“I THINK THE DELAY’S OVER”
by Sharon Rondeau
(May 20, 2019) — On Monday morning’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Mark Meadows said in an interview with co-host Brian Kilmeade that when former Trump foreign-policy advisor George Papadopoulos was approached in 2016 by multiple previously-unknown individuals bearing unusual offers, the conversations were “taped and recorded.”
“There are records of those,” Meadows told Kilmeade. “When the president declassifies that, I think the American people will be astonished to see that not only was it going on, and the president was right – that he was actually taped and recorded — but other than that, he was not colluding with the Russians, and they knew this very early on.”
Papadopoulos accepted a plea deal with the Justice Department in late 2017, served 12 days in prison, was required to perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $9,500 fine for allegedly lying to FBI agents during questioning in connection with the “Russia” investigation.
In his book, “Deep State Target,” Papadopoulos said he regrets having taken the agreement and has since said in a number of interviews that he was “framed in many ways.” For months, Papadopoulos has claimed there are recordings and transcripts of his conversations with figures such as Maltese Professor Joseph Mifsud, who told Papadopoulos in late April 2016 that unnamed Russians possessed “thousands” of emails of then-Democrat presidential contender Hillary Clinton.
On Sunday, former Congressman Trey Gowdy appeared on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo claiming that transcripts he said he has seen could be a “game-changer” to the American people regarding the Trump-Russia “collusion” investigation, specifically mentioning Papadopoulos.
A 22-month follow-on investigation to the FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded in March that there was no evidence of “collusion” between the campaign and any Russians, and Attorney General William Barr is now seeking to discover the basis for the FBI’s opening of its probe which ultimately cost taxpayers as much as $30 million.
Meadows further confirmed that he expects President Trump to declassify documentation heretofore held back stemming from the Russia investigation. a move Trump himself said he would make in an interview with Sean Hannity in late March, days after Mueller delivered his report to Barr. Last September, Trump pledged to release the documents but was reportedly convinced against it at the time by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein since the Mueller investigation was ongoing.
Papadopoulos has recently been interviewed by Mark Steyn, Laura Ingraham, Martha MacCallum, and a host of others and on his Twitter feed Sunday predicted a “big week” coming.
At approximately midnight EDT Sunday night/Monday morning, he tweeted:
During the interview with Meadows, Kilmeade questioned whether or not Mifsud has “Russian ties,” as the Mueller report claims (p. 91), to which Meadows responded that “the professor had Western intelligence ties” that are “supported in a number of other areas, especially from his Italian connections.”
Meadows said that “there was some improper activities going on” [sic] prior to the start date of July 31, 2016 the FBI provided for Crossfire.
Regarding declassification of the remaining documents, Meadows told Kilmeade he believes “the delay’s over.” “I think declassification is right around the corner,” he added.