A lawyer for Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese professor who told former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos that the Russians had thousands of Hillary Clinton’s emails, says his client is willing to testify in the Senate.
In a September court filing, the Democratic National Committee, which is suing Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks for interfering in the 2016 election, said it believed all defendants in the case have been served “with the exception of Mifsud (who is missing and may be deceased).” The lawyers did not explain why they thought he might be dead.
Mifsud met with Papadopoulos in London during the 2016 presidential campaign. Papadopoulos was sentenced to two weeks in prison for lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. The professor claimed the Russians had “dirt” on Clinton, and his conversation with Papadopoulos reportedly prompted the FBI investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Months later, WikiLeaks released emails stolen from Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta and other Democratic officials. An indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller alleged that Russia stole the emails and gave them to WikiLeaks, which released them in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in August that Papadopoulos’ lies to the FBI about his contacts with Russians prevented authorities from potentially arresting Mifsud before he left the U.S.
Investigators had located Mifsud in Washington, D.C., two weeks after Papadopoulos was interviewed by the FBI in January 2017, the filing said. Mifsud then left the U.S. on Feb. 11, 2017, and has not returned.
He has not been seen in public since November 2017, and lawyers for the Democratic National Committee questioned whether he was dead.
Mifsud’s lawyer Stephan Roh told BuzzFeed News in an email that his client “is to testify in front of the U.S. Senate — we are working towards his appearance.”
Spokespeople for the committee declined to comment to the Washington Examiner about whether the committee has been in contact with Mifsud’s lawyer.
Roh would not comment further to BuzzFeed News about whether a date had been set, whether Mifsud would travel to the U.S. to testify, or if any talks with Senate officials about scheduling testimony had occurred.
“We will not comment or answer further questions of journalists until the Senate hearing takes place — unless necessary and in the interest of Prof. Mifsud,” he said.
Roh did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
[Also read: Jerome Corsi: ‘I’m the next to get indicted’ by Robert Mueller]
