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 of Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia and the 2016 election, he was a 30-year-old energy lawyer best known in D.C. for getting name-dropped by Donald Trump and for reportedly embellishing his resume.
The 

Justice Department announced Monday that Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier this month

 to lying to FBI agents about a series of meetings he took and planned while he was a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.


The White House immediately sought to distance itself from Papadopoulos on Monday, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying his role within the campaign was "extremely limited" and that it was a "volunteer position."



A former Trump campaign official said much of the same to 

"To be honest... I thought they were talking about George Gigicos (advance man on campaign) ... 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," the official said.

And Trump himself tweeted Tuesday morning, calling Papadopoulos a "young, low level volunteer named George."

That description however, doesn't jibe with the picture painted by the court documents unsealed on Monday or with Trump's own words from the campaign trail.

, then-candidate Trump was asked about who was advising him on foreign policy. He began listing names, and listed Papadopoulos third, referring to him as an "energy and oil consultant, excellent guy."



The documents show Papadopoulos in touch with multiple "high-ranking" campaign officials once he was brought on board, and that he met with a professor with Russian ties who had promised to provide "dirt" on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as with a "Russian national" woman.


Papadopoulos also appears in an Instagram photo from March 2016, posted by Trump, with the caption "Meeting with my national security team in 

While Papadopoulos's interactions on behalf of the campaign on their face don't seem to have broken any laws, it was the fact that he allegedly lied about them to the FBI that got him into trouble. The charging documents say Papadopoulos mischaracterized the content and the timing of his interactions with both people mentioned.

It's not the first time his honesty has come into question.

 that it appeared Papadopoulos had fluffed up his resume. Here's the 

 about the discrepancies, Papadopoulos replied:



DePaul University professor Richard Farkas taught Papadopoulos less than a decade ago. He teaches classes in Russian politics and Russian foreign policy, and as NPR member station WBEZ's 

, Papadopoulos graduated from DePaul in 2009.


"I don't recall him being an outstanding student," said Farkas, who also described Papadopoulos as "zealous and a bit simple."

Farkas added that he was skeptical Papadopoulos had any real high-level contacts in the Russian government.

"There's no likelihood he could access it effectively. I think he probably was just embellishing," said Farkas, who has taught at DePaul for more than 40 years. "I've been teaching about this part of the world and know people in Moscow. I don't think I could access people at that level, not at least without really working it."


More recently, Papadopoulos worked as the director of the Center for International Energy and Natural Resources Law & Security at the London Centre of International Law Practice. NPR found a cache'd version of the institution's website that listed Papadopoulos on a staff list as recently as 

. He seemed to be wiped from the list by May of that year.


An inquiry to the institute about Papadopoulos's employment status and history was not immediately returned Monday.


Over the past two years, Papadopoulos has also voiced his opinions on foreign policy in media reports, 

 in April 2016, Papadopoulos said Trump viewed Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "responsible actor and potential partner." He added that Trump could "ally" with Putin on combating radical and violent Islam in the Middle East.
Prior to joining the Trump camp, Papadopoulos also advised Republican Ben Carson's campaign. He was laid off shortly after the Iowa caucuses, 

Crime, Law and Justice

Politics and Government News

Miles Parks

Author

The former Trump campaign adviser pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents. A year ago, he was in the news for reportedly embellishing his resume.

First guilty plea in Russia probe: Who is George Papadopoulos?

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