Tuesday, 26 Nov 2024

Trump advisor Roger Stone guilty of obstruction, lying and witness tampering

Advisor to Donald Trump Roger Stone has been found guilty of lying to the United States' Congress.

A jury found he lied to Congress about his efforts to learn more about when WikiLeaks would publish damaging emails about 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The verdict related to seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements in testimony during the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.

Stone, 67, had pleaded not guilty to all seven charges ahead of the trial in a Washington federal court.

Some of the lies prosecutors said Stone made related to the existence of certain texts or emails, while others pertained to Stone's conversations with Trump campaign officials and a supposed "intermediary" with WikiLeaks in early August 2016.

WikiLeaks released a series of damaging emails about Clinton, Trump's Democratic rival in the presidential election, that U.S. intelligence officials and Special Counsel Robert Mueller later concluded had been stolen by Russian hackers.

During the trial – which ran for eight days – former Trump campaign advisor Rick Gates recalled a July 2016 phone call between the President and Stone.


Following the call Trump announced that more information from Wikileaks would soon find its way into the public domain.

Former White House advisor Steve Bannon also testified in the trial.

The verdict is not only a blow to Stone but renews scrutiny on then-candidate Trump's activities at a time when he faces an impeachment inquiry that could derail his presidency.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson set Stone’s sentencing for February 6.

Witness tampering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and the other counts carry a maximum sentence of five years each.

Under U.S. sentencing guidelines Stone will likely face much less jail time as a first-time non-violent offender.

In numerous interviews and during a Netflix documentary about his role in the 2016 election Stone has been candid about his style.

He has described his political methods as "attack, attack, attack – never defend" and "admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack".

Upon hearing news of Stones' conviction, Trump unsurprisingly decided to go on the offensive.

"So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come," he wrote on Twitter.

"Well, what about Crooked Hillary, Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, Shifty Schiff, Ohr & Nellie, Steele & all of the others, including even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie?…."

It appears the President was trying to deflect attention away from the fact one of his key advisors had just been found guilty of a string of serious crimes.

Source: Read Full Article

Related Posts