George Papadopoulos appears to have been targeted by three individuals with ties to British and/or U.S. Intelligence.

Joseph Mifsud

Alexander Downer

Stefan Halper

George Papadopoulos and Joseph Mifsud reportedly both worked at the London Centre of International Law Practice.

Joseph Mifsud appears to have joined LCILP around November 2015. Papadopoulos appears to have joined LCILP sometime in late February or early March 2016 after leaving Ben Carson’s campaign.

Per reports, Papadopoulos and Mifsud first met on March 14, 2016.

The London Centre of International Law and Practice Limited (LCILP) is an odd institution. From their website:

LCILP training emphasises the practical application of international law as a field inseparable from its geopolitical and global economic context.

On March 22, 2016, the Washington Post noted the following:

Papadopoulos, a 2009 graduate of DePaul University, directs an international energy center at the London Center of International Law Practice.

The Post did not seem to be aware that Papadopoulos had only held that position for a matter of weeks.

How Papadopoulos got the position remains unknown. An article by Medium notes the following:

The Centre for International Energy and Natural Resources Law & Security existed, at least in name, before Papadopoulos’s arrival and it’s unclear why he was chosen to head it. A list on the website of a dozen people associated with it suggests others were better qualified.

Was Papadopoulos attempting to bulk up his resume. Who offered the young analyst the prestigious sounding position.

Indications seem to be that the position was primarily in name only.

In a November 4, 2017 article, the Post noted the following regarding LCILP:

When a Post reporter buzzed the door on several occasions during business hours last week, no one answered.

Until recently, the staff Web page had 33 people listed on it, including Joseph Mifsud. But the page was deleted on Oct. 23, a week before the Papadopoulos plea agreement was unsealed.

Several of those listed as being part of the “team” were only loosely affiliated — if at all.

The link to LCILP’s staffing is no longer functional.

Quartz Media had slightly more success:

When a Quartz reporter visited LCILP’s headquarters inside a handsome Georgian building, he found that the office amounted to four people working in an undecorated backroom, all of whom declined to comment.

Mifsud vanished in early November 2017, shortly after the Papadopoulos story broke. To my knowledge, his whereabouts remain unknown.

I’ve found four different meetings between Papadopoulos and Mifsud:

March 14, 2016 – First known meeting. Papadopoulos met Mifsud in Italy approximately one week after officially joining the Trump team.

March 24, 2016 – Papadopoulos, Mifsud, Olga Polonskaya and unknown fourth party met in a London cafe. Polonskaya’s real name is likely Olga Vinogradova.

April 18, 2016 – Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev, an official at a state-sponsored think tank called Russian International Affairs Council.

April 26, 2016 – Mifsud claims to have met with high-level Russian government officials who have “dirt” on Clinton. Papadopoulos told the FBI that Mifsud said “the Russians had emails of Clinton” and “they have thousands of emails.”

Although the common story is that Mifsud is a Russian Agent, many ties seem to lead back to UK Intelligence.

Julian Assange put out a Twitter Thread noting the connection between Mifsud and UK Intelligence.

Disobedient Media has done a series of articles on Mifsud’s strange background – or lack thereof:

All Russiagate Roads Lead To London As Evidence Emerges Of Joseph Mifsud’s Links To UK Intelligence.

A Conversation With Chris Blackburn On The Contradictions Surrounding Mifsud.

Chris Blackburn Discusses Legacy Press Coverage Of Joseph Mifsud.

Chris Blackburn had this to say:

If Mifsud is a genuine Russian asset, he has been enabled by the United States’ most trusted allies. His relationship with senior intelligence and political leaders in Europe should constitute one of the greatest security breaches in decades.

I don’t have enough information to make a determination on Mifsud at this point, but I suspect ties with British Intelligence will prove accurate.

Mifsud was just the opening salvo directed at young Papadopoulos.

Let’s move forward to Papadopoulos and his May 10, 2016 meeting with Alexander Downer.

The Papadopoulos/Downer meeting has been portrayed as a chance encounter in a bar. That does not appear to be the case.

Papadopoulos was introduced to Downer through a chain of two intermediaries.

Papadopoulos knew an Israeli embassy official in London named Christian Cantor who introduced Papadopoulos to Erika Thompson.

Thompson was a counselor to Downer and served in Australia’s London embassy.

On May 4, 2016, Papadopoulos gave an interview to the London Times in which he stated then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron should apologize to Trump for negative comments.

According to the Daily Caller, Thompson reached out to Papadopoulos two days after the story appeared and said Downer wanted to meet with Papadopoulos.

The meeting between Papadopoulos and Downer took place on May 10, 2016:

During the meeting, which TheDCNF is told Thompson attended, Downer ordered Papadopoulos to “leave David Cameron alone.”

Downer has direct ties to UK Intelligence firm Hakluyt where he served on the Advisory Board from 2008-2014. See, Dearlove Connections – UK Intel Firm Hakluyt, Alexander Downer, Stefan Halper & Papadopoulos.

In late-July 2016, Australia’s ambassador to the U.S., Joe Hockey, told his American counterparts about Downer’s claims about the Papadopoulos conversation. The Aussies sat on the information for two months but revisited the Papadopoulos information after WikiLeaks released emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee.

That leak occurred on July 22, 2016. The FBI opened its counterintelligence investigation on July 31, 2016. Peter Strzok, the FBI’s deputy chief of counterintelligence at the time, oversaw the investigation.

Strzok texts suggest he was in London on August 3, 2016:

[Redacted’ talked about the Embassy. It’s the longest continuously staffed establishment in London.

That would be the Australian Embassy…

There was one more significant meeting yet to come.

A meeting with Stefan Halper.

On September 13, 2016 Papadopoulos accepted a meeting with Stefan Halper.

Halper approached Papadopoulos unbidden. Papadopoulos had no prior contact with Halper.

Halper, who has connections to CIA & UK Intelligence, asked Papadopoulos: “George, you know about hacking the emails from Russia, right?”

Stefan Halper is a Cambridge Fellow. He was a Senior Policy Advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford & Reagan (bio here).

Halper has a close association with former MI6 Head Richard Dearlove.

Halper had previously invited Carter Page to attend a July 2016 symposium held at Cambridge regarding the upcoming election. The speaker list was notable:

Madeleine Albright (former U.S. Secretary of State)

(former U.S. Secretary of State) Vin Weber (Republican Party strategist and former Congressman)

(Republican Party strategist and former Congressman) Ambassador Peter Ammon (German Ambassador to the UK)

Sir Richard Dearlove (former head of MI6)

(former head of MI6) Bridget Kendall (BBC diplomatic correspondent and the next Master of Peterhouse College)

Sir Malcolm Rifkind (former Defence and Foreign Secretary)

Page attended the symposium just four days after his July 2016 Moscow trip. Page met with Halper during the London visit. Page’s Moscow trip would figure prominently in the Steele Dossier…

Halper also requested – and attained – a meeting with another, unknown, Trump Campaign member on September 11, 2016 – two days before the Papadopoulos meeting.

Halper “offered to help the campaign” but did not mention the Papadopoulos meeting to the second staffer – nor the staffer meeting to Papadopoulos.

Curiously, despite the offers of campaign help, on November 3, 2016, Halper publicly stated that Clinton would be the best option for US-UK relations.

One other particularly interesting note.

Halper has connections to the UK Intelligence firm Hakluyt through Jonathan Clarke, with whom he has co-authored two books. You can find a June 2004 video of the pair discussing their first book here.

Jonathan Clarke is the U.S. Representative – Director U.S. Operations for Hakluyt. Clarke is a fairly public figure – but it was quite difficult to locate references to his association with Hakluyt.

Given the lengthy association between Halper and Clarke, I expect we will find additional ties between Halper, other members of Hakluyt and members of British Intelligence.

Halper’s association with former MI6 Head Richard Dearlove – via their previous positions at Cambridge Intelligence Seminar – is already known.

Note: For more on Hakluyt see Dearlove Connections – UK Intel Firm Hakluyt, Alexander Downer, Stefan Halper & Papadopoulos.

Halper is still remembered for one other event. From a 1983 UPI article:

The New York Times reported the Reagan campaign headquarters conducted a data-gathering operation to collect inside information on Carter foreign policy and used a number of former CIA officials in the effort.

It said Stefan Halper, a campaign aide who handled communications for Bush and provided news updates and policy ideas to the traveling Reagan party, was in charge of the operation.

Papadopoulos speculated to the Daily Caller that the Downer/Halper meetings may have been a spy operation.

As to questions about Papadopoulos’ complicity in all this, the FBI didn’t bother to interview Papadopoulos until January 27, 2017.

Consider the timeline:

Late February or early March 2016 – Papadopoulos lands a prestigious sounding job that immediately pads his resume.

Early March 2016 – Papadopoulos learns he will become a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign.

March 14, 2016 – Papadopoulos first meets Mifsud in Italy – approximately one week after officially joining the Trump team.

March 24, 2016 – Papadopoulos, Mifsud, Olga Polonskaya and unknown fourth party met in a London cafe.

April 18, 2016 – Mifsud introduced Papadopoulos to Ivan Timofeev, an official at a state-sponsored think tank called Russian International Affairs Council.

April 26, 2016 – Mifsud claims to have met with high-level Russian government officials who have “dirt” on Clinton. Papadopoulos told the FBI that Mifsud said “the Russians had emails of Clinton” and “they have thousands of emails.”

May 4, 2016 – Papadopoulos gives his interview to the London Times. It is not well-received in London.

May 10, 2016 – Papadopoulos meets with Australian Diplomat Alexander Downer. It is Downer who seeks out the meeting.

May/June 2016 – Halper invites Carter Page to July 2016 Cambridge symposium regarding the upcoming election.

July 11, 2016 – Carter Page attends symposium with Halper just four days after his July 2016 Moscow trip.

July 31, 2016 – FBI opens Counterintelligence Investigation into Trump-Russia connections.

August 2-3, 2016 – Strzok travels to London to meet unknown party at Australian Embassy.

September 13, 2016 – Papadopoulos accepts a meeting with Stefan Halper. Halper, who has connections to CIA & UK Intelligence, asked Papadopoulos: “George, you know about hacking the emails from Russia, right?”

My guess is Papadopoulos never knew what hit him. A young man, suddenly thrust into a position beyond his experience, Papadopoulos made for an easy intelligence target.

Carter Page almost certainly discussed the just completed Moscow trip with his host, Stefan Halper, during the London symposium.

It’s now being reported that Devin Nunes has learned the identity of a “top secret intelligence source” that was part of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Investigation.

I think there’s a decent chance that source is Stefan Halper.

Halper had contact with both Papadopulos and Carter Page. Halper has connections to UK Intelligence and US Intelligence. Halper met with Carter Page just days after Page’s Moscow trip.

Stefan Halper would seem a good fit as the “FBI source”.

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