George Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.Credit:Twitter/George Papadopoulos
As former US director of national intelligence James Clapper told CNN this week:"I think it was probably one of several stimulants for the investigation but was not the only factor."
It is almost certain Downer has since been interviewed or at least debriefed by Mueller's team.
As remarkable as it seems that Papadopoulos would be so reckless as to tell Downer - a foreign diplomat he'd just met - that he knew about the Russian hacking,Downer is known for his fondness for expansive conversation over wine,so it is plausible Downer had the young man talking well past the point at which he should have stopped.
The romantic link explains that it was a random connection of Papadopoulos to Australia's High Commission that sparked the meeting. One unanswered question is whether Papadopoulos had boasted to the woman of his Russian connections and this was a subject of interest to Downer. But Trump was the presumptive Republican nominee by the start of May 2016,so Downer would have seen value in meeting with one of his campaign team anyway.