Roger Stone was indicted Friday for lying to Congress and witness tampering, not for conspiring with Russian intelligence or WikiLeaks, Moscows partner in disseminating materials stolen from the Democratic National Committee. Yet if special counsel Robert S. Mueller III did not disclose evidence of criminal collusion, the indictment makes clear that senior officials of the Trump campaign including, possibly, Donald Trump himself reacted to the criminal intelligence operation of a prime U.S. adversary by secretly trying to take advantage of it.
By mid-June 2016, it was publicly known that the DNCs computer systems had been hacked by Russian government agents. The following month, when WikiLeaks released a trove of DNC emails, it was clear the material had come from the Russians. Yet, according to Mr. Stones indictment, the response of the Trump campaign was to contact Mr. Stone and ask him to find out what other damaging material WikiLeaks might have and when it would be released.
A senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact STONE about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton campaign, reads the indictment. Mr. Stone proceeded to do just that, reaching out to WikiLeaks through two intermediaries and reporting back to Trump aides. Following a WikiLeaks release of emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta on Oct. 7, 2016, Mr. Stone received a text from an associate of the high-ranking Trump Campaign official saying well done. That high-ranking official was almost certainly Stephen K. Bannon; the indictment leaves open the possibility his dealings with Mr. Stone were directed by Mr. Trump.
Perhaps there was nothing illegal in the campaigns actions, though we wont know that until Mr. Mueller completes his work. But, as in the case of Mr. Trumps secret pursuit of a real estate deal in Russia while running for president, his campaigns dealings with Mr. Stone evince gross moral corruption. If it had nothing to do with the hack of the DNC, the Trump campaign should have done its best to steer clear of an attack on the U.S. political system by a hostile foreign power. Instead, at the least, it secretly sought to learn more about it so as to make the best use of it.
Days after Mr. Bannon was directed to contact Mr. Stone, on July 27, 2016, Mr. Trump publicly called on Russia to find and release Hillary Clintons missing emails. We now know the Russian hackers attempted to break into Ms. Clintons server the same day. On Aug. 2, according to the indictment, Mr. Stone was advised by one of the WikiLeaks intermediaries that the campaign should start suggesting that Ms. Clinton was unwell, because that would be a focus of the next dump. Mr. Trump gave a speech on Aug. 15 charging that Ms. Clinton lacks the mental and physical stamina to fight the Islamic State.
Earlier this week we pointed out that, if Mr. Trump did not secretly cut a business deal with the regime of Vladi-mir Putin while praising him on the campaign trail, it was not for lack of trying. Mr. Muellers latest indictment shows that if the presidents campaign did not conspire with WikiLeaks, an organization designated as a hostile intelligence service by the Senate Intelligence Committee, it was not out of scruple.
The Washington Post
