Prosecutors on Thursday revealed an extensive paper trail to cast doubt on Roger Stone’s testimony to Congress that he had no records of communications regarding WikiLeaks or its leader Julian Assange.
Stone himself appeared for the third day of his trial as the Department of Justice (DOJ) presented its case that the longtime Trump adviser had lied to Congress about his claims of being an intermediary between the 2016 Trump campaign and WikiLeaks, which released damaging emails stolen from the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s top campaign aide.
Jonathan Kravis, an attorney with the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, laid out an extensive timeline of Stone’s communications with Trump campaign officials and his own associates.
Jurors heard evidence that Stone had dozens of communications with campaign officials. And they heard a recording from Stone’s congressional testimony in which he denied discussing any contacts with WikiLeaks with the campaign.
The revelations came as Kravis questioned Michelle Taylor, a former FBI agent who handled the agency’s investigation into Stone.
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The prosecutors’ case centers around what Stone told the House Intelligence Committee under oath on September 26, 2017. Lawmakers questioned Stone about public statements he made the year before, in which he claimed to have a “backchannel” dialogue with Assange about pending document releases.
But Stone maintained to the House panel in a closed-door session that he had no documentation of his communications with any go-betweens, according to a transcript and audio clips that the prosecution exhibited in court on Thursday.
He eventually told lawmakers that his conduit to WikiLeaks was a longtime radio host and political activist named Randy Credico, which prosecutors asserted was a lie intended to protect the conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi.
Prosecutors revealed that on September 26, 2017, the same day that Stone told the committee that Credico was not an “email guy,” the two men had exchanged 72 written communications.
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Stone’s interactions with Credico are a focus in prosecutors’ case. They allege that Stone tried to pressure him to not cooperate with Congress and to deny that Credico had any communications between the two about WikiLeaks.
In a communication shared by prosecutors, Stone told Credico in a November 2017 message, “Stonewall it. Plead the fifth. Anything to save the plan,” paraphrasing language President Nixon used during Watergate.
“I guarantee you are the one who gets indicted for perjury if you’re stupid enough to testify,” Stone texted Credico in December 2017.
The government also revealed an extensive and vulgar dialogue between the two after Credico began urging Stone to recant his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee.
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Prosecutors reveal extensive record of Stone's communications regarding WikiLeaks https://t.co/ZCynqNfQjZ pic.twitter.com/oNhwQUj4hB
— The Hill (@thehill) November 7, 2019
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