Trump was reportedly briefed on plan to meet Putin, didn’t say no

President Donald Trump did not dismiss the notion of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin when it was brought up by George Papadopoulos, the former campaign foreign policy adviser who recently admitted he lied to the FBI about his contacts with people with connections to the Russian government, according to a new report.

Trump did not dismiss the suggestion immediately when brought up by Papadopoulos at a March 2016 meeting, CNN reports.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The idea man: Papadopoulos was one of several former members of the Trump campaign who face charges as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and other related matters. Earlier this week, court documents were unsealed that show Papadopoulos admitted he lied to the FBI about interactions he had with foreign officials with ties to the Russian government. He admitted he tried to arrange meetings between the campaign and Russia through his contacts.
• When are you free? As noted in the court documents, Papadopoulos told the campaign that he “he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President Putin.”
• Trump’s response: CNN reported on Wednesday that when broached with the idea, Trump “didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no,” according to a source. The source declined to elaborate on Trump’s response to Papadopoulos.
• Sessions pushes back: Attorney General Jeff Sessions shut down the idea at the meeting in March 2016, CNN reports.

You can read all of CNN’s report here.