Story highlights Michael Caputo says Papadopoulos's role in campaign was small

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI about interactions with foreign officials close to the Russian government

Washington (CNN) Former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo downplayed George Papadopoulos' role in the 2016 campaign, calling him a volunteer "coffee boy" -- despite the fact that then-candidate Donald Trump called him an "excellent guy" last year.

"He never showed up at Trump Tower. Never had any interaction with any of the campaign leaders around me, and the leaders of the Washington office of the campaign didn't even know who he was until his name appeared in the press," Caputo told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday.

On Monday, it was revealed that Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser for the Trump presidential campaign, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about interactions with foreign officials close to the Russian government.

Trump described Papadopoulos by name in 2016 as an "excellent guy" when listing his advisers for foreign policy to The Washington Post. An image released on Trump's Instagram account last year also shows Papadopoulos seated at the same table with Trump and then-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who was leading Trump's national security advisory team, during a meeting.

Meeting with my national security team in #WashingtonDC. #Trump2016 A post shared by President Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Mar 31, 2016 at 7:09pm PDT

Caputo, however, suggested Papadopoulos had no serious role in the campaign's inner workings.

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