination and take on a heavily favored Hillary Clinton in the general election.
Three months after   [TGT] raised the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Russian President VladiÂ­mir Putin  the presidentâs son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a delegation led by a Russian lawyer offering to provide damaging information on Clinton.
Manafort attended that Trump Tower session in June 2016  a meeting now under scrutiny in the special counselâs collusion inquiry. But the new emails reveal that Manafort had rejected a request from  Papadopoulos  just the previous month to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian officials.
And also in July  a few weeks after   [TGT] asked   [TGT]   superiors whether other campaign advisers or aides could accept some of the Russiansâ invitations  Carter Page  another foreign policy adviser  spoke at a Russian university in Moscow. Page said  he  made the trip independently of the campaign.
 [TGT] a former intern and researcher at the conservative Hudson Institute  was on a list of campaign volunteers that Trump announced as his foreign policy advisory team during a meeting with The Postâs editorial board in March 2016. Trump called   [TGT]   an âexcellent guy.â
Almost immediately    [TGT] came under scrutiny for   [TGT]   lack of experience.   [TGT]   graduated from college in 2009  and   [TGT]   LinkedIn profile cited   [TGT]   participation in a Model U.N. program for students among   [TGT]   qualifications.   [TGT] did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Page  who has been the subject of a foreign surveillance warrant over  his  connections to Russia  said the   [TGT] email exchange was another sign that the Russia communications were inconsequential.
âThe entirely benign offer from a volunteer member of the Trump movement is infinitely less relevant than the real collusion in the 2016 election â said Page  who was copied on the first   [TGT]   email communication in March. Page said in an email exchange Saturday that âthe real scandal lies among Clinton and Obama associates who fed false evidenceâ to investigators that he said formed the basis of the federal warrant concerning him.
  [TGT] made more than a half-dozen overtures on behalf of Russians or people with Russia contacts whom   [TGT]   claimed to know.
Undeterred    [TGT] alerted then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in an April email that   [TGT]   was receiving âa lot of calls over the past monthâ about arranging a Russia meeting.