5 staggering details from the Roger Stone indictment
Roger Stone, longtime adviser to President Trump, has been indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on seven counts.
A 24-page indictment released Friday outlines how Stone allegedly misled Congress about his contact with an intermediary to WikiLeaks and ultimately tried to intimidate a witness from cooperating with investigators. Here are some of the most staggering details the indictment reveals:
1. After WikiLeaks released stolen DNC emails in July 2016, a senior Trump campaign official "was directed to contact Stone" to inquire about "any additional releases." The indictment doesn't specify who in the Trump campaign told the official to reach out to Stone.
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2. In October 2016, after WikiLeaks released stolen campaign emails from Hillary Clinton, an associate of a high-ranking Trump campaign official texted Stone, "well done." The indictment also says Stone talked with "multiple individuals involved in the Trump campaign" about his contacts with his intermediary to WikiLeaks and then falsely told Congress he hadn't done so.
3. Stone is accused of instructing "Person 2," his intermediary to WikiLeaks, to lie to Congress by telling him he "should do a 'Frank Pentangeli,'" referencing a character from The Godfather: Part II who lies to Congress.
4. Stone, the indictment says, told Congress he never talked to "Person 2" in writing, when Stone and his contact actually "... engaged in frequent written communication by email and text messages." These emails and texts are cited throughout the indictment.
5. The indictment explains that Stone attempted to prevent "Person 2" from cooperating with investigators by threatening him, calling him "a rat" in an email, and saying he would take his dog. Brendan Morrow
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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