Former Trump Aide With Chicago Ties Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI

CHICAGO, IL — Chicago native George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to lying to FBI in October, court papers unsealed Monday show. Papadopolous was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, the papers revealed. The former aide was indicted in Washington and pleaded guilty Oct. 5.

Papadopoulos, who served as a foreign policy adviser to President Trump's campaign, has admitted to covering up contacts with people he believed worked for the Russian government during his time on the campaign, the case files show.

Papadopolous, 30, graduated from Niles West High School in Skokie in 2005, a district spokesperson said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Papadopolous obtained a Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University, where he majored in political science and graduated in 2009.

Papadopolous then earned a Master of Science in Security Studies from University College London, where he graduated in 2010, his profile states. He then left Chicago to work at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. for more than four years.

Padadopolous had no prior convictions. In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, Papadopolous' Chicago-based attorneys Thomas Breen and Robert Stanley declined to comment on the case.

Watch: Manafort Indicted On Felony Charges; Ex-Trump Aide Pleads Guilty

"We will have the opportunity to comment on George’s involvement when called upon by the Court at a later date. We look forward to telling all the details of George’s story at that time,” the lawyers told the Tribune.

In March 2016, Papadopoulos became a foreign policy advisor to Trump's campaign. According to the court papers, some of the interactions that led to his indictment happened while he was in Italy and the United Kingdom.

Papadopoulos sent an email to a "high-ranking Campaign official" about Russia's interest in meeting with Trump, the papers show. The official forwarded the email along to another official and wrote: "Let[']s discuss. We need to communicate that DT is not doing these trips. It should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal."

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about interactions with a professor who claimed to be connected to the Russian government. The overseas professor told him the Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton.

"Through his false statements and omissions, [the] defendant ... impeded the FBI's ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the Campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election," according to the FBI document.

Papadopoulos was arrested July 27 after his arrival at Dulles International Airport outside in suburban Virginia.

Another George Papadopoulos—a financial planner from a Detroit suburb—has taken to Twitter to clarify that he's not the former Trump campaign aide.

Former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort turned himself in to law enforcement Monday morning on 12 criminal charges.

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