Roger Stone found guilty on 7 counts of false statements, witness tampering
Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone was found guilty on all seven counts of obstruction on Friday, including witness tampering and making false statements to the House Intelligence Committee during its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Stone had pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
The verdict came after two days' worth of deliberations, USA Today reports, and arrived just as the Intelligence Committee was questioning former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in relation to claims that Trump and his personal lawyer and fixer Rudy Giuliani tried to promote their personal interests in the country.
Stone was arrested in January, on an indictment from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office, which asserted that he had lied to Congress about his ties to Wikileaks (you can revisit the indictment's five most staggering details here). Prosecutors made the case that Stone's falsehoods about his contacts with Wikileaks and the website's founder, Julian Assange, were made to protect the Trump administration from embarrassment. Wikileaks released emails that had been hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign during the explosive days leading up to the 2016 election.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Stone was also found guilty of bullying his friend, the radio host Randy Credico, into backing up his version of the story, The Washington Post writes. In texts to Credico, Stone apparently wrote: "You are a rat. A stoolie. Prepare to die."
Witness tampering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while Stone's other counts each carry a maximum sentence of five years. "If Stone is convicted, under U.S. sentencing guidelines he would likely face much less jail time as a first-time non-violent offender," Reuters reports.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
'Sleaze baack!'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 April
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Humza Yousaf clears the decks to battle no-confidence vote
Speed Read First minister is 'done', according to insider, but a single vote could change the balance
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published