TRUMP WANTS TO KNOW WHERE HILLARY’S INDICTMENT IS AFTER ROGER STONE’S ARREST
President Donald Trump responded Saturday to news of his confidant Roger Stone’s Friday indictment with a list of Democrats and justice officials he wants to see in trouble for alleged lying.
“If Roger Stone was indicted for lying to Congress, what about the lying done by [James] Comey, [John] Brennan, [James] Clapper, Lisa Page [and] lover, [James] Baker and soooo many others? What about Hillary [Clinton] to FBI and her 33,000 deleted Emails? What about Lisa [and Peter Strzok’s] deleted texts [and Anthony Weiner’s] laptop? Much more!” Trump wrote Saturday.
Stone was indicted Friday morning on five counts of lying to Congress, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of a government proceeding. Stone appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Friday evening and said Trump never told him to get in touch with WikiLeaks and claimed the indictment was about “silencing” him.Trump accused Clinton of lying to the FBI in his Saturday tweet over the tens of thousands emails deleted from the private server she used while U.S. secretary of state. (RELATED:Stone Indictment Undercuts Trump-Russia Collusion Narrative)
The FBI looked into Clinton’s handling of classified information on a private server, and it was a sticking point in the 2016 presidential election. The Daily Caller News Foundationreported on Jan. 12:
Clinton was interviewed by the FBI as part of the investigation on July 2, 2016, three days before then-FBI Director James Comey announced he would be recommending that Clinton be charged in the case.
The FBI concluded that Clinton had been “extremely careless” in using a private email server, language that rebuked the former secretary of state but did not carry legal weight. Ex-FBI Director Comey, also mentioned in Trump’s Saturday tweet, had considered Clinton’s handling classified information on her private email account to be “grossly negligent” according to a 2016 memo draft, but the language was later softened.
Gross negligence in the handling of classified information can result in jail time.
Trump also dredged up the congressional interviews with former FBI employees Page and Strzok, who had central roles in the investigations of the Trump 2016 campaign and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, in his tweet. The president has used the pair’s apparent anti-Trump bias to characterize the investigations as a “witch hunt.”
Texts between the two former FBI employees, who were having an affair, show they said “we’ll stop” Trump from getting elected. The FBI “failed to preserve” five months’ worth of text messages between Strzok and Page.
Former Trump Advisor Roger Stone Arrested As Part Of Mueller Probe
Roger Stone has been arrested in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, on a seven-count indictment. Here are the details…
from Zero Hedge
Former Trump advisor Roger Stone, who has been under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller over his alleged contacts with Wikileaks, has been arrested In Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on a seven-count indictment: One count of obstruction, five counts of making false statements and one count of witness tampering.
The arrest – which like many of Mueller’s high profile arrests, occurred early on a Friday – isn’t exactly a surprise: Stone has long said he expected to be indicted by a grand jury convened by Mueller.
As reporters comb through the Stone indictment, one twitter user pointed out that Mueller had determined that Stone had been “contacted by senior campaign officials to inquire about future releases” of information stolen by Wikileaks from the DNC.
Stone will make an initial appearance later Friday at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Late last year, Trump famously tweeted a congratulatory message to Stone after the advisor said he would never testify against the president – something that is likely being scrutinized by investigators. The indictment, which was under seal until Stone was taken into custody, was handed down by the jury on Thursday.
In a summary tweeted by WaPo’s Aaron Blake, Stone was busted for lying about the nature of his contacts with his “intermediary” to Wikileaks (he had two intermediaries previously reported to be journalists Randy Credico and Jerome Corsi) and for lying about his communications with senior campaign officials and Wikileaks about the latter’s upcoming releases of stolen emails. Stone raised eyebrows during the campaign for “predicting” the release of emails embarrassing to the Clinton campaign.
The indictment also alleges that Stone requested specific Clinton-related information from Wikileaks.
He also allegedly asked a witness appearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to pull a “Frank Pentangeli”, a reference to a famous scene in the Godfather II when a government witness pretends not to know anything about Michael Corleone’s criminal activities during a Congressional hearing.
In the indictment, Mueller accuses Stone of…
8. In response, STONE took steps to obstruct these investigations.Among other steps to obstruct the investigations, STONE:a. Made multiple false statements to HPSCI about his interactions regarding Organization 1, and falsely denied possessing records that contained evidence of these interactions; andb. Attempted to persuade a witness to provide false testimony to and withhold pertinent information from the investigations.
Stone’s requests to “Organization 1” – clearly identified as Wikileaks – were occasionally very specific, with Stone at times asking if Wikileaks had specific “dirt” on Hillary Clinton relating to incidents that occurred during her tenure as Secretary of State.
d. On or about September 18, 2016, STONE sent a text message to Person 2 that said, “I am e-mailing u a request to pass on to [the head of Organization 1].” Person 2 responded “Ok,” and added in a later text message, “[j]ust remember do not name me as your connection to [the head of Organization 1] you had one before that you referred to.”i. On or about the same day, September 18, 2016, STONE emailed Person 2 an article with allegations against then-candidate Clinton related to her service as Secretary of State. STONE stated, “Please ask [the head of Organization 1] for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30—particularly on August 20, 2011 that mention [the subject of the article] or confirm this narrative.”ii. On or about September 19, 2016, STONE texted Person 2 again, writing, “Pass my message . . . to [the head of Organization 1].” Person 2 responded, “I did.” On or about September 20, 2016, Person 2 forwarded the request to a friend who was an attorney with the ability to contact the head of Organization 1. Person 2 blindcopied STONE on the forwarded email.
The indictment also accuses Stone of keeping an individual affiliated with the Trump campaign apprised of Wikileaks’ plans to dump emails stolen from the DNC and Hillary campaign chairman John Podesta.
16. In or around October 2016, STONE made statements about Organization 1’s future releases, including statements similar to those that Person 2 made to him. For example: a. On or about October 3, 2016, STONE wrote to a supporter involved with the Trump Campaign, “Spoke to my friend in London last night. The payload is still coming.”b. Also on or about October 3, 2016, STONE received an email from a reporter who had connections to a high-ranking Trump Campaign official that asked, “[the head 9 of Organization 1] – what’s he got? Hope it’s good.” STONE responded in part, “It is. I’d tell [the high-ranking Trump Campaign official] but he doesn’t call me back.”c. On or about October 4, 2016, the head of Organization 1 held a press conference but did not release any new materials pertaining to the Clinton Campaign. Shortly afterwards, STONE received an email from the high-ranking Trump Campaign official asking about the status of future releases by Organization 1. STONE answered that the head of Organization 1 had a “[s]erious security concern” but that Organization 1 would release “a load every week going forward.”d. Later that day, on or about October 4, 2016, the supporter involved with the Trump Campaign asked STONE via text message if he had “hear[d] anymore from London.” STONE replied, “Yes – want to talk on a secure line – got Whatsapp?” STONE subsequently told the supporter that more material would be released and that it would be damaging to the Clinton Campaign.17. On or about October 7, 2016, Organization 1 released the first set of emails stolen from the Clinton Campaign chairman. Shortly after Organization 1’s release, an associate of the highranking Trump Campaign official sent a text message to STONE that read “well done.” In subsequent conversations with senior Trump Campaign officials, STONE claimed credit for having correctly predicted the October 7, 2016 release.
When called to testify before the HPSCI, Stone allegedly made false and misleading statements about his interactions with Wikileaks and about whether he had any records of his contacts with his go-between.
20. On or about September 26, 2017, STONE testified before HPSCI in Washington, D.C. as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation. In his opening statement, STONE stated, “These hearings are largely based on a yet unproven allegation that the Russian state is responsible for the hacking of the DNC and [the Clinton Campaign chairman] and the transfer of that information to [Organization 1].” STONE further stated that “[m]embers of this Committee” had made certain “assertions against me which must be rebutted here today,” which included “[t]he charge that I knew in advance about, and predicted, the hacking of Clinton campaign chairman[’s] email, [and] that I had advanced knowledge of the source or actual content of the [Organization 1] disclosures regarding Hillary Clinton.”21. In the course of his HPSCI testimony, STONE made deliberately false and misleading statements to the committee concerning, among other things, his possession of documents pertinent to HPSCI’s investigation; the source for his early August 2016 statements about Organization 1; requests he made for information from the head of Organization 1; his communications with his identified intermediary; and his communications with the Trump Campaign about Organization 1.22. During his HPSCI testimony, STONE was asked, “So you have no emails to anyone concerning the allegations of hacked documents . . . or any discussions you have had with third parties about [the head of Organization 1]? You have no emails, no texts, no documents whatsoever, any kind of that nature?” STONE falsely and misleadingly answered, “That is correct. Not to my knowledge.”
When pressed about how he had ascertained that Wikileaks was planning more dumps, Trump offered the HPSCI a misleading statement that minimized the role of “Person 1” – believed to be Jerome Corsi – in ferrying advanced knowledge of Wikileaks’ planned dumps to Stone.
28. STONE’s explanation of his August 2016 statements about communicating with the head of Organization 1 was false and misleading. In truth and in fact, the first time Person 2 interviewed the head of Organization 1 was on or about August 25, 2016, after STONE made his August 8 and August 12, 2016 public statements. Similarly, at the time STONE made his August 2016 statements, STONE had directed Person 1—not Person 2—to contact the head of Organization 1. And Person 1—not Person 2—had told STONE in advance of STONE’s August 8 and August 12, 2016 public statements that “[w]ord is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps,” including one in October. At no time did STONE identify Person 1 to HPSCI as another individual STONE contacted to serve as a “go-between,” “intermediary,” or other source of information from Organization 1. STONE also never disclosed his exchanges with Person 1 when answering HPSCI’s questioning about STONE’s August 8 and August 12, 2016 statements.
Stone also reportedly lied to HPSCI about his correspondence with senior Trump campaign officials. The indictment implies that Stone’s attempts to obtain the stolen emails from Wikileaks was done at the behest of a campaign official.
35. During his HPSCI testimony, STONE was asked, “did you discuss your conversations with the intermediary with anyone involved in the Trump campaign?” STONE falsely and misleadingly answered, “I did not.” In truth and in fact, and as described above, STONE spoke to multiple individuals involved in the Trump Campaign about what he claimed to have learned from his intermediary to Organization 1, including the following: a. On multiple occasions, STONE told senior Trump Campaign officials about materials possessed by Organization 1 and the timing of future releases. b. On or about October 3, 2016, STONE wrote to a supporter involved with the Trump Campaign, “Spoke to my friend in London last night. The payload is still coming.” c. On or about October 4, 2016, STONE told a high-ranking Trump Campaign official that the head of Organization 1 had a “[s]erious security concern” but would release “a load every week going forward.”
Stone served as an official advisor to the Trump campaign shortly after its launch in 2015. He has publicly acknowledged exchanging messages with a hacker known as Guccifer 2.0 that the government has sought to portray as a front for Russian intelligence, and Stone once boasted about his contacts with Wikileaks, even calling its founder, Julian Assange, “my hero.”
Meanwhile, NBC News reported that roughly a dozen associates of Stone have been summoned to appear before Mueller’s grand jury.
Stone will appear in federal court at 11 am ET.The indictment of Roger Stone, former adviser to Donald Trump, who was arrested by the FBI, has revealed more evidence that Trump's campaign had no “back channel” with WikiLeaks, the whistleblower organization said.
Stone was arrested early on Friday at his home during a massive FBI raid in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While the arrest came as a part of US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into alleged collusion between Donald Trump and Russia, Stone stands accused of a bunch of process crimes.
He faces one count of obstruction of proceedings, one count of witness tampering, and five counts of false statements. Stone has pleaded not guilty and was released on $250,000 bail later on Friday.
The indictment has shed more light on the lack of any link between WikiLeaks and Trump's associates, the whistleblower website said in a tweet, dismissing the earlier claims as “braggadocio.” WikiLeaks, and Julian Assange himself, have repeatedly denied having any connection to Stone.
During Trump's elections campaign, Stone repeatedly boasted about having links to WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, yet later backtracked on such statements. He claimed instead that it was actually a sort of “back channel,” facilitated by New York radio host and comedian Randy Credico (named “Person 2” in the indictment). Credico has firmly denied the claim.
The indictment shows a text message from Credico, dating back to December 2017, where he urges Stone to be “honest”with the FBI, stating that “there was no back channel.” Stone, in his turn, replied “I'm not talking to the FBI and if your smart you won't either.”
Stone apparently lived by his own advice and refused to testify about WikiLeaks and the whole ‘Russiagate’ affair, invoking the Fifth Amendment constitutional protection against self-incrimination last December.
Credico's denial over the existence of a “back channel” has apparently infuriated Stone. In an email, dated April 2018, the former Trump advisor called the comedian “a rat” and “a stoolie,” and even threatened to “take that dog away” from him. The vicious, profanity-laden email apparently refers to Credico's dog, Bianca.
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