Roger Stone Convicted on All Counts - Obstruction, Witness Tampering, and Lying to Congress

A federal jury convicted longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone on all seven counts: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of making false statements to Congress, and one count of witness tampering. The conviction stemmed from Stone’s efforts to obstruct the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lies about serving as an intermediary between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks, and his attempts to intimidate witness Randy Credico. Stone became the sixth Trump associate convicted of crimes as a result of the Mueller investigation, and Trump would later commute his sentence and grant him a full pardon.

Stone’s Role: The WikiLeaks Backchannel

During the 2016 campaign, Roger Stone positioned himself as the Trump campaign’s connection to WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange. Beginning in June 2016, Stone began making public statements suggesting he had inside knowledge about WikiLeaks’ plans to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

On August 8, 2016, Stone told the Trump campaign he had learned WikiLeaks would release additional material damaging to Clinton. On August 12, Stone publicly stated that “I actually have communicated with Assange” and that he was in contact with WikiLeaks. On October 3, 2016—four days before WikiLeaks began releasing John Podesta’s stolen emails—Stone tweeted: “Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #WikiLeaks.”

The Mueller Report documented that senior Trump campaign officials, including Steve Bannon and later Paul Manafort, viewed Stone as their access point to WikiLeaks and tasked him with finding out what WikiLeaks had and when releases would occur. Campaign officials contacted Stone about WikiLeaks releases multiple times, including after WikiLeaks’ July 22 release of DNC emails and in the weeks before WikiLeaks released Podesta’s emails in October.

Stone communicated with intermediaries Jerome Corsi and Randy Credico, who he claimed could provide information about WikiLeaks. While the extent of Stone’s actual connection to WikiLeaks remains unclear, he certainly knew more than he later admitted to Congress and positioned himself as an intermediary between the campaign and WikiLeaks.

The Lies to Congress

In September 2017, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence called Stone to testify as part of its Russia investigation. Under oath, Stone made materially false statements on multiple subjects:

1. False statements about WikiLeaks intermediaries: Stone denied having emails or text messages about WikiLeaks with anyone other than Randy Credico. In fact, Stone had extensive communications with Jerome Corsi about WikiLeaks, including directing Corsi to “get to” Assange and discussing what WikiLeaks might release.

2. False statements about Corsi: Stone testified he had no documents relating to Corsi’s communications with WikiLeaks. He had numerous such documents.

3. False statements about campaign communications: Stone testified he never discussed his WikiLeaks communications with anyone involved in the Trump campaign. This was false—he had briefed multiple campaign officials, including in writing.

4. False statements about requests from the campaign: Stone denied that anyone associated with the Trump campaign asked him to communicate with WikiLeaks. Multiple campaign officials, including senior members like Steve Bannon, had done exactly that.

5. False statements about Credico: Stone testified Credico was his sole WikiLeaks intermediary and that Credico told him about the October releases. This was designed to hide Stone’s communications with Corsi and shift attention to Credico.

These lies were not innocent misstatements—they were deliberate attempts to hide Stone’s coordination with WikiLeaks and protect the Trump campaign from exposure.

Witness Tampering: Threatening Randy Credico

After Stone testified, he learned that Congress would also call Randy Credico, the comedian and radio host Stone had falsely identified as his WikiLeaks source. Stone began a campaign to pressure Credico not to contradict Stone’s false testimony.

Between December 2017 and May 2018, Stone sent Credico dozens of messages pressuring him to invoke the Fifth Amendment, refuse to testify, or corroborate Stone’s lies. The messages included threats:

• “Stonewall it. Plead the fifth anything to save the plan” (December 1, 2017)
• “You are a rat. A stoolie.” (April 9, 2018)
• “Prepare to die [expletive]” (May 21, 2018)

Stone also threatened Credico’s therapy dog in a reference to The Godfather Part II: “I am so ready. Let’s get it on. Prepare to die [expletive].” The message included an image of the dog.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Stone’s witness tampering succeeded in part—Credico delayed providing documents to the Committee and considered asserting the Fifth Amendment, though he ultimately testified truthfully.

The Trial and Conviction

The two-week trial featured testimony from Steve Bannon, who described Stone as the campaign’s “access point” to WikiLeaks, and Rick Gates, who testified that Trump and Stone discussed WikiLeaks during the campaign. Phone records showed that Stone called Trump shortly after speaking with Corsi about WikiLeaks in the summer of 2016.

Prosecutors presented Stone’s own communications as evidence, including emails with Corsi discussing WikiLeaks’ plans, texts with Credico, and messages threatening Credico to prevent his testimony. The documentary evidence was overwhelming.

Stone’s defense argued he was guilty only of “innocently” forgetting details and that his threats to Credico were just Stone’s bombastic style, not serious witness tampering. The jury rejected these arguments, convicting on all seven counts after two days of deliberation.

Sentencing Controversy and Barr’s Intervention

After Stone’s conviction, prosecutors recommended a sentence of 7 to 9 years under federal sentencing guidelines. Trump immediately attacked the recommendation as “horrible and very unfair,” and Attorney General William Barr’s Justice Department overruled its own prosecutors, filing a revised sentencing memo calling the initial recommendation “excessive.”

All four prosecutors on the case withdrew in protest, with one resigning from the Justice Department entirely. The intervention sparked accusations that Barr was again abusing his authority to protect Trump’s associates, following his similar actions in the Michael Flynn case.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson ultimately sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison and a $20,000 fine—less than the initial recommendation but still a substantial sentence. Jackson rejected Stone’s request for a new trial, finding no merit to his allegations of jury misconduct.

Commutation and Pardon

On July 10, 2020—just days before Stone was scheduled to report to prison—Trump commuted Stone’s sentence, ensuring he would serve no time. The White House statement called the prosecution “overzealous” and claimed Stone was a “victim of the Russia Hoax.”

Trump went further on December 23, 2020, granting Stone a full pardon along with Paul Manafort, Charles Kushner, and others. The pardon erased Stone’s conviction entirely and ensured he could never be compelled to testify about his knowledge of Trump’s involvement in the WikiLeaks coordination.

Significance

Roger Stone’s conviction and subsequent pardon exemplified the two-tier justice system that emerged during the Trump era: accountability for Trump’s associates existed only until Trump chose to nullify it. Stone was convicted by a jury of his peers based on overwhelming evidence, yet he served no time and suffered no lasting legal consequences.

The case also demonstrated the limitations of congressional oversight. Stone lied to Congress, obstructed its investigation, and tampered with a witness—all to protect the Trump campaign from scrutiny about its coordination with WikiLeaks. Despite being caught and convicted, the lies succeeded in their goal: the full truth about Trump’s knowledge of and involvement in WikiLeaks’ release of stolen emails remains hidden.

Stone’s witness tampering charge was particularly significant. He wasn’t just lying to protect himself—he was threatening others to prevent the truth from emerging. That he could do so with impunity, knowing Trump would protect him, sent a clear message to other potential witnesses: loyalty to Trump trumps truth to Congress.

The case revealed the WikiLeaks connection as far more extensive than previously known. The Trump campaign actively sought advance information about WikiLeaks releases and used Stone as their intermediary. When GRU officers hacked Democratic emails and WikiLeaks released them at strategically timed moments, the Trump campaign was not merely a passive beneficiary—senior officials were in communication with someone they believed had inside access to WikiLeaks’ plans.

Attorney General Barr’s intervention in the sentencing recommendation was the second time he directly intervened to reduce consequences for a convicted Trump associate (after Michael Flynn). It established a pattern: DOJ prosecutors could still pursue cases and win convictions, but Barr would ensure that politically sensitive sentences were reduced, and Trump would ensure pardons followed.

The Roger Stone case stands as a testament to how obstruction can succeed when the person being protected has the power to grant pardons. Stone obstructed, lied, and threatened witnesses precisely because he believed Trump would protect him. He was right.