Papadopoulos, fresh out of prison, announces run for Congress

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George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, arrives for his first appearance before congressional investigators, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 25, 2018. | AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

One week after his release from federal prison, former Trump campaign adviser and Chicago-area native George Papadopoulos on Friday announced he’ll run for a Congressional seat in California.

“It is true,” tweeted Papadopoulos, the first person sent to prison in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. “I will be running for Congress in 2020, and I will win. Stay tuned.”

Last week, the 31-year-old Niles West High School and DePaul University grad completed his two-week prison sentence after pleading guilty to felony lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries offering “dirt” on Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Papadopoulos was a foreign policy adviser for then-candidate Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published Friday, Papadopoulos described his Wisconsin prison as “Camp Cupcake,” complete with a gym and a movie theater.

He told the British newspaper that since he and wife Simona Mangiante have moved to Los Angeles, “I just have to find a little Republican enclave somewhere in this part of the country and run there.”

He also claimed political donors have already been in touch with him about his Orange County bid. Under the law, Papdopoulos’ felony conviction doesn’t preclude him from running for federal office. 

“We all make mistakes,” Papadopoulos was quoted as saying. “It shouldn’t preclude my future in politics in this country.”RELATED

• Court deadlines set stage for more Russia probe details

• Papadopoulos wants immunity to testify before Senate

• At a Chicago bar, Papadopoulos may have told on Jeff Sessions to a stranger

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