2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/LEGAL/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The White House on Tuesday [10-31-17] sought to take credit for the arrest of a former Trump campaign aide who had repeated contacts with Russia-linked officials offering ‘dirt’ on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — marking the latest damage control move as the Russia probe intensifies.
President Donald Trump and other White House allies had so far sought to downplay the role of George Papadopoulos, a campaign foreign policy adviser, whose plea deal was made public by special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday, the same day that two top Trump campaign officials were indicted on charges unrelated to the campaign.
Trump derided Papadopoulos on Tuesday morning as a ‘liar,’ while former campaign aide Michael Caputo dismissed him as ‘the coffee boy.’
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders went further Tuesday afternoon, claiming the White House and the campaign deserved credit for helping Mueller’s team build its case that Papadopoulos had lied to the FBI about his contacts…
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about when the documents in question had been turned over. Papadopoulos was initially interviewed as part of the FBI’s probe into Russian election meddling on Jan. 27. He was arrested in July.”
-Matthew Nussbaum and Louis Nelson, “White House wants credit for Papadopoulos arrest,” Politico, Oct. 31, 2017 04:18pm