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Russia probe target Papadopoulos plans book, biopic

George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump's presidential election campaign, and his wife Simona Mangiante plan a biographical docuseries and a political book after he spent two weeks in jail for lying to the FBI

George Papadopoulos sparked the first FBI inquiry into Russian involvement in the 2016 US election when, as a Trump campaign advisor, he let slip that Moscow had offered him dirt on Hillary Clinton. Now he's the first to cash in on the scandal. Just out of prison, where he spent two weeks for lying to investigators about his Russia contacts, Papadopoulos is already filming a documentary about his case, and has a book on the way to boot: "Deep State Target." "Very happy to announce our new docu-series!" Papadopoulos declared Tuesday on Twitter, over a picture of him with wife Simona Mangiante Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos, 31, was an obscure oil industry analyst when he joined the Trump campaign's foreign policy advisory team in March 2016. Based in London, he made contacts with what he believed were important Russian and Russia-linked officials, one of whom told him Moscow had information available that would embarrass Trump's election rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Papadopoulos passed the offer on to the Trump campaign, but also, while reportedly drunk, mentioned it to an Australian diplomat, who passed the information to US intelligence. The Federal Bureau of Investigation then opened the now sprawling probe into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia that threatens the president himself. Papadopoulos, one of the first investigated, lied to the FBI about his contacts. Eventually, he pleaded guilty to one count, admitted to the FBI's description of what he had done with the Russians, and was sentenced to 14 days in jail. But after his guilty plea, he made an about-face, saying he had been set up by Australian, British and US intelligence in a plot to undermine Trump's presidency. He was released on Friday from a low-security federal prison in Wisconsin, and one day later was feted in Washington at a conference of the "alt-right," an often extremist conservative movement known for conspiracy theories. One day after that, the Papadopouloses were already filming their story with Los Angeles documentary house FGW Productions. The drama is set to focus on the love story between Papadopoulos and Italian lawyer Mangiante as it developed in parallel with his involvement in the Trump campaign, his Russia contacts and then the collusion investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Papadopoulos told The Washington Post that they sought "a true image of ourselves to be presented for the first time since I was embroiled in the Russia investigation." The book meanwhile will detail "Western intelligence attempts to sabotage President Trump and his team," Papadopoulos said on Twitter.