# Alexander Downer **Alexander Downer** (born September 9, 1951) is a former Australian foreign minister whose May 2016 conversation with Trump adviser [[George Papadopoulos]] in London became the predicate for the FBI's [[Crossfire Hurricane]] investigation. ## The London drinks Downer was Foreign Minister of [[Australia]] from 1996 to 2007 and High Commissioner in London from 2014 to 2018. In May 2016 he met Papadopoulos at a London bar (Wikipedia dates it May 10 *[single-sourced]*). According to the DOJ Inspector General's report, Papadopoulos suggested the "Trump team had received some kind of suggestion from Russia" that it could help with damaging information about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. ## The tip After [[WikiLeaks]] began releasing DNC emails on July 22, 2016, Downer relayed the conversation to a U.S. official in a European city on July 26, according to the Inspector General. The FBI opened Crossfire Hurricane on July 31, 2016. Downer later told *The Australian* that nothing Papadopoulos said indicated Trump himself was conspiring with Russia. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and served 14 days. From June 2018 Downer chaired King's College London's International School of Government. *(2026 status not verified.)* ## RWKB angle Because the Russia investigation's origin runs through Downer, he is central to the "Spygate"/"Russiagate hoax" counter-narrative that [[William Barr]] and [[John Durham]] pursued — the claim that Five Eyes allies set up the Trump campaign. ## See Also - [[Crossfire Hurricane]] - [[George Papadopoulos]]