TY Baker!
Memo: Papadopoulos info triggered FBI's Russia investigation
The FBI's counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia was triggered by information the bureau obtained about George Papadopoulos, a former adviser to the campaign, according to the memo released Friday by House Intelligence Committee Republicans.
Allies of President Trump have claimed the Russia probe began with the so-called Steele dossier that was paid for in part by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). That would mean the Russia investigation itself — and by extension, special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe — was launched from political opposition research.
But the memo states that FBI agent Pete Strzok opened the investigation in July 2016 based on "information" about Papadapoulos, rather than the dossier.
The New York Times has previously reported that Papadapoulos bragged to an Australian diplomat that the Russians had damaging information on Clinton before the hack of the DNC became publicly known. The Australian government tipped off the FBI to what Papadapoulos had said, according to the Times.
Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with special counsel Mueller’s investigation.
http://
thehill.com/policy/national-security/372043-memo-papadopoulos-info-triggered-fbis-russia-investigation
Heard!