Niles West Grad Sentenced To 14 Days In Prison For Lying To FBI

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign George Papadopoulos Friday became the first person sentenced to federal prison in connection with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Papadopoulos, 31, grew up in Lincolnwood and graduated Niles West High School in 2005 and DePaul University in 2009. He became an unpaid adviser to the Trump campaign in March 2016. Shortly after Trump's inauguration, he was interviewed by the FBI. About six months later, he was arrested at a Washington D.C. airport.

Last October, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian citizens, including a professor who claimed to have thousands of emails related to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and his efforts to arrange a meeting between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Papadopoulos ' efforts to set up the meeting were detailed in a statement of facts accompanying his guilty plea unsealed last year.

“I made a dreadful mistake, but I am a good man who is eager for redemption,” Papadopoulos said at his sentencing hearing, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors from Mueller's team had asked U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss to sentence Papadopoulos to six months in prison. His defense attorneys asked for probation.

In addition to the two weeks behind bars, Papadopoulos was sentenced to a year of supervised release and 200 hours of community service, according to ABC News. In seeking jail time, prosecutors told the judge Papadoplous continued lying after his guilty plea and cooperation agreement, saying "his lies were purposeful, calculated and caused harm to the investigation."

Papadopoulos' attorneys said in a court filing their client lied in an attempt to save his career and "preserve a perhaps misguided loyalty to his master," who is not explicitly named in the documents, according to the Associated Press. They described him as the "first domino" in the Russia probe, adding that, after his arrest, "many have fallen in behind."

#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016https://t.co/aANxirUJJD pic.twitter.com/VlMynYN3sd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2016

In a sentencing memo released last week, Papadopoulos' lawyers described a meeting attended by Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at which the volunteer foreign policy adviser announced he had contacts that would be able to help set up a meeting between Trump and Putin.

"While some in the room rebuffed George’s offer, Mr. Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr. Sessions who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it," they wrote, according to ABC. The president has downplayed the importance of the meeting and said he does not recall what was said.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Papadopoulos explained why he lied to FBI agents who showed up at the doorstep of his Ravenswood home in January 2017 with questions about the Trump campaign's contact with Russians. He said he was not expecting Trump to pardon him and would not lobby for one.

“I wanted to distance myself as much as possible – and Trump himself and the campaign – from what was probably an illegal action or dangerous information,” he told the Times, adding, “I never felt that I did anything against my country’s interests."

Watch: DePaul University Professor Describes Papadopoulos As Naive And Inexperienced

Earlier: Former Trump Aide With Chicago Ties Pleads Guilty To Lying To FBI »