Papadopoulos’s wife asks Trump to pardon her husband in Mueller probe

The wife of former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos on Monday appealed to President Trump to pardon her husband, who pleaded guilty last year in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. 

Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson that her husband was “dedicated and committed” to the Trump campaign. She said his “freedom is challenged” after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI last October amid the probe into Russia’s election interference. 

“So I trust and hope and ask to President Trump to pardon him. I hope he will,” she said.

George Papadopoulos’ wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos: “I trust and hope and ask to President Trump to pardon him.” pic.twitter.com/ASYP0RE7Vj

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 4, 2018

Papadopoulos was arrested in July and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians. He agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation.

Trump and the White House quickly sought to distance themselves from Papadopoulos after his plea, dismissing him as a low-level volunteer and a liar.

….came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017

Papadopoulos has been free on bond since pleading guilty, but Mueller told a judge late last month that he is ready to move forward with sentencing in the case.

{mosads}Papadopoulos is one of at least four former Trump associates to plead guilty or be indicted as part of Mueller’s probe.

The White House denied in March that it was considering pardons for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort or former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who were both implicated in Mueller’s investigation.

The president caused a stir on Monday morning when he declared on Twitter that he has “the absolute right to pardon myself.” He added that he has no reason to do so because he has “done nothing wrong.”

Trump has pardoned five individuals since taking office, including conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio and late heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson.