A Facebook photo unearthed by a freelance reporter is adding to questions about Russian attempts to influence the presidential election — and now reportedly touches the heart of the British government.
The picture is of British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and an academic whose alleged high-level Kremlin contacts have drawn scrutiny from the FBI’s investigation into links between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia, Politico reported.
The picture shows Johnson standing with Joseph Mifsud — a Maltese academic who allegedly was a key link between Russia and the Trump campaign — and a businessman, Prasenjit Kumar Singh.
It was originally posted by Singh from a Conservative Party fund-raiser held in Reading, outside London, Oct. 19 — and discovered by freelance journalist Gavin Sheridan.
The Foreign Office has said Johnson had no recollection of ever meeting Mifsud, the Guardian reported. And Singh told the Observer he didn’t know if Mufsud introduced himself to Johnson, The Guardian reported.
Mifsud has emerged as the alleged link between George Papadopoulos, an adviser to the Trump presidential campaign, and a Russian woman, Olga Polonskaya — also known by her maiden name, Olga Vinogradova — whom Papadopoulos apparently thought was the niece of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mifsud told Papadopoulos that Polonskaya had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in “thousands of e-mails,” The New York Times has reported.
Sheridan wrote on Twitter he’d initially found a Facebook friend connection between Polonskaya and Mifsud last month, and made an archived copy of Polonskaya’s page, which has since been altered, Politico reported.