Former Trump adviser loses fight to stay out of jail

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation. Photo / AP

A federal judge has ruled that George Papadopoulos must report to prison as scheduled tomorrow, rejecting a bid from the former Trump campaign adviser to delay the start of his sentence while a constitutional challenge to the special counsel investigation into Russia's election interference remains unresolved.

Papadopoulos, who was sentenced to spend 14 days in prison, had argued it was possible that the constitutional challenge in a separate case would result in his own conviction being set aside, and that he should therefore be allowed to remain free on bail.

But Judge Randolph Moss noted that Papadopoulos had not appealed his own conviction, having waived his right to do so when he pleaded guilty.

Moss also wrote that Papadopoulos had not shown that the appeals court in the separate case would likely conclude that the Special Counsel's appointment was unlawful.

"The Court, accordingly, concludes that Papadopoulos has failed to carry his burden of demonstrating that the Court should continue his current bail status," Moss wrote.

Caroline Polisi, a lawyer for Papadopoulos, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Papadopoulos retweeted a comment from Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, who called the judge's ruling "no surprise" and added, "And no surprise much of our corrupted media and Congress ignore strong evidence that he was set up as part of illicit Obama Administration effort to spy on and destroy @realDonaldTrump. Shut it down."

Papadopoulos also reacted to a tweet from his wife, Simona, who said of her husband: "You don't deserve to go to jail but you will come out stronger. The world will judge ultimately. Love u."

"This is why I will always be the luckiest guy in the world," Papadopoulos wrote.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about Russia contacts during the 2016 presidential campaign. But in recent weeks, Papadopoulos has hired a new legal team and complained publicly that he was framed by intelligence agencies looking to smear Trump's campaign.

Late last week, his new lawyers asked Moss to allow Papadopoulos to delay the start of his prison term until a constitutional challenge to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller is resolved. Mueller is investigating whether anyone in Trump's campaign conspired with Russia to influence the election's outcome.

Moss resoundingly rejected what he termed the "11th hour" request, writing in a 13-page ruling that even if the challenge to Mueller's appointment was successful - and he doubted it would be - that would unlikely give Papadopoulos cause to undo his conviction.

Mueller's prosecutors had opposed the delay, arguing that Papadopoulos had waived his right to challenge Mueller's appointment when he agreed to plead guilty.