Trump campaign aide pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about meetings with Russian officials

After the arrests of Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort and Manafort's business associate Rick Gates this morning, it has also emerged that a Trump campaign aide pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Unsealed documents revealed today that Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos admitted to meeting with Russian officials, including one Russian "professor," to discuss "US-Russia ties under President Trump." Papadopoulos has admitted that a "Russian professor had told him about the Russians possessing "dirt" on then-candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails," but stated multiple times that he learned that information prior to joining the Campaign." Papadopoulos had originally claimed that all his communications with Russians happened before he joined the Trump campaign. The Statement of the Offense outlines where Papadopoulos broke the law, confirming: "During his interview with the FBI, defendant PAPADOPOULOS acknowledged that he met the Professor and that the Professor told him the Russians had "dirt" on thencandidate Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails," but defendant PAP ADO POULOS stated multiple times that those communications occurred prior to when he joined the Campaign." "In truth and in fact, however, and as set forth above, defendant PAPADOPOULOS met the Professor for the first time on or about March 14, 2016, after defendant PAPADOPOULOS had already learned he would be a foreign policy advisor for the Campaign; the Professor showed interest in defendant PAPADOPOULOS only after learning of his role on the Campaign; and the Professor told defendant PAPADOPOULOS about the Russians possessing "dirt" on then-candidate Clinton in late April 2016, more than a month after defendant PAPADOPOULOS had joined the Campaign."