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Stone Indictment Underscores That There Was No Trump-Russia Conspiracy

Posted on Monday, January 28, 2019
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by Outside Contributor
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43 Comments
roger stone russian collusion Trump

Roger Stone is the shiny object. The obstruction charges in his long-anticipated indictment, made public on Friday, are not the matter of consequence for the United States.

Nor is the critical thing the indictment’s implicit confirmation that there was no criminal “collusion” conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

What matters is this: The indictment is just the latest blatant demonstration that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office, the Department of Justice, and the FBI have known for many months that there was no such conspiracy. And yet, fully aware that the Obama administration, the Justice Department, and the FBI had assiduously crafted a public narrative that Trump may have been in cahoots with the Russian regime, they have allowed that cloud of suspicion to hover over the presidency — over the Trump administration’s efforts to govern — heedless of the damage to the country.

The rationale for the Trump-Russia investigation — namely, the notion that the Trump campaign had “coordinated” in the Kremlin’s cyber-espionage operation to meddle in the 2016 campaign — has been nothing more than a suspicion harbored by political, law-enforcement, and intelligence officials who loathed Donald Trump. That there may be a thousand good reasons to dislike Donald Trump is irrelevant, for we are talking about investigations, not politics. Investigative suspicions must be rooted in fact, not contempt.

Not only was the suggestion of a Trump-Russia conspiracy not founded on fact. The officials calling the shots had reason to know that the premise was factually false. In truth, there was no evidence of Trump-campaign complicity in Russian espionage — nothing but the Clinton-campaign generated, unverified Steele dossier. The months-in-the-making Stone indictment is just the latest proof of that.

Yet investigators were not just content to let the country believe there was a Trump-Russia criminal conspiracy; they affirmatively encouraged the public to believe it was true. Even as they indicted people for providing misleading information and then failing to correct the record, they never themselves corrected the misimpression they had gratuitously created in public statements — the statement issued by FBI director James Comey, with Justice Department approval, just two months after Trump took office; and the statement issued by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein two months later, when he reiterated Comey’s testimony in appointing Special Counsel Mueller.

Let’s assume for argument’s sake that the special counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Russian intelligence orchestrated the hacking of the Democratic email accounts (i.e., the servers or accounts of the DNC and Clinton-campaign chairman John Podesta). As I have noted on other occasions, I accept the U.S. intelligence agencies’ finding that Russia is the culprit. But an intelligence finding is just an assessment of probability; it is not courtroom proof. And Mueller’s indictments of Russian intelligence officers, individuals, and corporate entities are effectively no more than press releases trying to put to rest any questions about Russia’s culpability. As the prosecutors well know, an indictment is just an allegation; it is evidence of nothing. Given that Vladimir Putin is never going to extradite his operatives to face U.S. criminal charges, Mueller’s team well knows that their allegations are freebies — they are never going to be tested in court.

But again, let’s give them that one, the foundation of the narrative. As the prosecutors have further developed their allegations, we’ve learned that Russia obtained the emails through its hackers and somehow got them to WikiLeaks, which then got them into mainstream publications. Mueller’s indictments of Russian entities strongly suggest that Russia acted alone in its hacking and troll-farm operations: The Kremlin neither needed nor sought help from Trump; its operations actually predated Trump’s candidacy; and sometimes it operated against Trump. Moreover, Mueller has never uttered a single sentence in all his charging instruments alleging Trump’s complicity in Russia’s espionage — the indicted Russians have no connection to the Trump campaign, and the indicted people in Trump’s orbit have no connection to Russia’s hacking.

So now we have the Stone indictment.

It alleges no involvement — by Stone or the Trump campaign — in Russia’s hacking. The indictment’s focus, instead, is the WikiLeaks end of the enterprise — i.e., not the “cyberespionage” of a foreign power that gave rise to the investigation, but the dissemination of the stolen emails after the hacking. And what do we learn? That the Trump campaign did not know what WikiLeaks had. That is, in addition to being uninvolved in Russia’s espionage, the Trump campaign was uninvolved in Julian Assange’s acquisition of what Russia stole.

The Stone indictment reads like an episode of The Three Stooges. Stone and two associates — conservative writer and conspiracy theorist Jerry Corsi, and left-wing-comedian-turned-radio-host Randy Credico, respectively denominated “Person 1” and “Person 2” — are on a quest to find out what WikiLeaks has on Hillary Clinton and when Assange is going to publicize it. But that does not suit Stone, who has cultivated an image of political dirty trickster and plugged-in soothsayer. In public, then, Stone pretends to know more than he knows and to have an insider’s view of Assange’s operation; behind the scenes, he scrounges around for clues about what Assange is up to, hoping some insider will tell him.

That is, it’s a clown show. A despicable one, at that. Assange is an inveterate anti-American who has done incalculable damage to U.S. intelligence operations. How interesting that Robert Mueller led the FBI during those debacles and has special incentive to dig into the WikiLeaks–Kremlin connection. And how interesting that Assange was a heroic figure to the Left, and the bane of the national-security Right, before his apparent distaste for Hillary flipped the script (at least for blind Trump and Clinton partisans). In any event, we have Stone and Corsi racking their brains about how to ferret out what Assange has got, and to understand the timeline in which he might release it — hoping against hope that it will kill off the Clinton bid. And we have Credico, Stone’s radio-host pal, dealing directly with Assange (mainly by interviewing him), then passing information along to Stone while imploring Stone to keep his (Credico’s) name out of it.

Meanwhile, Stone tells his friends in the Trump campaign that he has heard WikiLeaks may have information that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. After the hacked DNC emails are published in July 2016, a “senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton campaign.”

“Was directed”? Naturally, you’re thinking, “was directed by whom?” By Trump? Could be . . . Stone says it was not, but who knows? The point, however, is not who did the directing but why it was thought necessary to reach out to Stone. The Trump campaign had to ask Stone because it was in the dark.

Plainly, the campaign was not involved in the hacking, so it did not know what the Russians gave Assange. And it had no involvement with WikiLeaks’ operations, so it turned to Stone, who had held himself out as a knowledgeable source. But Stone, too, was unsure. Mueller alleges: “STONE thereafter told the Trump campaign about potential future releases of damaging material by [WikiLeaks]” (emphasis added). The prosecutor has to say “potential” because Stone did not have solid knowledge of Assange’s intentions — he tried to find out from others (including Credico, who had contact with Assange), but they did not know for sure exactly what Assange had and whether or when he would publish it.

Mind you, it is not a crime to know that bad people have damaging information about your political opponent, nor to try to nudge them to publish it at the time most opportune for your political favorite. Here, the Trump campaign did not even know what WikiLeaks had. Its best source was Stone, but, like the campaign, he was pressing sources who might have the information about WikiLeaks that he lacked. No surprise, then, that Mueller does not even allege that Stone was in a criminal conspiracy with WikiLeaks, let alone that Trump conspired with WikiLeaks — much less with Putin.

Instead, Stone is charged with seven counts of obstructing congressional investigations — by giving misleading testimony, withholding and lying about the existence of records responsive to a congressional request, lying about his communications with Credico, and attempting to influence Credico to lie or refuse to testify. These are serious charges, and while Stone may have cards to play on the allegations that he made misrepresentations (more on that another time), the special counsel appears to have daunting evidence that Stone tampered with Credico’s testimony – a charge that involves Stone’s cheesy exhortations that Credico ape the stonewalling of both Stone hero Richard Nixon and “Frank Pentangeli” (the Michael V. Gazzo character who famously develops witness-stand amnesia in Godfather II).

Nevertheless, that’s secondary as far as the country is concerned. The salient fact is that the evidence-based narrative from which Mueller derives these obstruction charges underscores that the president and his campaign were not complicit in Russia’s hacking of Democratic accounts. That’s not new news. It is completely consistent with indictments Mueller has been filing for a year.

Why does that matter? Well, if I may beat a dead horse, in February 2017, Comey, then the FBI’s director, gave this astonishing public testimony at a House Intelligence Committee hearing:

I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts. As with any counterintelligence investigationthis will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed.

Understand:

1. It is standard government practice never to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

2. This is especially true of counterintelligence investigations, which target foreign powers, not individuals, and which are classified.

3. It violates Justice Department and FBI policy to identify a subject of any investigation if that subject has not been charged with a crime. This is especially true when the subject, whether a person or an entity (like the Trump campaign) is of interest to a counterintelligence investigation — again, such investigations are classified, and subjects whose suspected connections to foreign powers are being scrutinized should never be disclosed.

4. It is simply not true that, as a matter of course in a counterintelligence investigation, the Justice Department and FBI do an assessment of whether any prosecutable crimes have been committed. Instead, whenever agents happen to stumble upon evidence of a crime, they always consider whether to prosecute. This is not a routine aspect of counterintelligence investigations; it is an unremarkable fact applicable to all kinds of inquiries — even background investigations of applicants for government employment.

That is to say: It was wrong to acknowledge the existence of the classified Russia investigation, and it was egregiously wrong not only to name the Trump campaign as a subject but to do so in a manner that suggested criminal prosecution was foreseeable. Any thinking person would have taken Director Comey’s disclosure, in disregard of several law-enforcement and intelligence protocols, to signal that the new president could be conspiring with Russia in an espionage scheme, for which he — or at least officials in his campaign — might very well face criminal charges.

It has to have been obvious to investigators for months that this suggestion was misleading. Yet there has been no correction of the record. For month after month, the FBI, the Justice Department, and the special counsel have been content to allow the presidency to be enveloped in a cloud of suspicion that necessarily infects the administration’s capacity to govern, to conduct foreign relations, and to deal with Congress.

Why?

There is no reason why the special counsel could not have issued an interim report clearing the president of suspicion that he was a Russian agent. Doing so would merely have removed the specter of traitorous conspiracy from the White House. It would not have compromised Mueller’s ability to investigate Russia’s interference in the election; it would not have undermined Mueller’s probe of potential obstruction offenses by the president. (And while it is not Mueller’s job to discourage the president’s puerile “witch hunt” tweets, if the public had been told that the Justice Department withdrew its highly irregular public statements about Trump’s possible criminal complicity in Russia’s espionage, presidential tirades about the investigation would have ebbed, if not disappeared entirely.)

We are not just talking about having our priorities in order — i.e., recognizing that the ability of the president to govern takes precedence the prosecutor’s desire for investigative secrecy. We are talking about common sense and common decency: The Justice Department and the FBI went out of their way to portray Donald Trump as a suspect in what would have been the most abhorrent crime in the nation’s history. It has been more than two years. Is it too much to ask that the Justice Department withdraw its public suggestion that the president of the United States might be a clandestine agent of Russia?

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Roberta Phillips
Roberta Phillips
5 years ago

The Citizens that use their brains knows that there was not a conspiracy with Trump. The Democrats which should be called the Snake Party has brainwashed all the members of that party that believe this garbage.

Linda Jackson
Linda Jackson
5 years ago

Thank You for setting it straight!!!

Judy
Judy
5 years ago

I think it’s time for “We the People” to demand the Mueller investigation shut down and give a report. It was set up to investigate a particular time period, the Russian dossier, and possible Russian interference with the 2016 election. They found the DNC paid for the Russian dossier. They have handled whatever interference with the election they found. They haven’t found Trump at fault for anything. Having wasted months of time and millions of taxpayers dollars on a nonstarter, it is past time for them to sit down and shut up, and let us get on with getting barriers built to secure the southern border.

Juniper
Juniper
5 years ago

I think that the DOJ, FBI and Mueller should be arresting each other. If there is anyone left after that, they can continue the harassment of President Trump.

Joyce
Joyce
5 years ago

HRC shared CLASSIFIED INFO OVER AN UNSECURED SERVER TO COVER NEFARIOUS ACTIVITY . Sharing classified info over an unsecured server is a FELONY. US voters had a right to know what this evil woman was doing.

cliff
cliff
5 years ago

They need to indite Hillary/Obama and they need to see what Mullers right hand man is up to.. their still is a lot of SNAKES in the SWAMP. they need to be DTHRONED and like yesterday

Concerned
Concerned
5 years ago

Just close the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller down. I will never understand how this man got such a long leash, or should I say such a no-leash, no limit on funds and no limit on time job. Where do I sign up? Another member of the Chump Club of America.

dino
dino
5 years ago

Why don’t they target the clintstones,the nobambas,pelosi,schummer,holder,weinstein,waters and many,many,many more democrats that are intent on destroying AMERICA just to spite President Trump and the patriotic AMERICANS that elected him.

Richard McDonald
Richard McDonald
5 years ago

Hahahaha!

Philip
Philip
5 years ago

When the Biblical foundation of our nation was taken away through the falsely interpreted “separation of church and state” (does not say, “separation of church from state”) all types of evil enter. Respect for God’s laws blesses a nation. We have to return to the true God, 2 Chronicles 7:14, or our downhill slide will take us to anarchy, then dictatorship.

Thomas H
Thomas H
5 years ago

I know I keep beating this dead horse, but the side that controls the media, controls the narrative.

bigbadjohn
bigbadjohn
5 years ago

We must remember that what the Democrats accuse the Republicans of doing, is exactly what the dems are doing.

Jack
Jack
5 years ago

Common sense and decency. GimmeDats have none of that. I guess it’s because of their upbringing. And that’s what explains it all.

jerry
jerry
5 years ago

This shows how CROOKED Muller is the Good people are being prosicuted and Gangsters are running the democrates…..

R.S. Helms
R.S. Helms
5 years ago

I think that the President has diluted his strength and his power, the power of the office, by playing Mr. Nice-guy after putting on the persona of a real fighter. His staff and advisors have or who is giving him advice from Cabinet picks to Whitehouse staff only one thing has remained constant and that is a rotating door of people being appointed and people leaving. He has been really effective in some things like the economy, North Korea, The Middle East, but he has failed on border security (his promised wall), getting the troops home, (most of which are National Gaurd who had jobs and families that are now on the poverty farm. and now this loss to Pelosi is not good and will cost him. However, his obsessional war with the MSM and his Tweeter comments are just simply worn out and should be left to some of his staff to rebuke them and do the name calling childish BS … it only is a greater distraction. He should go after the Deep State, let watchdog groups go after the Swamp. and don’t engage with a do nothing socialist congress of obstruction and just go after it. get rid of ANYONE who fails to do their job, and let the lawyers and DOJ fight the battle. … Get the DOJ Who will do his job from the get-go, get rid of some of the narcissistic CEO and political typs and get some real humble patriots in there … and get back to making America Great Again.

Lala
Lala
5 years ago

Somebody should urge President Trump to squeeze General Motors for the $11.2 Billion they still owe U.S. for their loan!
DO NOT WAIT another 15 days for Schumer & Pelosi to mock US again. Start building the wall/barriers now
& let US watch how Coulter, Pelosi, & Schumer all like eating “Crow” at the same time~

Wayne D Peterkin
Wayne D Peterkin
5 years ago

I will not defend Roger Stone because I don’t know the guy and perhaps he’s a jerk, which is not illegal. But through all of this, the “collusion” stuff is ridiculous because “collusion” is not a crime! Furthermore, if one wishes to argue differently, then they must support a serious investigation of the DNC and Clinton’s campaign “collusion” with the Steele dossier, the illegal FISA wiretap warrants, and all the rest of the smelly Clinton/DOJ/FBI dealings which they refuse to touch. One simple fact is that every high-level political campaign researches ways to smear an opponent, will talk to foreign sources in that regard, and the Trump campaign did no more and perhaps much less than the Clinton campaign did. My main hope is that a new AG will put a tight, perhaps 60 day, time limit for Mueller and his Gestapo to finish and publish their results. This sorry episode needs to end and quickly. Before the end of this summer for sure.

Mic J Palazzolo
Mic J Palazzolo
5 years ago

No proof that the Russians hacked the Clinton and Podesta e-mails. Assange emphatically and publically stated that
it was NOT the Russians who provided the e-mails to him. Most likely: Seth Rich.

Carol
Carol
5 years ago

How many millions have been wasted on this kangaroo investigation? That money comes from US the taxpayers!! All because the left can’t handle losing???? The immature and insane are running rampant in this country! What is going to happen if Ginsburg has to retire from the SC? What it going to happen when Trump wins in 2020? Are we going to have to keep hearing all these leftists constantly tearing Americans down that want to help this country just cuz they don’t CONFORM to leftists ideology? I’m so SICK OF THIS!!! The left and all the whiny RINO’s need to GROW UP, along with all the snowflakes out there!!!

Linda
Linda
5 years ago

The whole thing is a disgusting witch hunt!

Bob L.
Bob L.
5 years ago

Mueller is looking under the wrong “rocks” for snakes, he needs to be looking under those in the Clinton/Obama backyards.

hunter
hunter
5 years ago

Hillary lied to Congress with impunity, suborned perjury and destroyed evidence.
Podesta made millions as an unregistered Russian agent.
Hillary was interviewed without fear of perjury.
Democrats are treated with kid gloves and exempted from scrutiny and law enforcement.
This is a coup, a witch Hunt and a pathetic display of show trial (in)justice.

Bret
Bret
5 years ago

Haven’t we all been following this witch hunt??? The so called “Russia Collusion” was based upon a fake dossier that was fabricated by The Deep State…..so why is Mueller still investigating ????? I am certain Bob Mueller is fully aware that as soon as he ends this fake investigation…he will be the one under investigation , and rightfully so.

Wingleader69
Wingleader69
5 years ago

The LEFT should be indicted! They knew there was no conspiracy but they play the media and the ignorant voters like a banjo! It’s time th THEY be made to pay the price for their lies and constant attack on our once great country!! I agree with Wilbur that they will never stop and THAT is why a final Civil War is coming.

Wilbur Young
Wilbur Young
5 years ago

The left will never give up.

BajaRon
BajaRon
5 years ago

Can you imagine if this same level of scrutiny were exercised during the Obama administration? Can you imagine if this same level of scrutiny were implemented regarding Hillary, Obama, etc., now?

While we are spending millions of dollars and wasting time trying to prove something that was never true. How about going after the real criminals?

I know. Silly me. It’s never going to happen.

The Freezing Senior
The Freezing Senior
5 years ago

All this because , and ONLY because, Trump defeated The Hildabeast.
Americans, you are getting a preview of the tyranny yet to come under the rule of the power mad LEFT/DEMOCRATS
who will stop at NOTHING to seize the levers of power. GBA – MAGA#45 !!

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