Roger Stone is even more screwed than we thought
After getting caught red handed yesterday having committed espionage on the Trump campaign’s behalf during the election, could Roger Stone possibly find himself in even more legal trouble? As it turns out, the answer is a definitive yes. Thanks to yet another revelation, Stone is now in even more trouble than we thought – which is saying something.
Here’s the latest breaking story about Roger Stone. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating Stone’s finances, according to an on-air CNN report. Why does this matter? Just take a look at the manner in which Mueller tore through Paul Manafort’s finances, which led him to Manafort’s attempts at conspiring against the United States with foreign enemies, and allowed him to nail Manafort on comparatively easy-to-prove financial crimes. For Stone, it’s even worse.
While Manafort clearly conspired politically with a Russian oligarch while he was Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, and a lot of money changed hands in the process, it’s a bit hazy as to just how Manafort and the oligarch were trying to alter the outcome of the election. With Stone it’s a different story. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published Stone’s emails which proved that he actively sought Hillary/DNC emails from WikiLeaks that he believed were stolen by Russian hackers. Stone was committing espionage in the hope of obtaining and releasing the DNC emails in order to turn voters against Hillary Clinton. It’s far easier to understand, and thus easier to prove, than Manafort’s efforts to alter the outcome of the election.
Now we know that Robert Mueller has found something in Roger Stone’s finances which he believes is illegal. Maybe it was a money exchange in relation to WikiLeaks. Maybe Stone was just using illegal accounting tactics on totally unrelated matters. But the bottom line is this: Mueller can nail Stone on financial crimes, which are largely quantitative, much more quickly and easily than he can on a qualitative charge like espionage. If Stone sees that he’s going down for financial crimes, he’ll be far more likely to cut a plea deal. The specter of something as ugly as an espionage conviction may force Stone’s hand even further. In any case, Stone is toast – it’s just a matter of when the grand jury indicts him, which should be soon.
