Today, Roger Stone became yet another Trump associate to be convicted by a jury of their peers of a crime. In this case, Roger Stone, the longtime Trump confidant, was found guilty on 7 counts. Five for lying under oath. as well as witness intimidation, and attempts to obstruct justice.
It is a very significant conviction, as USA Today reports:
The jury’s verdict, which came after about eight hours of deliberation, marks a remarkable downfall for the longtime fixture in GOP politics, who has worked on campaigns stretching back to Richard Nixon’s. Stone is the latest Trump ally to be found guilty of crimes that sprouted from the special counsel investigation on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The verdict, reached by a jury of nine women and three men, comes in the middle of an impeachment inquiry fueled by allegations that Trump sought to have another country interfere in the 2020 presidential election. Witnesses have testified in closed-door sessions that the White House dangled critical military aid and an official visit in order to pressure Ukraine to conduct investigations that would help Trump politically. Those hearings went public this week, with witnesses testifying Wednesday and Friday.
In case anyone thinks this is just “old news” and the sort, it is possible the Stone trial brought new revelations that might lead to more — particularly in relation to Trump himself and written testimony he gave to the Mueller probe:
The proceedings revealed new information about the Trump campaign’s efforts to seek advance knowledge about emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee, which would hurt Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a time when Trump was trailing in the polls. Testimony indicated these efforts involved the candidate himself, casting doubt about what Trump told former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators.
Interestingly enough, just today in the impeachment hearing in the House of Representatives, the subject of witness intimidation was at the forefront as Trump allegedly tried to intimidate Ambassador Marie Yovonovich as she testified via Twitter.
After the verdict, the usually outspoken Roger Stone had nothing to say to reporters. He quietly walked away after putting on his signature sunglasses.
