Prosecutor: Stone ‘Undermined’ Mueller Probe To Protect Trump

@AP
Prosecutor: Stone ‘Undermined’ Mueller Probe To Protect Trump

Roger Stone undermined the effectiveness of the congressional investigation into Russian tampering in the 2016 election by repeatedly and deliberately lying under oath, prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments Wednesday.

A veteran Republican political operative and longtime confidant of Donald Trump, Stone is accused of lying to lawmakers about his attempts to communicate with the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, tampering with witnesses and obstructing a House Intelligence Committee investigation into whether the Trump presidential campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He has denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutor Jonathan Kravis said Stone lied to protect the Trump campaign. Several witnesses have highlighted how Trump campaign associates were eager to take advantage of the more than 19,000 emails that had been hacked by Russia from the Democratic National Committee and were being released in batches by WikiLeaks.

Steve Bannon, who served as the campaign’s chief executive, testified that Stone had boasted about his ties to WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, alerting them to pending new batches of damaging emails. Campaign officials saw Stone as the “access point” to WikiLeaks, he said.

As a result, the campaign looked to Stone to make contact with WikiLeaks and learn more about the content and timing up of the upcoming email releases.

“Roger Stone knew that if this information came out, it would look really bad before his longtime friend Donald Trump, so he lied to the committee,” Kravis said. “He not only tried but succeeded in impeding the committee’s investigation.”

Stone was indicted in January as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian electoral tampering.

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Trump Touts New Push To 'Repeal And Replace' Obamacare

The late Sen. John McCain gives thumbs down to Affordable Care Act repeal in July 2017

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Donald Trump is once again living in the past, trying to resurrect a Republican political debacle that even the Freedom Caucus has abandoned: Obamacare repeal. “The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives," he spewed on Truth Social on Saturday.

Keep reading...Show less
George Santos
Rep. George Santos
George Santos

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Monday afternoon said he has spoken toRep. George Santos, suggesting the embattled and indicted New York Republican might resign rather than face an impending expulsion vote he’s likely to lose. But over the holiday weekend, Santos suggested he was not going to go without a fight, as he appeared to take a page out of another embattled Republican’s book: former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC).

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}