Exclusive: Justice Department Investigating Possible Misconduct by Russia Probe Lawyer Who Led Prosecutions of Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos

The New York Sun has exclusively obtained a letter to one of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s deputies, Aaron Zelinsky, from the Interim United States attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, that casts doubt on the “integrity and legality” of the prosecutions and investigations into Russian interference that consumed President Trump’s first term in office.Mr. Zelinsky led the prosecution of a close confidant of Mr. Trump for decades, Roger Stone, and of a 2016 Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, for peripheral crimes related to the Russia investigation. Both men were pardoned by Mr. Trump. Mr. Martin’s letter, which seeks “information and clarification” as well as a meeting with Mr. Zelinsky, suggests that criminal jeopardy could await the attorneys who staffed Mr. Mueller’s team. The letter, on official letterhead of the Department of Justice, was sent on Monday to Mr. Zelinsky, now a partner at the Zuckerman Spaeder firm. Prior to that, he was an assistant United States attorney in Maryland and assistant special counsel to Mr. Mueller, where he led the prosecutions of Messrs. Stone and Papadopoulos A graduate of Yale Law School who clerked for two Supreme Court justices, Mr. Zelinsky wrote on LinkedIn in January that, after resigning on the eve of Mr. Trump’s return to power, he was “furious, heartbroken, and disappointed (but sadly not surprised) at what the President and his appointees are doing to DOJ—an attempt to build a government of men, not of laws. … It’s important we not allow these abhorrent actions to pass without protest.” Mr. Martin, who is awaiting Senate confirmation, alleges in the letter: “Declassified Federal Bureau of Investigation documents released … have raised questions about the integrity and legality of your work as a federal prosecutor in the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation.” In 2017 Mr. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in connection to Mr. Mueller’s investigation. He served 12 days in prison.Mr. Zelinsky, in a sentencing memorandum in 2018, asserted that Mr. Papadopoulos’s “lies undermined investigators’ ability” to “potentially detain or arrest” a suspected Russian asset, Joseph Mifsud, while he was still in the United States. Mr. Mueller described Mr. Mifsud as a “London-based professor who had connections to Russia.” It was Mr. Mifsud who, in a 2016 meeting with Mr. Papadopoulos, suggested that Russia could have compromising information — “dirt” — on Secretary Clinton. The Sun spoke to Mr. Papadopoulos by telephone. He reckons that he was caught in “malicious crosshairs” and that Mr. Zelinsky “was involved in criminal fraud. He should be prosecuted and probably disbarred.” Mr. Papadopoulos also insists that rather than mislead the government about Mr. Mifsud, he “told the FBI about this person and went out of my way to tell him what he said.” Mr. Papadopoulos claims that he was introduced to Mr. Mifsud — a shadowy figure of uncertain allegiances — by “people connected to the United States government.” He tells the Sun that he is not working with Mr. Martin or Attorney General Bondi, who are “doing their job on their own.” Mr. Mueller’s report, though, contends that “Papadopoulos worked with Mifsud and two Russian nationals to arrange a meeting” between the Trump campaign “and the Russian government. No meeting took place.” Mr. Martin contends that Mr. Papadopoulos’s account is supported by FBI documents that Mr. Papadopoulos “in fact supplied information that would have enabled investigators to challenge or potentially detain or arrest Mifsud while he was in the United States.” If that is the case, Mr. Martin reasons, then Mr. Zelinsky worked to “falsely portray Papadopoulos as trying to thwart the investigation.”Mr. Martin accuses Mr. Zelinsky of sending “an innocent man” — Mr. Papadopoulos — “to jail in an attempt to advance the false narrative that the campaign of a serving President had colluded with Russia to win the presidency.” Mr. Mueller’s investigation concluded with the veteran prosecutor declining to recommend criminal charges be brought against Mr. Trump.The letter’s request to meet with Mr. Zelinsky appears to be in keeping with an executive order signed by Mr. Trump on January 20, his first day in office. That edict explained: “It is the policy of the United States to identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to the weaponization of law enforcement.”Mr. Trump’s sense that Mr. Mueller’s investigation amounted to a miscarriage of justice has animated his flurry of executive actions against law firms. The order against Jenner & Block noted that the law firm announced it was “‘thrilled’ to re-hire the unethical Andrew Weissmann after his time engaging in partisan prosecution as part of Robert Mueller’s entirely unjustified investigation.” Mr. Weissman was Mr. Mueller’s principal deputy and is a paid contributor to MSNBC and critic of Mr. Trump. Mr. Mueller’s final report asserts: “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” The veteran prosecutor, though, concluded that “the investigation did not establish that the Trump Campaign coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”Mr. Martin asks Mr. Zelinsky to “Please respond by April 25, 2025 to schedule a date and time to meet.” Mr. Zelinsky did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment.

Exclusive: Justice Department Investigating Possible Misconduct by Russia Probe Lawyer Who Led Prosecutions of Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos

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