Pundits are eagerly celebrating the guilty verdicts in the Roger Stone trial. A jury found him guilty of obstructing a House investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. He was convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress obstruction and witness tampering. The View co-host Meghan McCain tweeted Rot in hell Roger Stone." Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile said to talk show comedian Bill Mahr Friday night I hope he roasts in hell. That son of a *****!" That statement and more by her raised eyebrows considering she herself interfered in the election by providing debate questions to Hillary Clinton in advance of a CNN presidential debate.
But not everyone agreed with the gleefulness. President Trump tweeted So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come. Well what about Crooked Hillary Comey Strzok Page McCabe Brennan Clapper Shifty Schiff Ohr & Nellie Steele & all of the others including even Mueller himself? Didnt they lie?... A double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country?" Trump may end up pardoning Stone.
Stone was initially investigated for allegedly colluding with Russia to influence the election. But Robert Muellers investigation found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. So why is Stone facing time in prison? Why did Mueller get him indicted? Stone could face as much as 50 years incarceration a life sentence for someone his age in his late 60s.
The crux of the prosecutions case was that Stone colluded with WikiLeaks and the Russians to obtain Clinton crony John Podestas emails. What actually happened was Stone exaggerated the significance of some tips he had gotten about getting the emails. He didnt lie about his dealings with WikiLeaks because he wasnt in direct contact with the news source. Regardless it has never been proven that the Russians stole Podestas emails so theres no proof of Russian involvement. And ultimately Stone never was able to produce anything from WikiLeaks to give to the Trump campaign. He was a grandstander and anyone who knows anything about him would know thats his character.
Prosecutors accused Stone of trying to intimidate a witness comedian and talk show host Randy Credico. Stone described Credico as his sole contact with WikiLeaks. In fiery text messages Stone demanded that Credico refuse to talk to Congress. After the guilty verdicts came down Credico said he was in tears. I hate to see the guy go to jail because of me" Credico told Yahoo News after the verdict. I feel horrible that this happened. This is not a day to rejoice." Credico testified that he never even had any knowledge of what Wikileaks was about to release.
This reinforced Stones position that his claim to know what was going on with WikiLeaks was mere puffery nothing that would rise to the level of a crime. Even the Associated Press seems to agree saying Stone faces a prison sentence for a collection of crimes that essentially amounts to exaggerating how much he knew then lying and scrambling to keep those boasts from being exposed."