“The defendant’s crime was serious and caused damage to the government’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,” Mueller wrote in a court filing. “The defendant lied in order to conceal his contacts with Russians and Russian intermediaries during the campaign.”

Specifically, prosecutors said Papadopoulos lied during a meeting with FBI agents on Jan. 27, 2017 about a meeting that he had with a professor, Joseph Mifsud, in London…

Papadopoulos’ claims kept FBI agents from investigating the professor, who according to court documents was in Washington, DC, two weeks after Papadopoulos spoke with agents that January.

The professor left the US on Feb. 11, 2007, and has not returned.