Trump Adviser Roger Stone Found Guilty of Obstruction, False Statements, Witness Tampering

Roger Stone, long-time friend and informal adviser to President Donald Trump, was found guilty Friday on charges related to his efforts to stymie Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of interference in the 2016 election. Stone was indicted on seven counts — obstruction of proceedings, witness tampering, and five counts of giving false statements to Congress — and convicted on all seven charges. The witness tampering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

A jury in Washington D.C. found Stone, 67, lied to Congress about efforts he made to obtain, from the website WikiLeaks and for the Trump campaign, emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 election. The jury was similarly convinced Stone pressured political prankster Randy Credico not to testify before Congress about his knowledge of the events and Stone’s involvement.

Stone’s associates — including Credico — expect the president to pardon him. As Credico told MSNBC’s Ari Melber in May, “You know, he’s been loyal to this president for 37 years. I know the president is not loyal; doesn’t reciprocate loyalty. But in this case, you know, he really doesn’t want Roger Stone yapping out there.” 

Stone did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.