George Papadopoulos’ wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos was on Fox News last night pleading with President Donald Trump to issue a pardon for her husband who has pleaded guilty and entered into a deal with Robert Mueller as a cooperating witness.
Speaking to Fox News Host Tucker Carlson, Mrs. Papadopoulos said her husband was “dedicated and committed†to the Trump campaign. She also said his “freedom is challenged†due to his guilty plea for lying to the FBI last October.
He pleaded guilty after being questioned as part of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. He had been arrested by the FBI in July but the guilty plea wasn’t announced until October.
In the intervening months it is assumed that Mueller’s team of investigators presented him with their evidence against him, and also listened to him tell them what evidence he might be able to provide them in their case against the president and members of his campaign team. Whatever evidence he had to share is already in the FBI files.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
“I trust and hope and ask to President Trump to pardon him. I hope he will,†she said.
George Papadopoulos' wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos: "I trust and hope and ask to President Trump to pardon him." pic.twitter.com/ASYP0RE7Vj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2018
Mrs. Papadopoulos said her husband “never had any interactions with Russians.â€Â But in March we reported that the Trump campaign had specifically approved a George Papadopoulos interview with state-run Russian media. Mrs. Papadopoulos seems to be lying to Fox News the same way her husband lied to the FBI about his interactions with Russians during the Trump presidential campaign.
After his plea deal was announced, the president and the White House immediately tried to distance themselves from Papadopoulos.  They dismissed him as a “coffee boy†and as a low-level volunteer and as a liar.
On October 31st Trump tweeted about him that he:
“came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!â€
….came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
Nobody knows who Trump will pardon next but it is doubtful it will be his low-level, lying coffee boy. It may be himself.
Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani started a controversy by saying the president could pardon himself, and then Trump himself said the same thing. Many legal experts say this is not true, but the truth has never stopped Donald Trump from saying or doing anything.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
