Lawyers for the Democratic National Committee raised the possibility Friday that the professor who told former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos that the Russians had thousands of emails pertaining to Hillary Clinton is dead.
A court filing by the DNC did not offer any explanation as to why the committee thinks Russian-linked professor Joseph Mifsud may not be alive, but noted that it “continues to monitor news sources” for any signs of Mifsud’s whereabouts.
“Plaintiff believes that all other Defendants have now been served, with the exception of Mifsud (who is missing and may be deceased),” the court filing read.
The DNC is suing Russia, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks for interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Papadopoulos met in London with Mifsud during the campaign. During the meeting, Mifsud claimed the Russians had emails that would be damaging to Clinton.
Months later, WikiLeaks released emails stolen from Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta and other Democratic officials. An indictment from special counsel Robert Mueller alleges Russia stole the emails and gave them to WikiLeaks, who released them in the weeks before Election Day.
Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in August that Papadopoulos’ lies to FBI agents about his contacts with Russians prevented authorities from potentially arresting Mifsud before he left the U.S.
Investigators had located Mifsud in D.C. two weeks after Papadopoulos had been interviewed by the FBI in January 2017, the filing said. Mifsud left the U.S. on Feb. 11, 2017, and has not returned.
A hearing for the DNC lawsuit is set for Sept. 13 in Manhattan.
