4 takeaways from the Roger Stone indictment

The Fix’s Aaron Blake analyzes Roger Stone’s indictment and what it means for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia probe. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

The big one: Repeated references to Trump campaign contacts about WikiLeaks — and a possible reference to Trump?

The indictment we — including the indicted party — have been expecting for months has finally come. Roger Stone, President Trump’s longest-serving political adviser, has been charged with lying to investigators.

The alleged lies pertain to his efforts to secure information from WikiLeaks about its release of Democrats’ emails during the 2016 campaign. Here are four key sections and takeaways.

1. An abundance of contradiction

There’s really not a lot of ambiguity when it comes to Stone’s alleged lies. At one point, the indictment includes two exchanges in which Stone denies ever communicating with his WikiLeaks intermediary via text or email.

View the complete January 25 article by Aaron Blake on The Washington Post website here.

Roger Stone indicted in Mueller probe

Roger Stone, the politically connected maverick who worked as an informal adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, has been indicted as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.

Stone has been indicted on seven counts in connection with Mueller’s investigation: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering.

Stone was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the special counsel’s office said in a statement early Friday. The indictment was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and unsealed upon arrest on Friday.

View the complete January 25 article by Morgan Chalfant, Jacqueline Thomsen and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Trump to Jeff Sessions: End the Mueller investigation “right now”

The following article by Zachary Basu was posted on the Axios website August 1, 2018:

President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put a stop to the Mueller investigation in a tweet Wednesday morning.

‘This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!”

Between the lines, from Axios’ Jonathan Swan: This isn’t a directive to Sessions, based on my last conversation with Rudy Giuliani. If Trump wanted to end the Mueller investigation, he could. He knows Congress would rise up against him.

View the complete article here.

Graham: ‘Fake news’ to say Russia did not meddle in US election

The following article by Emily Birnbaum was posted on the Hill  website July 1, 2018:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday said it is “fake news” to say that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

“The idea that Russia did not meddle in our election is fake news,” Graham said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“They did meddle in our election and they’re doing it again in 2018,” he added.

View the complete article on the Hill website here.

Mike Flynn’s Delayed Sentence Suggests ‘He Still Has a Lot More to Give’ Robert Mueller: NBC Reporter

The following article by Cory Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website June 29, 2018:

The president former national security adviser has become a cooperating witness in the Russia investigation.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Credit: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, a cooperating witness in the ongoing Russia investigation, appears to have become a valuable source of information in special counsel Robert Mueller’s work, and according to a court filing Friday.

We know that because Mueller requested another two-month delay before Flynn’s sentencing. NBC reporter Ken Dilianian explained what that means on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” with Nicolle Wallace.

“We have to be careful about reading too much into this,” he said, “but the fact that they are continuing to delay Mike Flynn’s sentence, Mike Flynn’s cooperating with Robert Mueller’s investigation, suggests that he still has a lot more to give them.”

View the full post on the AlterNet website.

Donald Trump’s ‘missing’ server comments get all of the details wrong

The following article by Amy Sherman and Manuela Tobias was posted on the PolitiFact website July 16, 2018:

Standing beside Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump answered reporters’ questions about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and if he believed Putin’s denials over his own intelligence community’s findings.

Instead of answering the question directly, Trump began discussing servers.

“You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server — haven’t they taken the server. Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I’ve been wondering that, I’ve been asking that for months and months and I’ve been tweeting it out and calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know where is the server and what is the server saying? Continue reading “Donald Trump’s ‘missing’ server comments get all of the details wrong”

Trump is still casting doubt on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, ahead of Putin meeting

The following article by Eric Lutz was posted on the Mic.com website June 28, 2018:

President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to cast doubt on the United States intelligence community’s conclusion that the Kremlin meddled in the 2016 presidential election — just weeks before he’s set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland.

Continue reading “Trump is still casting doubt on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, ahead of Putin meeting”

The Mueller Indictments of Russian Intelligence Officers

Credit: Washington Post

What we need to remember moving forward.  This investigation isn’t a witch hunt.  With this many guilty pleas and indictment, there IS a “there there”.

The Russian government attacked our democracy in 2016 and the Democratic National Committee was a primary target of this attack. Those are the facts.

The July 13 indictment gives us a detailed and disturbing look at just how sophisticated, well-funded, and wide-ranging Russia’s attack on our democracy really was. It should send chills up the spine of every American.

The Department of Justice indictment added details such as Russian intelligence officers’ intrusion into the website of a state election board and theft of information related to approximately 500,000 voters. Continue reading “The Mueller Indictments of Russian Intelligence Officers”

Trump voters warn him not to fire Mueller: ‘People would be suspicious’

The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website May 16, 2018:

Senate Republicans don’t want President Trump to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. They just won’t protect Mueller if Trump decides to fire him. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

BROOKFIELD, WI — They see the Russia investigation as President Trump does, as a witch hunt that has expanded far beyond its initial mandate with the explicit aim of delegitimizing or perhaps even overturning his 2016 election victory.

Yet these most steadfast of Trump supporters, who were among those gathered here Tuesday night as part of a focus group evaluating public opinion, said the president should not fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a view shared by the Trump critics around the table. Continue reading “Trump voters warn him not to fire Mueller: ‘People would be suspicious’”

Why Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Changed Her Story On Trump Tower Meeting

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the National Memo website April 29, 2018:

Trump Tower Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Natalia Veselnitskaya, one of the key figures in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting held by top members of the Trump campaign in an effort to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, originally told Congress that she was a private lawyer without ties to the government.

The New York Times reported Friday, however, that Veselnitskaya misled Congress and the American people when she testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last November that she works “independently of any governmental bodies.” The Times found evidence that had previously worked with Russia’s chief legal office, and she later confirmed she was an “informant” for the government. Continue reading “Why Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Changed Her Story On Trump Tower Meeting”