Meet George Papadopoulos, the 30-year-old former Trump adviser who just pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russia contacts
George Papadopoulos, the former adviser for President Donald Trump's campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials, was a young, relatively inexperienced "nobody" in the Trump campaign, and his career before the presidential election was described as "unremarkable."
As attention gravitated towards Papadopoulos after special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed court documents from early October detailing the charges against him, many Trump-affiliated officials were surprised the young adviser had become a focus of Mueller's probe. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called him a "nobody," according to Axios, and another Trump campaign official agreed.
"To be honest... I thought they were talking about George Gigicos," who was the advance man on Trump's campaign, the former campaign official told Axios. "... Not because he could've possibly been involved with Russia but because he's the only guy with a Greek name that anyone knew on the campaign."
Before he was selected to join the Trump campaign in March 2016, Papadopoulos served as an advisor for former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson's campaign for several months. But Carson's former campaign manager, Ed Brookover, told Business Insider that he did not stand out there either.
"Unremarkable is a good word," Brookover said when describing Papadopoulos's tenure. "Brief."
George Papadopoulos, the former adviser for President Donald Trump's campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials, was a young, relatively inexperienced "nobody" in the Trump campaign, and his career before the presidential election was described as "unremarkable."
As attention gravitated towards Papadopoulos after special counsel Robert Mueller unsealed court documents from early October detailing the charges against him, many Trump-affiliated officials were surprised the young adviser had become a focus of Mueller's probe. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called him a "nobody," according to Axios, and another Trump campaign official agreed.
"To be honest... I thought they were talking about George Gigicos," who was the advance man on Trump's campaign, the former campaign official told Axios. "... Not because he could've possibly been involved with Russia but because he's the only guy with a Greek name that anyone knew on the campaign."
Before he was selected to join the Trump campaign in March 2016, Papadopoulos served as an advisor for former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson's campaign for several months. But Carson's former campaign manager, Ed Brookover, told Business Insider that he did not stand out there either.
"Unremarkable is a good word," Brookover said when describing Papadopoulos's tenure. "Brief."