Roger Stone, an adviser to US President Donald Trump, has been found guilty on all counts in connection to Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
A federal court jury on Friday found the veteran Republican operative and self-proclaimed “dirty trickster” guilty on seven counts of telling falsehoods to the US Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that Stone lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that hacked the emails of Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia orchestrated an interference campaign, including hacking of Democratic officials, targeting the 2016 election in order to tip the scale toward Trump.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller spent almost two years investigating Russia’s alleged meddling and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow. Russia denies interfering in the elections, while Trump has denied any collusion.
The Friday verdict, which came in a trial arising from the investigation by Mueller who completed his probe in March, in addition to being a blow to Stone, renews scrutiny on Trump’s actions as a candidate who is currently facing an impeachment inquiry.
Trump took to Twitter, asking why it was not his adversaries including Clinton and “even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie?”
So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come. Well, what about Crooked Hillary, Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, Shifty Schiff, Ohr & Nellie, Steele & all of the others, including even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie?....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2019
The impeachment probe is imposing serious threats to Trump's presidency. Democrats in the House launched the inquiry in September after a whistleblower alleged the Republican president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump has admitted to actions that amount to "bribery" in the Ukraine scandal, accusing the Republican president of an impeachable offense under the Constitution.