It was a typically beautiful Californian morning, warm and cloudless with the iconic Hollywood sign standing high in the nearby hills as George Papadopoulos explained, between sips of coffee, how he believed he was the target of an Australian-US-UK-Italian-Israeli spying operation.
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Papadopoulos, Donald Trump's former foreign policy campaign adviser, had an extraordinary story to tell.
But how true was this story?
The world could soon find out thanks to globetrotting probes by US Attorney General William Barr and John Durham, a veteran federal prosecutor with a history of digging deep into high-profile cases.
Back in March, Papadopoulos sat down with AAP at the Bourgeois Pig, a hip cafe on Hollywood's Franklin Avenue.
To his surprise, news broke over coffee that US Special Counsel Bob Mueller had concluded his long-awaited report into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.
"Really?" Papadopoulos said when he heard the breaking news.
Papadopoulos was one of Mueller's first convictions.
The 32-year-old from Chicago entered a guilty plea in October 2017 to lying to the FBI, and served 12 days in prison.
Trump quickly distanced himself from Papadopoulos, describing him as a "young, low level volunteer".
Other Republicans dubbed Papadopoulos not much more than a "coffee boy" for the Trump campaign.
Times have changed.
Papadopoulos has emerged as the trump card in the president's unbridled desire to expose the FBI and Mueller investigations as a "witch hunt".
Papadopoulos has long proclaimed his story as the road map to understanding how the FBI, Obama administration and US, Australian and other intelligence agencies conspired in an attempt to take down Trump.
This has been widely rejected, including by Alexander Downer, Australia's former high commissioner to the UK who met Papadopoulos for drinks at a London bar in May 2016.
Downer claimed Papadopoulos offered up an explosive titbit of information at the bar: Russia might use "damaging" material they had on Trump's presidential rival Hillary Clinton in the lead-up to the November 2016 election.
Mueller wrote in his final report the information from Downer led to the FBI opening its Trump-Russia probe two months later.
Papadopoulos denies telling Downer about the Russian dirt, but admits a mysterious Maltese professor named Joseph Mifsud, who he first met in Italy, told him Russia had "thousands" of Clinton's emails.
Papadopoulos' road map appears to be what Trump, Barr, Durham and other high-profile Republicans and allies of the president, including Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham, are following.
"I was investigated and they think it could have been by UK," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
"They think it could have been by Australia.
"They think it could have been by Italy.
"So when you get down to it, I was investigated by the Obama administration."
It emerged last week Trump asked Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in a recent phone call to help with Barr's investigation.
Barr and Durham have also travelled to Italy.
Barr has also reportedly contacted British officials.
The Morrison government has carefully managed its relationship with Trump perhaps better than any other nation.
Proof was last month's state dinner at the White House.
The relationship, however, hit a speed bump last week when Graham wrote a letter to Morrison, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson requesting the allies continue to cooperate with Barr's investigation.
Australia took exception to a reference to Downer.
Graham, just as Papadopoulos has done, portrayed Downer in the letter as being "directed" to "relay information" obtained from Papadopoulos to the FBI.
In a sign of approval, Trump retweeted Graham's letter on Sunday.
Australian Ambassador to the US Joe Hockey was not so supportive and fired off a letter to Graham.
"In your letter you made mention of the role of an Australian diplomat," Hockey wrote.
"We reject your characterisation of his role.
"As you have requested, we will work closely with the Attorney General to resolve any misunderstandings in this manner."
Australian Associated Press