Today's bigger news: Trump advisor, George Papadopolous, pleads guilty to lying to the FBI

Earlier, I discussed the Manafort/Gates indictments and argued that they didn't represent the kind of bombshell reveal that Democrats were hoping to see. Most observers expected them to be pretty much exactly what they were, and the fact that they don't even mention the campaign severely blunts their impact. So... let’s look at today's other - probably bigger - piece of news. One-time Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopolous pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with foreign agents who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. As CNN puts it:

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A former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI after he lied about his interactions with foreign officials close to the Russian government. In court records unsealed on Monday, the FBI said George Papadopoulos "falsely described his interactions with a certain foreign contact who discussed 'dirt' related to emails" concerning Hillary Clinton.

It should be obvious why this is a bigger deal than this morning's indictments. Unlike the Manafort/Gates situation, this does directly tie to the campaign, and it does raise the specter of collusion. At the moment it's a pretty thin specter, but it's there. ...And it sounds a lot worse if you read what he lied about:

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Two thoughts: A: This will beg the "What did Trump know and when did he know it" question. Whether he knew anything or not, the insinuation will dog him - particularly in light of his "maybe Russia will release the emails" joke during the campaign. B: Papadopolous is now said to be cooperating fully with the investigation. From NBCNews:

Papadopoulos was arrested in July 2017 and pleaded guilty on Oct. 5. His plea agreement says the government will inform the sentencing judge of his "efforts to cooperate with the Government, on the condition that your client continues to respond and provide information regarding any and all matters as to which the Government deems relevant."

Obviously, that makes you wonder if he's throwing other Trump campaign entities under the bus to save his own skin. C: The Smoking Gun asks a good question...

Yes, but did George Papadopoulos agree to wear a wire or make any FBI-monitored calls? pic.twitter.com/UkZzue2WR7

— The Smoking Gun (@tsgnews) October 30, 2017

As always, we'll have more as it develops...

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