Revealed: Russia's middle-man who introduced Trump campaign official to 'Putin's niece' and offered dirt on Hillary is London-based European Union expert who trains diplomats

  • Josepf Mifsud, a London-based former Maltese diplomat, has been identified as Russia's conduit to the Trump campaign 
  • He helped introduce Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos to an individual connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 2016
  • The professor reportedly told Papadopoulos that 'They [the Russians] have dirt on [Clinton]'; and 'they have thousands of emails.'
  • Mifsud runs the London Acamdey of Diplomacy and is an expert in European Union diplomacy
  • He has ties to the University of East Anglia, near London, and the University of Stirling, in central Scotland
  • Russian he introduced Papadopolous to was Ivan Timofeev, a program director at the Kremlin-backed Russian International Affairs Council
By Alana Goodman For Dailymail.com
Published: 18:29 EDT, 30 October 2017 | Updated: 10:22 EDT, 31 October 2017
The anonymous 'professor' who allegedly tried to facilitate a meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian officials has been identified as Joseph Mifsud, a 'diplomacy' expert from Malta who runs a training center for prospective ambassadors in London.
Federal prosecutors say the professor – who was not named in court documents but was identified as Mifsud by the Washington Post on Monday – had high-level ties in Russia and helped introduce Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos to an individual connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in April 2016.
That Russian official was identified in reports on Monday as Ivan Timofeev, a program director at the Kremlin-backed Russian International Affairs Council.
According to prosecutors, the professor also passed on information to Papadopoulos about 'dirt' the Russians had uncovered on Clinton, including 'thousands of emails' they collected. 
Meet the professor: Jospeh Mifsud (right) runs the London Academy of Diplomacy and helped introduced George Papadopolous, the Trump campaign aide, to a Russian official. He has other ties to Moscow: In July he was phtoographed with a Russian diplomat based at its London embassy, Ernest Chernukhin
+6
Meet the professor: Jospeh Mifsud (right) runs the London Academy of Diplomacy and helped introduced George Papadopolous, the Trump campaign aide, to a Russian official. He has other ties to Moscow: In July he was phtoographed with a Russian diplomat based at its London embassy, Ernest Chernukhin
Official: Ivan Timofeev was introduced to the campaign aide by Mifsud who is called 'the professor' in prosecution documents. Another woman who Papadopolous thought was Vladimir Putin's niece was also introduced to him. She was not Vladimir Putin's niece
+6
Official: Ivan Timofeev was introduced to the campaign aide by Mifsud who is called 'the professor' in prosecution documents. Another woman who Papadopolous thought was Vladimir Putin's niece was also introduced to him. She was not Vladimir Putin's niece
In London: George Papadopoulos posted a photo outside department store Harrods during a trip to the UK. He has now pleaded guilty October 5 to lying to the FBI's Russia collusion probe
+6
In London: George Papadopoulos posted a photo outside department store Harrods during a trip to the UK. He has now pleaded guilty October 5 to lying to the FBI's Russia collusion probe
Not my niece: Vladimir Putin was not the uncle of the woman who Papadopolous corresponded with and lied to the FBI about
+6
Not my niece: Vladimir Putin was not the uncle of the woman who Papadopolous corresponded with and lied to the FBI about
Prosecutors say Papadopoulos also tried to use the professor's Russian connections to set up a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the spring of 2016.
But the ill-fated attempt at diplomacy never got off the ground – and it has now resulted in federal charges against Papadopoulos, after authorities say he lied to investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller.
Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal investigators earlier this month. Details about his case and separate indictments against former Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Richard Gates were first unsealed on Monday.
Prosecutors said Papadopoulos misled investigators who were probing possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in January, downplaying his efforts to arrange meetings with Russian officials.
According to prosecutors, Papadopoulos reached out to Mifsud after getting tapped as a foreign policy advisor for the Trump campaign in early March 2016, because he was under the impression Mifsud had close ties to the Russian government.
Mifsud, a 'diplomacy' expert who specializes in energy policy issues, worked for the Malta ministry of foreign affairs and the education ministry in the 1990s.
He was recently listed as director at the London Centre of International Law Practice, but his biography page on the website was removed without explanation two days ago.
The biography described Mifsud as 'the founding father of the term 'Academic Diplomacy',' and said his research is focused on the European Union 'especially accession and enlargement.'
Mifsud currently serves as honorary director of the London Academy of Diplomacy, a diplomatic training institute associated with the University of East Anglia, outside London, and the University of Stirling, in central Scotland.
He has described the academy as 'one of the best diplomatic academies in the world' and says it teaches students 'how to be flexible in thinking, how to engage with the business community and how to act at different levels, from the highest level of diplomacy to more mundane people-to-people skills, as well as the ability to think strategically and geopolitically.'
Mifsud has also spoken about the importance of diplomatic 'branding' in the age of Twitter and the importance of establishing connections between ambassadors and businessmen. In a 2014 interview with the Washington Diplomat he said his role model is Henry Kissinger, who he called 'a fantastic diplomat.'
Video playing bottom right...