That’s exactly my read. The sent Misfud to Papadopoulis to plant the idea that Russia has “dirt” on Hillary and had given it to Trump. Then they sent the Aussie Ambassador, who had no business meeting with PapaD, to try solicit that planted info back from him and report it to the intelligence services. This became the pretext for the warrants which allowed them to spy not only on PapaD but on everyone he communicated with and everyone those people communicated with! For his part PapaD says he never said a word of this “dirt” to the Aussie and it is ridiculous to think that even if such “dirt” existed that PapaD would have first hand knowledge of it.
They also arranged to give PapaD $10,000 in cash, which imo they had hoped he would bring into the USA which they would then charge him for undeclared cash in excess of legal amounts and that would have of course created an appearance that he was up to something since he was not a man of such resources. He was indeed arrested on his arrival at JFK but fortunately for him he left that cash in the hands of his European attorneys as evidence.
The did the same with Page, but have no case against Page in part because he had been a long time FBI asset.
Worse of all is they did it to Don Jr. Note that they used the same word “dirt”. That Russian lawyer met with FusionGPS people immediately before and after the Trump Tower meeting. No info was traded, solicited, or offered. What is most troubling about this one is the potential for blackmailing the President by entrapping his son. “Mr. Trump do as we say or we will prosecute your son”. That this possibility has escaped, to my knowledge, all commentary both left and right, is very troubling.
We have to have faith in Trump and his legal team and to some extent the Congress. The deep state can't be dislodged, but can be trimmed back with reforms. Americans must have 4th amendment rights especially in opposition political parties and really only Congress can make that happen.