Mueller Claimed Joseph Mifsud Lied To The FBI About Papadopoulos Contacts, But He Wasn’t Charged

The special counsel’s report alleged Joseph Mifsud made false statements to the FBI regarding his interactions with George Papadopoulos.

Mifsud was also reported to have lived for months at an apartment owned by Link Campus, a Roman university that has ties to Western intelligence.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty in the Mueller probe to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Mifsud, who has not faced charges.

Two reports published Thursday add to the mystery of Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese professor at the heart of the Russia probe. Special counsel Robert Mueller alleges in his report on the Russia investigation that Mifsud lied to the FBI about the timeline of his contacts with George Papadopoulos, the Trump campaign adviser whom the FBI claims was the catalyst for the bureau’s collusion investigation. Also on Thursday, an Italian newspaper revealed that after Mifsud was first linked to Papadopoulos, he allegedly went into hiding for months, living at a Rome apartment owned by Link International. The company controls Link Campus, a university in Rome that partners closely with Western intelligence agencies.

The developments raise several questions about Mifsud, including whether he is more closely affiliated with Russia or with the West. It is also not clear why Mifsud was not charged in the Mueller probe. The report does not discuss whether charges were considered against the Maltese mystery man. But his treatment is in contrast with how the Mueller team handled Papadopoulos. The former Trump aide pleaded guilty in October 2017 to making false statements to the FBI about Mifsud during an interview Jan. 27, 2017. Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison in his case.

Mifsud and Papadopoulos first met March 14, 2016, at Link Campus, days after Papadopoulos found out he would be joining the Trump team. Papadopoulos worked at the time at the London Centre for International Law Practice (LCILP), a London-based think tank. He said in his new book, “Deep State Target,” that LCILP executives were eager to introduce him to Mifsud, who also worked for LCILP. That excitement has since fostered suspicion in Papadopoulos, who was targeted during his campaign stint by at least one known FBI informant, Stefan Halper. Papadopoulos noted in “Deep State Target” that one of LCILP’s directors was Arvinder Sambei, a lawyer who has represented the FBI in cases in the U.K.

Papadopoulos re-upped his allegations in light of Thursday’s developments that Mifsud was a Western intelligence asset sent to entrap him. “An FBI asset named Joseph Mifsud dropped unsolicited info in my lap about ‘Russians having Clinton’s emails,'” Papadopoulos wrote on Twitter, referring to a fateful meeting he had with Mifsud in April 2016. Papadopoulos and Mifsud became fast friends after the initial meeting. They began corresponding online, and met in London on March 24, 2016. Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos to a woman he claimed to be the niece of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mifsud introduced the woman as Olga Vinagradova, though it was later determined that her real name is Olga Polonskaya and that she is not related to Putin.

Mueller’s report contains new details about Mifsud and Polonskaya, including that they might have been in a relationship at the time they were in contact with Papadopoulos. Mueller also revealed Mifsud was drafting and editing some of Polonskaya’s messages to Papadopoulos. “For example, within a week of her initial March 24 meeting with him, Polonskaya attempted to send Papadopoulos a text message which email exchanges show to have been drafted or edited by Mifsud,” the report said. The trio remained in contact for weeks, attempting to set up meetings between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials. Mifsud also introduced Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev, an executive at a Russian think tank that has ties to Russia’s foreign ministry. Mifsud and Polonskskaya said they could put Papadopoulos in touch with Russia’s ambassador to the U.K., but that never came to pass. The most fateful encounter between Mifsud and Papadopoulos occurred April 26, 2016, at the Andaz Hotel in London.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/04/19/joseph-mifsud-papadopoulos-mueller/

L’introvabile Mifsud? Nascosto a Roma

https://www.ilfoglio.it/cronache/2019/04/18/news/lintrovabile-mifsud-nascosto-a-roma-250313/

DNC Said Joseph Mifsud Could Be Dead — His Adviser Pours Cold Water On The Theory

https://dailycaller.com/2018/09/10/joseph-mifsud-alive/

The Kremlin Breaks Silence On Mueller Report

The Kremlin has responded to special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report, claiming that the report did not prove Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that there is “no evidence substantiated by facts” that Russia attempted to interfere in the election, according to the Associated Press. The AP also reported that Russian state-owned media claimed that the Mueller probe was an attempt to influence U.S. foreign policy. “The Mueller probe was an attempt to threaten the current government and influence U.S. foreign policy without offering any specific evidence,” state-owned Russian television network Rossiya broadcasted.

The Mueller report did state that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election, although it also concluded that no Americans helped them in that effort. After years of speculation, the report concluded that there was no evidence that either President Donald Trump or members of his campaign colluded with the Russian government. Putin and the Kremlin have repeatedly denied that they interfered, or even attempted to interfere, in the U.S. election. Such a sentiment has been often repudiated by U.S. intelligence agencies and elected officials on both sides of the aisle.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/04/19/kremlin-responds-mueller-report/