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Donald Trump’s ex-adviser jailed in Russia inquiry

Donald Trump's ex-adviser jailed in Russia inquiry
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announces a grant for drug-free communities support program, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 29, 2018. - AFP PHOTO - MANDEL NGAN
Agence France-Presse

The former Donald Trump adviser whose remarks in a London pub sparked the US inquiry into possible collusion with Russia has been sentenced to 14 days in jail.

George Papadopoulos, 31, told the court in Washington DC he was a “patriotic American” who made a mistake by lying.

He pleaded guilty last October to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Moscow.

He was the first former Trump aide arrested in the probe into an alleged Kremlin plot to sway the 2016 US vote.

US President Donald Trump reacted by taking an apparent swipe at the cost of the investigation into the former aide.

In Friday’s sentencing, Papadopoulos was also handed 12 months of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and a fine of $9,500 (£7,350).

He said in court that his “entire life has been turned upside down” and he hoped “for a second chance to redeem myself”.

Papadopoulos concluded by saying “this investigation has global implications, and the truth matters”.

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