A former Trump campaign aide has become the first person to face charges linking the campaign with Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.

George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.

Papadopoulos admitted the talks happened while he worked for Trump, not before, court papers show.

He said he had been told the Russians possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.

Court papers further show that Papadopoulos was in contact with several senior Trump campaign aides about his efforts to broker a relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Photograph: LinkedIn

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