Simona Mangiante has been reported to ICE, sources close to George Papadopoulos say
Simona Mangiante, the wife of convicted ex-Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, has been reported to federal immigration authorities by those close to Papadopoulos, per 2 sources with knowledge of the situation and exclusively obtained ICE submission documents.
Mangiante has recently been embroiled in her own scandals after her background has been called into question, including her employment history and age.
A comprehensive investigation by this reporter found many holes in Mangiante’s story, including her alleged employment for a year-and-a-half at the law firm Mayer Brown in Washington, DC and New York. The firm said that they could not find record of Mangiante ever working for the firm but later issued a revised statement saying that they believe Mangiante worked as a summer intern for 4 months.
Inconsistencies about Mangiante’s age have raised questions as well. In various interviews she has been described as being 30, 34, and 37 years old. In an attempt to clear the record, Mangiante provided ABC News with a photo of her passport that purported to show her birth year of 1984, however when challenged with a copy of her marriage certificate indicating a birth year of 1981, Mangiante admitted to photo-shopping the picture of her passport.
In a statement on her personal Twitter account, the 37-year-old said that she “photoshopped dates for provocation.”
More recently, Mangiante has altered her LinkedIn profile to remove any mention of attending the Université libre de Bruxelles (Brussels). This removal occurred days after this reporter contacted the university seeking to confirm Mangiante’s attendance.
The misleading statements about her background come as Mangiante admitted to news outlets that the Special Counsel’s team questioned her about being a Russian spy. Mangiante maintains that she was born and raised in Italy and has no affiliation with any intelligence services. She is not accused of any wrongdoing by Mueller’s team.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller’s office, declined to comment on this story.
Sources say Mangiante reported to ICE
In recent days, people close to Papadopoulos have reported his wife to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over what they say is activity that may break federal law, per 2 sources familiar with the situation. Exclusively obtained ICE submission documents confirm that this is indeed the case.
Among their concerns are allegations that Mangiante accepted money for news interviews without having a work permit. “She took money plus expenses for some of [the interviews] for sure. And the government would find the paper trail from those companies even if she denies it” said a source close to Papadopoulos, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.
A FOX News spokesperson said that they did not directly pay this guest and handled basic travel expenses.
An additional concern was raised about a GoFundMe page originally set up by Mangiante for her husband. The page has since been changed to be under Papadopoulos’s name, although an archived version of the fundraiser on August 29 confirms that Mangiante’s name was the original creator. It is against immigration laws to accept any income from an employer in the United States without a work permit. “Unauthorized employment is not taken lightly, regardless of whether or not the person intentionally broke any immigration laws” according to the legal organization AllLaw.
Mangiante’s lack of a work permit is confirmed by the couple themselves on the donation page. They state, “today, as a direct result of supporting her husband on tv and social media, her work visa in this country became on hold. This was deliberate to silence two victims.”
Finally, the people close to Papadopoulos reportedly raised issues about the couple’s marriage. “It is a quick marriage after only 11 months of knowing each other with no family or friends present or knew it was taking place” one source said. Another source said that Mangiante married Papadopoulos while on a tourist visa.
Nicole Alberico, ICE’s public affairs officer in Chicago said, “ICE does not discuss publicly subjects that are not in ICE’s custody.”
Papadopoulos has taken to Twitter in recent weeks to suggest that he was entrapped by Western intelligence agencies — namely the FBI — a sentiment that has been echoed by his wife. The two have become leading voices in attempting to discredit the Mueller investigation by alleging wrongdoing by federal investigators. The former Trump adviser will soon serve 14 days in prison for pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.
