MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
RANDOLPH D. MOSS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On
September 7, 2018, the Court sentenced Defendant George
Papadopoulos to 14 days of incarceration, one year of
supervised release, 200 hours of community service, and a
fine of $9, 500 for making false statements to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 1001. The time to appeal his conviction or
sentence expired on September 25, 2018, and he is scheduled
to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his
term of incarceration on Monday, November 26, 2018.
Over
the past week, Papadopoulos has filed two motions seeking to
delay his surrender date. First, on November 16, 2018, he
filed a motion requesting that the Court “continue
[his] bail pending [the] outcome of In re: Grand Jury
Investigation, No. 18-3052 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 14, 2018),
” Dkt. 57, an appeal currently before the D.C. Circuit
challenging the appointment of Special Counsel Robert S.
Mueller III. According to Papadopoulos, that appeal raises
“a substantial question” and, if the D.C. Circuit
concludes that the Special Counsel's appointment was
unlawful, his conviction must be set aside. Id. at
6. Under these circumstances, Papadopoulos continues, it
would be unjust to require that he serve his sentence before
the D.C. Circuit renders its decision. Id. at 14.
Second, on November 21, 2018, he filed a motion seeking to
stay his surrender date at least until this Court decides
whether to grant his motion for bail pending the outcome of
the In re: Grand Jury Investigation appeal and, if
this Court denies that motion, until he has had the
opportunity to appeal that decision to the D.C. Circuit. Dkt.
58. The Special Counsel opposes both motions.
For the
reasons explained below, the Court agrees with the Special
Counsel that Papadopoulos has failed to carry his burden of
demonstrating that a delay in the execution of his sentence
is warranted and will, accordingly, DENY
both motions.
I.
BACKGROUND
On
October 5, 2017, Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to one count of
making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. §
1001. Dkt. 23. In the course of entering that plea, he
admitted under oath that he made “material false
statements and material omissions” during an interview
with the FBI, which took place on January 27, 2017. Dkt. 19
at 1 (Statement of Offense (“SOF”) ¶ 1). At
the time of the interview, the FBI had “an open
investigation into the Russian government's efforts to
interfere in the 2016 presidential election.”
Id. Papadopoulos admitted in the Statement of
Offense and at the plea hearing that he made the following
material false statements and omissions:
First,
he told the FBI “that his interactions with an overseas
professor, who . . . Papadopoulos understood to have
substantial connections to Russian government officials,
occurred before . . . Papadopoulos became a foreign policy
advisor to the” Trump presidential campaign (the
“Campaign”). Id. at 2 (SOF ¶ 2a).
He stated “multiple times” that the
“information” he learned from the professor-that
“the Russians possess[ed] ‘dirt' on
then-candidate Hillary Clinton in the form ‘thousands
of emails'”-was communicated to him “prior to
joining the Campaign.” Id. In truth, however,
Papadopoulos “met the [p]rofessor on or about March 14,
2016, ” after “he learned he would be an
advisor to the Campaign.” Id. Papadopoulos
admitted that the professor “only took an interest in
[him] because of his status with the Campaign, ” and he
admitted that the professor told him about the
“‘thousands of emails' on April 26, 2016,
when [he] had been a foreign policy advisor to the Campaign
for over a month.” Id.
Second,
“Papadopoulos . . . told the investigating agents that
the professor was ‘a nothing' and ‘just a guy
talk[ing] up connections or something.'”
Id. at 2 (SOF ¶ 2b). In truth, however,
Papadopoulos “understood that the professor had
substantial connections to Russian government officials (and
had met with some of those officials in Moscow immediately
prior to telling . . . Papadopoulos about the
‘thousands of emails').” Id. Indeed,
“over a period of months, ” Papadopoulos
“repeatedly sought to use the professor's Russian
connections in an effort to arrange a meeting between the
Campaign and Russian government officials.”
Id. Papadopoulos also “failed to inform
investigators that the [p]rofessor introduced him to”
an individual in Moscow, who told Papadopoulos that he had
connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(“MFA”). Id. at 11 (SOF ¶ 29).
Although Papadopoulos and “the Russian MFA connection
had multiple conversations over Skype and email about setting
‘the groundwork' for a ‘potential'
meeting between the Campaign and Russian government
officials, ” id at 6 (SOF ¶ 11),
Papadopoulos failed to disclose this connection,
“despite being asked if he had met with Russian
nationals or ‘[a]nyone with a Russian accent'
during the Campaign, ” id. at 11 (SOF ¶
29) (alteration in original).
Third,
Papadopoulos “claimed he met a certain female Russian
national before he joined the Campaign” and that
“their communications consisted of emails such as,
‘Hi, how are you?'” Id. at 2-3 (SOF
¶ 2c). In truth, however, he had met her “on or
about March 24, 2016, after he had become an adviser to the
Campaign; he believed that she had connections to Russian
government officials; and he sought to use her Russian
connections over a period of months in an effort to arrange a
meeting between the Campaign and Russian government
officials.” Id. In an email to “the
Campaign Supervisor, ” Papadopoulos described her as
“Putin's niece” and “stated that the
topic of their discussion was ‘to arrange a meeting
between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia
ties under President Trump.'” Id. at 4
(SOF ¶ 8).
On
February 16, 2017, the FBI interviewed Papadopoulos for a
second time with his counsel present. Id. at 12 (SOF
¶ 32). During that interview, “Papadopoulos
reiterated his purported willingness to cooperate with the
FBI's investigation, ” id., but he failed
to correct his prior false statements. The next day,
moreover, he “deactivated his Facebook account, which .
. . contained information about communications he had with
the [p]rofessor and the Russian MFA Connection, ” and
“created a new Facebook account.” Id.
(SOF ¶ 33). “On or about February 23, 2017, [he]
ceased using his cell phone number and began using a new
number.” Id. (SOF ¶ 34). Papadopoulos was
arrested on July 27, 2017. Id.
Pursuant
to the plea agreement, the Special Counsel agreed not to
further prosecute Papadopoulos for “conduct set forth
in the . . . Statement of the Offense” and agreed
“that a 2-level reduction” in the Sentencing
Guidelines' base offense level would “be
appropriate . . ., provided that [Papadopoulos] clearly
demonstrate[d] acceptance of responsibility . . . [and]
adhere[d] to every provision of th[e] Agreement.” Dkt.
18 at 2. Papadopoulos, in turn, agreed to “waive the
right to appeal [his] sentence . . ., except to the extent
the Court sentence[d] [him] above the statutory maximum or
guidelines range . . . or [to the extent he] claims that [he]
received ineffective assistance of counsel.”
Id. at 6. In addition, he waived “any right to
challenge [his] conviction . . . or sentence . . . or
otherwise attempt to modify or change the sentence or the
manner in which it was determined in any collateral attack,
including, but not limited to, a motion brought under 28
U.S.C. § 2255 or Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b),
except to the extent such a motion is based on newly
discovered evidence or on a claim that [he] received
ineffective assistance of counsel.” Id. at 7.
On
September 7, 2018, the Court sentenced Papadopoulos to a
within-guidelines sentence of 14 days of incarceration, one
year of supervised release, 200 hours of community service,
and a fine of $9, 500. The Court allowed Papadopoulos to
self-surrender at an institution designated by the Bureau of
Prisons, as notified by the Probation Office. Under these
terms, Papadopoulos is due to begin serving his term of
incarceration on Monday, November 26, 2018. Dkt. 57 at 5.
On
November 16, 2018-more than a year after he entered his
guilty plea and more than two months after the Court imposed
his sentence-Papadopoulos filed the instant motion to
“continue bail pending the decision of the [D.C.
Circuit] in In re: Grand Jury Investigation, No.
18-3052.” Dkt. 57 at 15. Five days later, he filed a
further motion, seeking to stay his surrender date pending
the resolution of his motion to continue bail by this Court
and, if this Court denies the requested relief, by the Court
of Appeals. Dkt. 58. Papadopoulos did not file a timely
appeal of his conviction or sentence and, to date, he has not
brought a collateral challenge of any type to his conviction
or sentence.
II.
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