Papadopoulos says in NYT interview that he lied to the FBI to distance himself and Trump from "what was probably an illegal action"

Also this nugget:

PAPADOPOULOS: So it wasn't a shock when I went into the meeting on March 32 and elucidated things it a more clear way that I could potentially organize a meeting between candidate Trump and Prime Minister Putin.

MAZZETTI: And what was the reaction of the meeting when you brought this up?

PAPADOPOULOS: The reaction was mixed. I mean, you know, of course, there were some scholars from conservative think tanks at the time at the Heritage Foundation, and others that you know nodded in disapproval, they shook their heads. But at that time, I really wasn’t interested in what the other participants wanted.

I just wanted to hear what the two principals wanted to say, and it seemed at the meeting that candidate Trump was at least open to this. Though he wasn’t committed either way, but he nodded and deferred to Jeff Sessions who I remember being actually quite enthusiastic about a potential meeting between then-candidate Trump and Putin.

Recall Sessions' sworn testimony during his Congressional hearing:

Franken: ... if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?

Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions: Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. ...

Franken: Very well. Without divulging sensitive information, do you know about this or know what compromising personal and financial information the Russians claim to have?

Sessions: Senator Franken, allegations get made about candidates all the time and they've been made about president-elect Trump a lot sometimes. Most of them, virtually all of them have been proven to be exaggerated and untrue. I would just say to you that I have no information about this matter.