Ex-Trump aide George Papadopoulos was released from a Wisconsin federal prison Friday from serving 12 days out of his 14-day sentence after pleading guilty for lying to federal investigators about meeting a professor with alleged ties to the Russian government during the 2016 election.
Papadopoulos will quickly be readjusting back into society as the 31-year-old is slated to travel to Washington D.C. to speak at the conservative American Priority conference Saturday in what’s described on the event’s website as an “EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.”
As Papadopoulos’ full two-week sentence would have meant he would have had to miss the conference, American Priority issued a release on Nov. 26 stating that his wife would be speaking in his place.
“It is an honor for me to speak at the American Priority Conference on behalf of George,” Simona Papadopoulos said in the release. This politically motivated witch hunt prevents him from speaking at the conference but it cannot prevent us from telling the truth!”
Papadopoulos was one of the first Trump officials to be sentenced as part of Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. He pleaded guilty in October 2017 for lying to the FBI about when he met with a UK-based professor who claimed to have contact with Russian with thousands of emails containing “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, according to he The Hill, incorrectly telling officials it occurred before he joined the Trump campaign. He also misidentified when he met with a Russian woman that he was allegedly working with to set up a meeting between the Kremlin and Trump’s campaign.
Papadopoulos has tweeted that his crimes have been misidentified in “mainstream media.”
As a part of his sentence, CNBC writes that Papadopoulos must serve one year of supervision, complete 200 hours of community service, and pay a $9,500 fine.
