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The Roger Stone Bucket Of Fish
 | Okay, who understands completely what the indictment of Roger Stone, Donald Trump's smirky, snarky, highly unsavory advisor, associate, buddy, go-between - or whatever exactly he is, and even that's a little hard to pin-point - is all about? |
As for me, though I've read and re-read the news stories, I'm having a bit of a problem wrapping my head around the whole slimy, squirmy, smelly bucket of fish.
In trying to make sense of it all, here's what I think I've sorted out, and this is just the condensed, highlighted version, minus a plethora of details, including Roger Stone's many contiguous side-hustles:
1. During the 2016 election a Russian agent or agents under the persona of Guccifer 2.0 hacked into the computer system of the Democratic National Committee and stole thousands of emails and documents pertinent to Hillary Clinton's campaign. Guccifer 2.0 then released a file or two to the media.
In trying to make sense of it all, here's what I think I've sorted out, and this is just the condensed, highlighted version, minus a plethora of details, including Roger Stone's many contiguous side-hustles:
1. During the 2016 election a Russian agent or agents under the persona of Guccifer 2.0 hacked into the computer system of the Democratic National Committee and stole thousands of emails and documents pertinent to Hillary Clinton's campaign. Guccifer 2.0 then released a file or two to the media.
| 2. Julian Assange, creator of WikiLeaks, enjoined Guccifer 2.0 to turn over to himself any other DNC documents in their possession for more effective media distribution. This Guccifer 2.0 did, and WikiLeaks subequently published a trove of the stolen Clinton campaign documents. |  |
HOWEVER: Prior to the public release of these documents, Roger Stone had given the Trump campaign a heads up that he knew about the stolen documents and that WikiLeaks was about to to release them.
3. After WikiLeaks spilled the stolen documents a certain Someone,
3. After WikiLeaks spilled the stolen documents a certain Someone,
 | ...mayhaps Someone known for wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat, |
| ...though this has not yet been verified by the Special Counsel (But just wait), |  |
...anyway, this certain Someone ordered a high-ranking Trump campaign official - whose identity we likewise don't yet know - to ask Roger Stone to contact Julian Assange to find out if WikiLeaks possessed any other stolen documents or information that might hurt Hilary Clinton, and to keep the Trump campaign abreast of whatever he, Stone, found out.
This Roger Stone did, keeping in contact with both WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 and passing on information to the Trump campaign all summer long and into the fall while Russian agents continued to hack into Clinton's email server and that of her campaign manager John Podesta and WikiLeaks continued to receive and release stolen documents.
And now Roger Stone is under indictment by the Special Counsel.
But not for associating and communicating with foreign agents who were interfering with our election. Apparently what he was doing wasn't strictly illegal. Or maybe it was, but this hasn't yet been determined. (But just wait).
What has been determined is that during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in 2017 Roger Stone lied, telling House investigators that he never discussed his WikiLeaks communications with anyone in the Trump campaign, that he didn't possess any documents relevant to the investigation ― he had dozens of emails and texts ― and that he never sent requests to Julian Assange for material that would hurt Hillary Clinton.
He also pressed one of his associates to corroborate his lies under oath.
So, in a nutshell - or rather, a rotten egg shell - Roger Stone is charged with lying under oath, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. So far. (But just wait)
This Roger Stone did, keeping in contact with both WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 and passing on information to the Trump campaign all summer long and into the fall while Russian agents continued to hack into Clinton's email server and that of her campaign manager John Podesta and WikiLeaks continued to receive and release stolen documents.
And now Roger Stone is under indictment by the Special Counsel.
But not for associating and communicating with foreign agents who were interfering with our election. Apparently what he was doing wasn't strictly illegal. Or maybe it was, but this hasn't yet been determined. (But just wait).
What has been determined is that during a House Intelligence Committee hearing in 2017 Roger Stone lied, telling House investigators that he never discussed his WikiLeaks communications with anyone in the Trump campaign, that he didn't possess any documents relevant to the investigation ― he had dozens of emails and texts ― and that he never sent requests to Julian Assange for material that would hurt Hillary Clinton.
He also pressed one of his associates to corroborate his lies under oath.
So, in a nutshell - or rather, a rotten egg shell - Roger Stone is charged with lying under oath, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. So far. (But just wait)
 | Roger Stone was arrested at his Fort Lauderdale manse last Friday in a dramatic pre-dawn FBI raid. |
He has pleaded not guilty and insists he's absolutely innocent.
| (But just wait). |  |
References:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/25/indictment-roger-stone-fills-new-details-about-wikileaks-campaign/?utm_term=.02b5f43b9afa
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/us/politics/roger-stone-indictment.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/us/politics/mueller-conspiracy-trump-collusion.html?login=email&auth=login-email
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/25/indictment-roger-stone-fills-new-details-about-wikileaks-campaign/?utm_term=.02b5f43b9afa
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/us/politics/roger-stone-indictment.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/us/politics/mueller-conspiracy-trump-collusion.html?login=email&auth=login-email
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