It occurs to me that all the speculation at the start of the 2016 campaign about whether Roger Stone was fired or quit was just a ruse to distract and to cover up his busy schedule doing dirty tricks.
37
I'm puzzled. Stone is talking to Assange. Stone is also talking to Trump. As often as three times a day. Russian intelligence stole the emails in order to help the Trump campaign. Assange got the emails from Russian intelligence. Assange gives Stone the date when WikiLeaks will release the stolen emails. Stone passes that date on to Trump. How is this not a conspiracy to sabotage our democratic elections? How is this not the Trump campaign receiving something of value from a foreign entity?
54
More of the "best" people. I have no idea why these people would volunteer to be shot by trump on 5th avenue. The man that demands loyalty couldn't give a hoot about any of them.
5
Roger Stone needs to be put in Arkham Asylum, where all of Batman's craaazy villains go.
5
"Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?"
Groucho Marx
5
I can't wait for all of these walking cartoons to go to prison, including the biggest walking cartoon and traitor.
5
Donnie will soon be saying..... 'Roger? Hardly know him! I don't know him'
5
What an odd little man. Throughout his life, Stone trafficked in conspiracy and discredited men. To what end? Other than becoming notorious for threatening people with his tongue of steel, he now finds himself inextricably in the hot seat - finally - facing jail time for years of misdeeds. At 67 years of age, you'd imagine he would have hung up the battle axe long ago.
17
If you are someone who wants to see Mr. Stone get his just deserts, like I do, this sounds pretty good, but criminal trials don't always deliver justice. All it really takes is one hard-core Trumpster to survive jury selection, and he/she can deliver an acquittal. I hope my pessimism is unwarranted. This wretch deserves the infamy of a conviction.
7
The truth always finds it's way into light.
What is of only consequence is it's impact on those who have hidden it. Will there be any? Yet to be seen.
If not, we are lost because if the truth has no impact then it has lost it's value for serving justice.
Will we truth's power or will be see it's powerlessness to protect us from tyranny.
I am cautiously optimistic that the impactful revaluations coming out from so many corners, will be too overwhelming to be de-fanged with twisted lies and propaganda to be convincing to all who pay attention, as anything but actionable.
4
@JDH Please pardon the terrible spelling . My phone is not the best way to write anything with accuracy. Especially with spell check off. Sincerest apologies.
3
Isn't Perjury grounds for impeachment? I hope the House adds Trump lying under oath to Mueller as another grounds for impeachment.
The Republicans went after Pres. Clinton for perjury, and most voted to impeach and remove him, and that was about sex.
12
The modern republican party began with Nixon's southern strategy which required the deception that they were not really patronizing racists. Since learning to lie then, they have gone onto an Orwellian trajectory including false economic theories, trickledown, claims of voter fraud, lies upon lies about abortion, climate change and now the outright denial of bribery and extortion. Watching Graham twist himself into knots to protect Trump is pathetic. They cannot admit the truth about Trump without the whole edifice of lies, distortions, false claims, allegations and deceptions collapsing.
11
It's not the ones who get caught, but the ones that get away that surprises me.
If the Times can demonstrate the Trump family has evaded hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes, where was the IRS? New York State Department of Taxation and Finance? They have the returns on file.
How is it so many crooks with so much money swirl around New York and Moscow and Kiev? Isn't anybody looking out for us, the people?
16
Despite my annoyance with the constant Trump related things, I can state that yes I have read this article and put in my appreciation (And this also applies for the article with over 13,000 respondents that is now close to comment I wanted to put that in the
President Trump is not “on the dock” in the Roger Stone trial, as the article’s headline asserts. Roger Stone allegedly lied to the House Intelligence Committee about his alleged communications with WikiLeaks, but there was nothing unlawful about his contacts with WikiLeaks, presuming they actually occurred.
The lead prosecutor told the jury “The evidence in this case will show that Roger Stone lied to the House Intelligence Committee because the truth looked bad for the Trump campaign and the truth looked bad for Donald Trump.” But why would the truth look bad for the Trump Campaign and Donald Trump?
As the article points out, “prosecutors have not claimed that the president discussed WikiLeaks with Mr. Stone,” but why would it matter if Trump had discussed the WikiLeaks exposé with Stone? During the 2016 election campaign, the entire country was discussing the WikiLeaks exposé. The New York Times “discussed” the exposé with its readers and provided them a direct link to WikiLeaks DNC email database.
2
@William Case, Trump's discussing WikiLeaks' release of hacked emails with Stone would matter because Trump denied in his sworn affidavit that any such discussion took place.
In other words, it would mean that Trump committed perjury, just like Stone.
I'm curious--do you find anything wrong with a candidate knowingly accepting--and cooperating--with a foreign state interfering in our elections? What about soliciting interference from a foreign state?
7
If Trump weren't President he would already be in jail, even under a Republican administration. The Stone trial in only one of many nails in the coffin.
10
I note with Trump and Sondland there were lots and lots of I do not recall or I do not remember. It seems these folks have very very bad memories or are demented. I think it rather obvious that these statements are really trying to take the 5th but leaving wiggle room for later. it certainly helped Sondland when he came back a second time and had sudden memory restoration.
No doubt, Trump needs to be questioned in person and under oath. We know he is a serial liar and know that most things he says are not true.
8
MAGA. Make America great again — now, unlike three years ago, MAGA can be publicity proclaimed, because if we get rid of Trump, this would really MAGA.
MAGA should become the official Democratic Party mantra.
6
I hope that Stone and trump get nailed.
8
Let's not be PC in this instance.
To claim that the president can't be indicted is to invite this con artist to gross out, rob and disgrace America as much as he wants.
Indict him! the same as any other criminal or traitor.
This "Above The Law" nonsense is for the gullible.
Think about it.
9
From the Trump Tower meeting on,Trump was culpable in a conspiracy with Russians to undermine the 2016 election. He knew about the meeting that included Manafort,Kushner, and his son Jr. and also knew he needed plausible deniability so did not attend, because he knew it was wrong to accept anything of value from a foreign adversary. They learned that day about Russia hacking the emails, and realized it wasn't like they could just release them from the campaign, this gift from Russia 'to show support for DJT'. This is where Roger Stone came in with having Wikileaks release them and controlling the release according to their own timetable and coordinating with ads made to influence voters online to vote for Trump, or at least not vote for Clinton. The campaign obviously knew the content of the emails, as they used them in campaign speeches before they were released to the public and even encouraged the public to read them, with Trump saying "I just love Wikileaks". His corruption knows no bounds, as the day after Mueller said Russia was still actively interfering in our elections, he called Ukraine to extort help with his 2020 campaign by having Zelensky publicly announce (not do) investigations into Biden and the 2016 election, but to make it appear like there was something, so he could give people doubt about the Russian interference and his chief opponent. Justice must be served. The day of reckoning will come. Woe to those who would sell out our country to its enemies!
8
Should Mr. Stone be found guilty and actually begin serving time, he'll just be one more added to the list for any potential future pardons to be issued. Someone will probably step up and say how badly Mr. Stone was been treated, the worst in history.
3
If you go to Amazon and get "Summary and Interpretation of the Mueller Report, " the last part spells out that Stone's trial would be the icing on the cake for Trump's problems. The summary is short and not only summarizes the key elements of the report, but it goes the extra step of connecting the dots that Mueller could have done, but didn't. Well worth the time...but search for the exact title as there are other summaries on Amazon.
6
The Stone trial may be the best redemption one can hope for from The Mueller Report.
I am glad that, essentially, the "no collusion" argument is being litigated.
A guilty verdict from the jury would essentially contradict Barr's summation of the report.
I suppose one could then believe, fantastically, that Stone was a free-agent loose cannon, and Trump and his campaign clueless, but I prefer to traffic in more sane connections.
This same bizarre rationalization/bus-throwing may be developing in parallel with Giuliani in regards to the Ukraine extortion attempt.
Will it end with these two guys singing essentially the same tune to stay out of jail?
5
Regardless of the irrefutable facts, the mere thought of a pardon can embolden even the most guilty.
4
If this were fiction, no one would believe it. Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, David Pecker, Stormy Daniels, and Michael Cohen seem like characters that belong in a Christopher Buckley farce, but instead may end up in a Kurt Eichenwald non-fiction masterpiece. It would be a great follow up to The Informant and 500 Days.
9
Let’s get this over with as soon as possible so that this guy can return to middle earth.
4
Another day another Trump slug oozes out from the swamp. Between his university and foundation, a pattern of sleazy activity emerges from him and all of his associates.
I wonder how much longer can he dismiss all the allegations against him and his cronies as fake news.
14
Trump and Putin run their respective governments like Mafia bosses.
7
What will linger throughout the rest of this century in law school lectures are two salient irregularities in this trial, things that should frighten patriots and any true believers in democracy remaining among the NYT's readers.
This prosecution is straight out of Soviet Russia with Feliks Dzherzhinsky playing the prosecutor, judge, and executioner.
The U.S. had politicians reaping hundreds of thousands thanks to the sale of decisions in Washington, D.C. over the past decade, yet this Mr. Stone is basically being fitted for the electric chair for - basically - the equivalent of crossing the street between lights.
Worse than that is the absence of an actual professional judge. Instead of a personally uninvolved jurist hearing this political case, we have perpetually hissy eighth-grader Judge Amy Berman Jackson running this hatchet job like the overheated political operator she has always been.
Who named this law-school disaster to the federal bench? Barack Hussien Supercool, of course. And, yes, she and other ''button-men'' are part of why Trump is President.
She is not only the worst example of a lawyer, but may well deserve investigation by a federal grand jury - she is that bad, insisting time and again that SHE is the star here.
You'll have to go to the free media to read up on her antics and pouts.
live by the sword, you die by the sword. That's what a friend, a Republican apparatchik told me the day Nixon resigned. Nixon has Roger's back --or rather Roger 's got Nixon's. Bye Rog.
4
A lot of innuendo here and very little substance. If the NYT spent one tenth the amount of time looking into Biden as they do Trump, we might actually have some real news. Biden remains the front runner and the Hunter-Ukraine thing ain't going away.
@Robert, it's already gone away. Trump's effort to extort Ukraine into manufacturing a scandal against Biden has resulted in full-on impeachment proceedings. There isn't going to be any investigation into a false conspiracy that lives on only in the rightwing fever swamps of the internet.
4
The life size tattoo of Nixon's face adorning his back may work to Stone's advantage if he finds himself convicted and sent to prison - what a turn off in the shower.
16
Fearless Leader will say ”Roger who”?
7
The whole dirty, slimy bunch will hopefully end up in jail. Then the country can try to rebuild what they have destroyed.
8
Who told Stone the court case is really a trailer for a tv mini series?
3
And Trump supporters thought he was joking when he asked Putin to break into Clinton's office. Lovely. The rats are starting to turn on each other.
11
The regime bellyaches that impeachment is the democrats way to overturn the election.
The election has already been overturned,.. by republicans in the electoral college. Mrs. Clinton won with 3,000,000 more American votes.
We rejected the con artist by 10,000,000 ballots overall.
Just the line of electors voting for Mrs Clinton was over a "Thousand Miles" longer than the line voting for the con artist.
A line of 3,000,000 people is over a thousand miles long.
Yet the con artist who lost the race, by over a thousand miles, is occupying our oval office, disgracing America everyday while he is at it.
Talk about overturning an election !! How many garbage cans did the republicans, in the electoral college, have to use to throw away 3,000,000 ballots?
8
I hope Stone gets long jail time. Stone has driven American politics into the sewer.
10
Birds of the same feathers flock together. Cohen, Manafort, Flynn and Stone and Giuliani. Should I add the Bar? Your judgment is as good as mine,
Cry for the beloved
6
Raymond Reddington isn’t real. But he made for one heck of a defendant. His character is the ultimate trickster. But he’s also erudite, sophisticated, and five steps ahead of everyone else. He also lives by an exacting moral code.
Roger Stone and Trump are real. They’re odious, incurious, stupid, and too unsophisticated to be tricksters. They’re just garden variety liars. If they weren’t rich, they’d be selling used cars in Paramus and eating ramen from a cup while watching Fox News on cheap, flimsy TV’s they picked up from a flea market. Their apartments would be bereft of books, music, or art. They only light would emanate from the dimming LED screens of their ten year old TV’s.
The trickster requires cunning, intelligence, and finesse - like the fictional Raymond Reddington. These two morons lack all those qualities. They’re just con men who got in way over their heads, thinking they were going to score big.
Send him to Attica. He’ll just love the winters there. The lake effect snow off of Lake Erie is just wonderful. And I know two Polish ladies in Batavia who make the most delightful pierogies. They’re just marvelous! But who am I kidding? He’ll be lucky to get biscuits softer than the hockey pucks all the kids play with.
As for his trial? It’s going to be a gas.
5
This is our basket of deplorables. From his associates to the fools who support him no matter what. Welcome to the United States of Absurdity.
7
You repeatedly state in your article that the Russians hacked the DNC.
There is no evidence of that claim whatsoever.
When you lie about one thing, everything you write is written off.
@Ken, are you serious?
Read part one of the Muller report. Twelve Russians have been indicted for hacking the DNC. There's more than enough evidence.
How is it possible not to know about the Russian hacking?
4
Of course, a DC Grand jury will indict and a DC petit jury will convict—If the target is republican—that’s news???
With the Nixon connections, I can't shake the image of Trump's campaign and administration as a clown car full of Bebe Rebozos.
4
We've all seen Trump in action. Is it really credible that an operative, any operative, would do something the help Trump and not give him all the details? With Trump it's all about sucking up, so you have to tell him how much you're doing for him. Stone wasn't doing this just to make himself feel good, but to win/keep Trump's favor and be a key player in that weird world of theirs.
5
Roger Stone's defense sounds like an alternative to reality.
Will the jury base it's verdict on facts or alternative facts?
40
It would be a wonderful comeuppance if the Stone trial comes up with something concrete with long lasting consequences. These public confrontations with Trump supporters seem to be quickly forgotten or tweeted into irrelevance by Trump.
Hopefully, this trial will somehow offer support to the impeachment efforts.
5
Before we go overboard on this, maybe, we should study what happened with the Stuart Kings of England and the Star Chamber. The English Parliament later banned it, and this history became the inspiration for our Bill of Rights, among other things. Just remember that, if they can do this to Stone because he is a friend of Trump, they can do this to you, if you are a friend of someone who becomes very unpopular.
@jpduffy3
Do what. Make me tell the truth?
8
How does this information not lead to his income tax submissions? Get the income tax returns and watch the court cases go on for 20 years including his adult kids.
3
Tom Brenner- excellent photograph-
5
Roger Stone is as virulent a symptom of Trump Disease as Trump himself, as well as being a virulent cause of it. There must be serious consequences for both of these despicable characters and all who are involved with their treacherous and treasonous actions. They cannot be allowed to escape from any of their responsibility for the damage they have inflicted on our country.
8
Lock them up, Trump, Stone, Pence, Pompeo, Giuliani, Mnuchin, Mulvaney, Wilbur Ross the whole corrupt cabal. Every day exposes a new crime, a new fraud, another ally betrayed, another dictator fawned over, another corporate giveaway, another environmental protection stripped away, another pollutant added to our air, our water and our politics. It may take decades but maybe if we get rid of these slimeballs we can convince NATO and other former allies around the world that we are not crazy after all.
13
Robert Mueller let this country down in a huge way. He hedged, balked and obfuscated his way to status as a has been hero without the courage to stand up against the worst of the worst. America will pay the price for decades to come if we survive this at all. After what was arguably a decent career this man laid down. Mueller allowed Trump and his cronies to get away with what amounts to racketeering. And the he let Barr get away with pre-empting any thought that the public might get a fair bring of the facts. Oh, he protested mildly. He should have been yelling from the roof tops. How sad to see this man fade into history as soggy afterthought. Any mob boss would have been dragged to court and prosecuted. Hopefully Stone gets a taste of what Trump deserves. History will not and should not be kind to RM. He fails his country.
7
@ Jack Hunter
Mueller is the exemplar of a lawyer as a moral automaton. He and many of his colleagues see the law and their participation in it as an intrinsic, absolute moral good, rather than a tool to seek justice and facilitate the workings of society, social ball bearings as it were. They spew alligator tears over what could happen if the law were not followed to its literal absolute, so that they may justify their being so utterly lawyerly. Mueller what is the epitome of the lawyerly lawyer, and so did great harm.
2
As with so many others who truck with Trump, this player got played. Now there's nothing more for him to do than wait to be thrown under the bus. Sorry, Roger, there is no such thing as being "friends " with the Grifter-in-Chief.
3
A lesson from apartment living... there is never just one roach. When you se a roach you can be sure that the other side of the wall is filled with them.
8
Surprise, surprise. Trump was willing to take dirt on his opponents from any source. I guess since he wasn't indicted the first time around, he figured he'd try it again. How many other attempts have there been?
85
@Joy Trump, the Rosie Ruiz of electoral politics.
There’s no question that Roger Stone is smarter and more savvy than his long-time, amoral collaborator Trump. (Admittedly the bar is not terribly high.)
Stone had to know that, given the ever-increasing, incontrovertible evidence against him, he had a choice – he could cooperate with investigators and prosecutors in return for some degree of immunity (assuming it was offered to him) or, he could take steps to insure that his silence (and/or theatrical obfuscation) would guarantee him a full and unconditional presidential pardon for all crimes of which he is convicted.
And why would Stone expect an erratic, narcissistic man, loyal to no one but himself, to keep his word? Trump knows that his “friend” has first-hand knowledge (and likely evidence) of crimes and indiscretions going back decades. But, perhaps even more importantly, Trump understands that, if betrayed, Stone, a man much like himself, will do whatever he needs to do to save himself.
8
I wonder if it bothers Stone that he was apparently on the outside of the Ukraine extortion plot because that's where the real action was, not with wikileaks and stolen emails.
Instead he may be going to prison for his part in a scandal that led nowhere and accomplished nothing.
4
When a defense lawyer opens a trial arguing that his client isn't a criminal, he's just a goofy guy with an odd sense of humor, you know that there is no actual defense. This isn't high school. This isn't youthful exuberance. This is a crime. Time to show Roger what it is like in the real world.
125
@Susan
Ah yes, the Republican adult version of "Boys will be boys"
7
Inch by inch, step by step, Trump's suckers walk to the door, and into the prison. Can't wait for Trump's turn for what he has done to our country. Just heard he is seeking a new TV Reality show after leaving office. But, first things first, Donald.
6
@TIm Love
How about a reality show from federal prison? I would actually tune in for that.
2
"Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of, ‘Wouldn’t that be great.’ ”
It would have been nice if this stuff could have made it into the Mueller Report. Mueller concluded there was not enough evidence to prove conspiracy because of so many emails, texts, and calls deleted or made on encrypted applicaitions.
But the irony is that Stone's collusion with the president in using secret knowledge of the timing of Clinton email dumps runs counter to the president's new narrative about Ukraine, not Russia, being the real perpetrator of election medding.
Expect a slew of unhinged president tweets on this unfolding case--unless the president realizes how dangerous that could be to him.
149
@ChristineMcM: "Mueller concluded there was not enough evidence to prove conspiracy because of so many emails, texts, and calls deleted or made on encrypted applicaitions."
I thought this kind of thing was supposed to go to a "consciousness of guilt" on the part of those who hid or deleted things.
Since when is all this passed over as if it somehow just happened by itself?
16
@Tokyo Tea The obstruction of justice worked.
14
@ChristineMcM
I assumed that the fact that there was an ongoing investigation and pending trial precluded Director Mueller from including portions of the Roger Stone intel in his report. I also felt that releasing the report prior to the Stone trial was ill advised. The drip, drip, drip of information is helpful to Trump. Most voters have short attention spans, and Trump voters most likely have long forgotten the name Roger Stone, much less care about the outcome of his trial. The rest will be sympathetic to him because he helped save them from a Hillary Clinton presidency.
The disgraceful Trump presidency marches on, unimpeded by laws, rules, mores, or values. It must be a shameful time for law abiding conservatives who care about their country.
10
I am beginning to fear that Trump will get away with every sketchy, shady, questionably legal, and illegal thing he's done as president. There's a looong list of such things from the pre-presidency years forward; he could easily and credibly claim he didn't know right from wrong.
89
@Duped Again - Not far fetched. "Wow. I didn't realize I was a con man."
18
Did we just get a whiff of the "I'm not guilty; I'm just crazy" defense? The two things are not mutually exclusive.
Thanks for the recap anyway. Roger Stone capstones the Mueller report perfectly: If the Trump campaign didn't collude with Russia in 2016, it wasn't for want of trying.
Anyway, I'm guessing prosecutors have Stone wrapped on lying to Congress. Either Corsi or Credico has evidence which proves guilt. A limited conviction given the severity of events but better than nothing.
8
Two peas in a pod. My father taught me long ago that who you hang with defines who you are. How many unsavory characters, grifters, con men, and dictators will it take for Americans to realize that Trump is not on our side - only his.
432
@Michael Gilbert
I'll offer one reservation. Who you are often defines who you hang with, not the other way around. If you're an open and accepting person, you'll probably have friends who are unlike yourself. If you are a privileged cheat who views life as a zero-sum game between winners and losers, you're probably going to seek out people who think more like yourself.
In biological anthropology, I believe the term is "assortative mating." I imagine you'll find similar definitions in other biological and cultural sciences.
8
And the latest are Igor and Lev. No telling where they got their money to pay Giuliani to get dirt on Biden.
15
... errr, and Putin's!
11
As I indicated in a prior comment trials are tricky and victory cannot be taken for granted. Losing is easy. I fully expect, and hope that I am wrong, that the Barr contingent will lose this case on purpose. It will not be as obvious as the OJ Simpson trial with the glove that couldn’t fit, but you pick the wrong juror, you fail to ask the appropriate question, you don’t submit a crucial piece of evidence or present a demeanor that turns off the jury. It is never easy to be successful and it is much easier to lose. Especially if you want to lose. I believe this is the case.
1
It's worth remembering that in SDNY's sentencing documents for Michael Cohen, two felonies that landed Cohen in prison were "directed" by Donald Trump ("individual 1"). These documents indicate that Trump would have been indicted had he not been president, and given the fact that federal conviction rates (last reported in 2012) are 93%, it's almost certain that were he not the President, Trump would either be in prison already or on his way there in the paddy wagon. It appears likely from the opening arguments in the Stone trial that we can add "lying to federal investigators" to Trump's list of felonies committed. That doesn't seem to bother Republicans, who apparently view the job of President as sufficiently trivial to allow it to be done by criminals.
20
@Jon Gordon
If Trump is defeated in 2020, he can still be indicted on the "Individual 1" charges which sent Cohen to prison.
5
Precisely as detailed in a New Yorker expose on Stone almost two years ago. And yet Trump remains in the Oval Office, and the GOP continues to protect him. Truly amazing, truly frightening.
46
Interesting. I read the Mueller Report with a small group of people. We were fascinated by these redactions and speculated it was re: Stone trial. Cool to get to read them now. Thanks
17
“. . . in that mischievous way of his.”
it is time for us to take in hand the tightrope that Mr. Stone and others of his ilk (viz. Mr. Trump, Mr. Barr, Mr. Graham, Mr. Graham, Mr. Falwell, et al.) have been walking and shake it vigorously, for all that our country is worth. . . .
44
You sleep with dogs and you get fleas.
18
“... his lawyers have built a defense in part around their client’s colorful reputation.”
Roger Stone isn’t “colorful,” or “mischievous” or just “mouthing off” and “playing others,” he is rotten to the core. He, and Trump, Manafort, Guiliani, and so many others in this evil administration are guilty of subverting our democracy in word and deed. I believe we call that TREASON.
119
@Susan
It smacks of repubs who try to pass the Ukraine thing off as "just Donald being Donald."
In other words, just a corrupt person being corrupt?
Since when did that kind of thing protect a person from prosecution? Try to use that as a defense for some poor nonwhite kid who committed a crime and see how meaningful it is.
10
@Susan
Oui! Oui!
3
@Susan
Susan, your description of the whole slimy crowd is spot on, and they all deserve the maximum the law will allow.
What concerns me is the blind faith, the GOP and the Trump population continue to exhibit in the outrageous responses to the criminal acts continued by the the current Administration, and their continued hypocrisy and willingness to follow this regime to Hell.
What has happened to us?
3
On a flight NY to Fort Lauderdale 5 years ago, was seated opposite fellow passenger "dressed to the nines," regimental tie, custom made blue blazer,beautiful button down shirt, everything was perfect, as if he had stepped out of pages of GQ. Asked if I could,borrow his copy of the New York Post, and he obliged, and then I realized it was Roger Stone.He was no doubt involved in pol. shenanigans then as a Trump insider, but later read his books, including "The Man Who Killed JFK,"meaning LBJ and the old guard: intel. services, FBI , CIA,Texas oil barons, Cuban exiles--read Marita Lorenz's testimony, ,Lorenz being "petite amie"of Frank Sturgess, 1 of alleged shooters on the grassy knoll--and realized this is a great book. LBJ's motive:career on the wane, wanted to be pres. himself. Having done research on behalf of Fensterwald, def. counsel for James Earl Ray, I appreciated Stone's work more than average person, but what stuck in my mind after encounter on the flight was Stone's dress:Just perfect,Mutatis mutandis,what intel, services did to JFK , who sought to reform the CIA and conduct his own for. policy, old guard seeks to do to Trump. The Donald had preconceived notion that he, as president had right to conduct his foreign policy, but no way. U can't beat city hall, as my retired atty. John Dalton was wont to say! Then as now, media, unwilling to seek the truth, backed establishment to the hilt.Sometimes we learn from history.
1
@Alexander Harrison “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach”.
Aldous Huxley
4
@Alexander Harrison
Trump and those he surrounds himself with are very sick people. They are all delusional, paranoid and incapable of normal human feelings like empathy. They are malicious liars. They are conspiracy theorists and conspiracy creators. They are completely hung up on themselves and attacking everyone who isn't supporting them as though nearly the entire world is their enemy.
This is a sick (and also criminal) bunch of pathetic people. How did America ever allow such mentally deranged people to take charge of the most powerful nation on Earth?
5
@NY Times Fan :Alexander Harrison has been a devoted reader for almost half a century and there is the Times newspaper and then every other gazette which does not measure up.But your weakness for presuming things which you could not verify since you have never met much less interviewed The Donald or any of his associates is disappointing, not informative except of, no disrespect there, a lack of sophistication. Emotionally charged words w/o substance. We know how you FEEL, but why should anyone care? Even an experienced psychiatrist would hesitate to say such things about those whom 1 has never met.As Chris Matthews woulds say, who was a mainstay on the McLaughlin Report back in the distant 1990's, tell me something I don't know, and it is always better to avoid pejorative a adjectives about folks you have neither met nor interviewed. Comments are supposed to be informative to others, stimulate intelligent debate.If you want to increase your cultural level, suggest you read works of Alsops, Joseph and Stewart,"Black Prince, Robert Novak, Victor Hanson, author most recently of "The Case for Trump!"
Only among the lowest levels of American politics and politicians would anyone consider Roger Stone a person with "a colorful reputation".
For the rest of us, he is, and has been for years, a manipulative liar who has earned his moldy, daily bread selling lies to any Republican who would pay him.
The only sympathetic creature in this essay is Corsi's dog.
68
Trump never thought he'd be President. Just mischief here to wound Pres Clinton when elected. And fuel his new media launch.
9
Another elderly rogue headed for the clink, thanks to his fealty to Donald. Paul Manafort is already there and inshallah, after impeachment, Donald will be soon on his way.
“ For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings....”
The moment cannot come too soon when we say this about the thief who wanted to be king and all of those who helped him ascend.
54
@NJlatelifemom
Hold on... it ain't over.
Trump can still pardon anyone he wants before
leaves.
Millions of people voted for Hillary Clinton. Milllions of people donated money to her campaign. All of these people were defrauded by the Republican Party. Donald Trump at the time was the head of the Republican Party. The very top officials of the Party were working with Wikileaks and Russia to disseminate stolen emails. The gravity of this is so profound. I have yet to understand why the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton cannot sue the Republican Party. The Clinton campaign spend over a billion dollars. The voters need to be compensated for damages. What would be the price. A billion dollars plus damages. How about $50 billion? Something to deter the Republican Party and send a message.
42
"Rather, [Stone's] earlier public claims about his connections to WikiLeaks had been him mouthing off and “playing others” in that mischievous way of his."
Such a funster, that mischievous Roger! The "Lying to Congress" game seems to be especially fun, but Mueller apparently never got the joke. Mueller has no sense of humor about these kinds of games, at least from what I could tell from his testimony to Congress.
9
It would be a fascinating exercise exposing political hypocrisy to ask Republicans two questions. 1) What they would think if a Democratic candidate were to promise massive military aid to a country like Viet Nam, Pakistan, or Egypt to institute an election influence campaign and/or under the table financial assistance?2) Is there any moral boundary that President Trump could cross that would lead them to support impeach and removal? If so, please define what that would be?
19
@HPower the answer to your question is NO... there is no line that could be crossed that would turn the cult and the GOP around.
4
We all know what "I don't recall" means. What's saved Trump, to date, is his decades long refusal to communicate his corruption in writing. Those who dismiss a prima facie picture - because there's no documentation by Trump directly - are also willing to ignore Stone's wackadoodle memorializations. (Who doesn't playfully threaten a friend's pet, on occasion?)
One has to wonder if voters who still support Trump need to time travel and be in the room each time he engaged in conspiracy, abuse of power, extortion, campaign finance violation, et al, before declaring they believe what's already known.
13
@SD
GOP voters listen to their GOP representatives.
GOP representatives know that Trump is guilty as sin, but they are now too addicted to the Trump gravy train of illegal foreign campaign donations funneled through Republican PACs.
Reports are that Trump is flooding Senate supporters with campaign cash and snubbing those who refused to sign a GOP resolution condemning the House impeachment inquiry.
Like the criminal he is, Trump's buying protection.
What can we say, Trump's addicted to crime.
3
@JM
Yes, in America we have the best politicians that money can buy.
Well the argument on the right is that this stuff isn't wrong because the Democrats do it too. If that is the case, why can't the Republicans make the case and make it stick? They had twelve hours to unrelentingly grill Hillary. And , from the right's perspective, she slipped through their hands. So.....if that is the case, she was either innocent of wrong doing.....or....the Republicans are incompetent at making their case stick. How many more Trump cronies will be convicted before the Republicans finally admit the fish doesn't just stink below the head? There are far more Americans getting very very tired of holding their noses than those on the right who spray Febreze on every person within arm's distance of Trump. Problem is the spray covers up the smell, it doesn't make it go away.
18
It's to Mr. Stone's considerable benefit that exhibiting a repulsive personality is not a prosecutable offense. It does help explain his connections to Mr. Trump though.
23
"One of the favors that Mr. Trump asked of the Ukrainian president was to look into a debunked conspiracy theory blaming Ukraine rather than Russia for the 2016 election hacking."
This line jumped out at me. It reveals that the Ukraine fiasco isn’t just about manufacturing dirt on the Biden family – it is also the basis of Barr’s “investigation of the investigators” witch hunt. Suddenly Barr’s mysterious inclusion with Giuliani in the so-called “perfect call” has an explanation.
It’s worse, a lot worse than we thought.
29
It's a discovery all Americans must make if we are to take back our country. And the next discovery is, to quote Nancy Pelosi speaking directly to Trump, "all roads with you lead to Putin."
3
According to the Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton eras Justice Department policy a sitting President can't be criminally prosecuted while in office. The rationale was how busy the President is.
There is absolutely nothing in any Article of the Constitution that supports that extremist ludicrous legal position.
Being President is a temporary job. It is not a title. American Presidents are first and foremost citizens.
Besides Donald Trump is the laziest President in living and historical memory.
Trump spends a third of his time playing golf and vacationing on Trump Organization properties. And Trump spends 2/3rds of his time tweeting and speaking nicknames and slurs while watching Fox News.
35
The "jerks will be jerks" defense isn't going to cut it. It won't work for Trump in his Senate trial either.
15
@Kingsely I believe the Senate proceedings will last a minimal amount of time and 45 will be declared innocent of all charges. If that doesn’t bring the million plus marchers to DC, nothing will...
3
Is a presidential pardon valid when it is issued as a reward for taking one for the president? Sure there are great latitudes afforded presidential pardons, but when it is personal payment for criminal activity the president also participated in, can it stand?
16
This photo is phenomenal. Accolades to the photographer.
44
Yes, the photo and his expression tells all. At that moment he’s a prairie dog looking out of his hole in the ground. Just a well dressed thief.
2
I just finished watching "Get Me Roger Stone", the netflix documentary about Mr. Stone who went to my high school. I am appalled at how divided our country is and I kinda think Roger is a big reason for this.
27
@BronxTeacher
It was more Newt Gingrich and the politics of personal destruction imo
1
I find it hard to believe that Judge Jackson did not remand him to custody following his posting of her photo accompanied by a cross hairs image. This is why Stone and his ilk continue to flourish, because they never pay the price by protecting themselves with lawyers. Honestly, how have DJT and Stone managed to stay out of jail for so long?
85
The more we learn about the Russia-Wikileaks affair and the Ukraine Extorsion scheme, the more puzzling it is that Trump may remain popular in so many parts of the country.
It is clear that Trump and close sycophants would sell, not only their country, but their own mother for a bit of power and fame.
Shame on them and shame on us if we let them get away with it.
74
@CRL 'The more puzzling it is that Trump may remain popular in so many parts of the country' is that the rest of the country's local news are about college football, school closings, weather and other stuff. And most people worry about their job and kids. Who's keeps up with what trump is doing? Leave that job to Congress to sort it out. Which reminds me, I gotta get to work.
16
@carlo1 - Yeah, I get the "gotta get to work" part. That's the problem. We all gotta make a living and it's difficult to do anything meaningful, other than read articles, given there is only 24 hours in our day. However, leaving the supervision of our president up to Congress seems useless. It's still up to "we the people," and the "people" ain't Congress. Best to you.
15
@CRL
Trump remains popular among people who only believe Trump.
12
It is terrifying that in the chaos of impeachment over the Ukraine scandal that I have forgotten all the lies and misconduct associated with the Campaign and Russian interference. I like to stay informed, but it is truly too much to think about at once.
93
@John Henry @John Henry - Yeah. It's really annoying. It's difficult to composed a rational succinct thought about any single piece of this nonsense never mind a coherent summary when more and more is piled on not daily but constantly. For instance- In less than a minute I watched my president say several insulting inflammatory statements, followed by Senator Kennedy insulting Speaker Pelosi, followed by Rand Paul wanting to out the Whistleblower. And just before that, I read that Lou Dobbs was giving the president credit for me being able to enjoy the weekend.
7
@John Henry
No reason to forget. As Pelosi says, "With you, all roads lead to Russia."
As does the Ukraine scandal.
Don't forget that part. It's significant.
5
@Tokyo Tea
All roads lead to Russia - or trump’s pockets.
It remains astonishing that a veteran Federal prosecutor and former long-time FBI Director like Mueller couldn't find out the precise nature of the relationship between Trump, his campaign and Russia. The investigation was obviously hampered by White House obstruction and lying, as well as Mueller's cramped interpretation of his role.
The fact that we still don't have a full accounting of how Russia managed to meddle in the 2016 election is an outrage.
163
@RGreen It's beginning to seem more and more like Mr. Mueller, the able and nearly obsessive investigator he is, was much more hamstrung that we realized.
If he were given free reign (often dangerous for someone with political ambitions, but he has none) he would have come up with much much more than we have seen in his report. Indeed, he and his inner team likely discovered many things that went far deeper than we saw in the indictments and convictions.
To have spent that amount of time and money with the investigation and have it throttled back so severely is one mistake that has given Trump more gifts than he deserves.
28
@RGreen
I was shocked that Mueller had not followed the money.
The uncovering of financial dealings (money laundering? at the very least undeserved "loans") would have filled out the picture nicely.
14
@Tokyo Tea, I suspect that Rod Rosenstein drew the boundary that prevented Mueller from following the money. That may well have been the price for Rosenstein keeping his job.
2
I think I would turn around the impeachment bus and pick up a new passenger. But not free of charge. Good times.
13
So Roger Stone is just like Donald Trump is only a great kidder and flamboyant trickster in the actions that have manipulated dirty tricks and stolen elections. How reassuring. but we are not laughing and neither are prosecutors.
How interesting that this report comes out at the same time as Trump is required by Court order to pay 2 million dollars in reparations for election fraud by his Trump Foundation. On one hand Trump admitted this to the court then turned around and tweeted it was just a little fun and of no consequence and blames the courts for his own actions.
Stone and Trump attract each other like iron filings and magnets and their illegalities fill volumes. How ironic that Trump Stone's partner in crime uses our court system in thousands of suits then belittles and circumvents the rule of law.
81
Look at that amazing picture. If Roger Stone didn't exist, we would have to invent him...
18
@novoad
Too bad he was not able to show the large tattoo of Nixon on his upper back.
5
@novoad I hear ya. Almost every photo of him elicits either a chuckle or the question; Would you buy a used car from this man?
4
Right-wing Republican corruption as far as the human eye can see.
"If you're not cheating, you're not trying"
GOP 1968 - 2019
These people can't stand an honest election.
200
@Socrates Spot on, per usual. The GOP cannot win an honest election, but yet, the entire globe pays the price. How different and better off America, our allies and the globe would be if the SC hadn't awarded the presidency to Bush/Cheney, and Trump had never surfaced as a candidate. We can never unwind the situation to give HRC a shot at the Presidency, which has been devastating to America.
Along with Tweety, Moscow Mitch and the entire enabling GOP must be made to pay for and suffer the consequences of the past 18 years of carnage they have wrought in tax cuts for the wealthy, the unnecessary invasion of Iraq, stacking our judiciary with Right Wing conservatives, decimation of women's rights, reversal of environmental regulations, reversal of corporate regulation, denial of climate change, abuse of social media to rig our elections, corruption of American institutions, destruction of our Middle Class, etc.
The only way for ordinary citizens to fight back is to vote straight Dem blue all the way down the ballot in 2020. Enough is enough, and has been way too much for generations to come, provided the Republic survives the next several months.
18
@Socrates, my man! “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.” And “Take two tax cuts and call me from the morgue.” You’re over the top! I can’t stop laughing—and in the Age of Trump—that’s something.
8
@Socrates
Republicans run elections at the level of frat-boy Karl Rove who never grew up.
3
How could this not constitute impeachable acts by the President?
56
Most Presidential campaigns know that there needs to be a lot of distance between the candidate and these dirty trickster types. Trump wants to be in the middle of it and keeps them on speed dial. It's like this with every scandal that arises in this administration. Donald may not micro-manage everything, but he sure seems to be in the middle of anything involving corrupt behavior. He can't help being a corruption magnet. It's exactly what he wants to be.
56
@Rick I think thats his game...he skirts and dodges and obfuscates, then runs away going hahaha...hes done it all his life and gotten away with it, so the presidency was just the same game, only bigger...but maybe with dumber marks......once he figured that out, he was off and running. He believes that no one does it better than him (and with some truth!) so as he gets rid of the players, he is the only one standing...and pulling the strings.
3
Roger Stone is a career sleaze and publicity hound whose main claim to fame is probably that he is even more ridiculously needy than his good buddy, The Donald. It appears likely that he lied to Congress, as alleged. Why wouldn't he? He lies to everybody.
But unless this trial unexpectedly divulges some uniquely hot new instance of Trump criminality, it seems fated to offer just another peek at an endless flow of rather generic sewage. At this late point, does anyone care or need to see more?
The justice of the situation, if there is any, is that Stone's last great moment in the limelight seems destined to yield nothing more than yawns of vast public indifference. Our collective ability to be shocked or horrified by yet another glitzy moral cretin appears to have been finally exhausted.
Roger Stone stands eagerly on the threshold of his last grand performance, preening and mugging for the cameras at every opportunity. But nobody cares.
23
@woofer, if it turns out that Roger Stone communicated with Trump about the email releases, then Stone isn't the only one who has committed perjury. Trump is also guilty.
I think that's an important question in this trial.
3
Trump and Friends is a crime wave. They must be approaching RICO status.
40
This article is well done, as was yesterday’s piece by Sharon LaFriere. It included a sentence with searing relevance to Ambassador Sondland this week:
“Mr. Stone, 67, is charged with seven felonies.... The case revolves mainly around his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee.”
What staggering hubris.
28
This whole Trump saga is making Watergate look like child's play.
64
Leopards don't change their spots. It is sickening that these guys get away with witness intimidation ,and tampering ,by small town rubes explaining and excusing it as "he was just kidding", or "that is just (fill in the blank) being (fill in the blank)". Stone,trumps all do it in that glib,slick manner, with a wink and a smirk. As Shakespeare said," In every jest is a little truth." Trump is just a bum contractor from the outer borough of Queens. A sociopath who had to go to a military school because no other school would take him. Humans are like water,they find their own levels.
46
What was Mueller doing for two years?
11
@Mercury S
Well he eventually wrote a report about what Trump was doing and Barr covered it up, but that’s not going to last, since a court ruled in the democrats favor. Now we’ll all get a chance to see what the report actually says.....
30
And the walls continue to close in....
23
These words will be chiseled in the history of the Trump impeachment saga: All roads lead to Russia.
84
Trump is so obviously guilty of conspiracy with the Russians (and WikiLeaks). And it's not just the Trump campaign. Just as in the current Ukrainian bribery scandal Trump was involved in every single step with the Russian conspiracy, too. Trump's campaign participated in a conspiracy with Russia and WikiLeaks and so did Trump himself.
Robert Muller's report was a treacherous punt. A bow to his long-time friend, and Trump toady Bill Barr. One for the team from this life-long Republican and a knife in the back to America and the American people who were counting on him to do the right thing. Mueller at the very least wimped out; at worst he put party before country. Mueller left us with an exonerated criminal now bolder than ever in the Oval Office.
That DOJ memo that says you can't indict a sitting president MUST be ignored. Whoever wrote it was either incompetent or corruptly motivated. Mueller used that as an excuse to give Trump a pass.
Trump read the Mueller's "get out of jail free" card as endorsement for the criminal conspiracy he conducted with Russia. So immediately Trump began committing another crime. This time it was bribery of the president of the Ukraine and abuse of presidential power. That was followed soon after by a massive obstruction of the Congress which is still happening.
Congressional Republicans are now actual coconspirators. And America is a now an international crime syndicate!
Stay tuned to see how it all turns out.
106
@NY Times Fan so true! Mueller’s report gave don-da-con his OJ Simpson second chance to commit another crime.
4
How it turns out is in the book, "Trump and the Demise of Democracy " on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. It ain't pretty.
4
This is a bit like saying John Dean was lying because he told the truth about his client, Nixon. So what! Nixon is the only president who has been removed from office before his term was complete, except for the four who were assassinated.
3
@James Ricciardi
M
Just to be clear, Nixon wasn’t removed from office, he resigned. So far, he’s the only sitting president to resign office. It’s also worth noting Gerald Ford wasn’t Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew was, he too resigned his office after being convicted of felony tax evasion, it’s pretty clear history supports the idea that republicans have no problem committing crimes, in elected office or not. Spiro Agnew, resigns because he’s a convict, Nixon nominates Ford to replace Agnew, Nixon resigns, Ford ascends to the presidency, and nominated Nelson Rockefeller as VP.
Depending on what Mike Pence knew about Ukrainegate, we may get lucky and see a repeat of the Spiro, Nixon era. I wonder if Trump has rehearsed the “I am not a crook” line.
37
@James I know that. I was using "removed" in the poetic sense and not the literal. Meanings get lost when one does not know if one is reading a poem or prose.
2
@James I think Trump's line is: "Everybody's a crook and I'm a crook and proud of it."
2
I hope Roger Stone is visited in jail by the same visitors who paid call on Jeffrey Epstein.
15
Deer in the headlights
16
Stone may go to prison. Lev and Igor and Rudy may as well. It’s not looking good for team Trump.
25
@meritocracy now
Yes, we can only hope their 10 year "team trump" reunion can be held in the exercise yard of their federal prison. Low travel expenses, at least.
23
Trump, Stone, and other associates of theirs like to pretend they are mobsters, but they leave evidence all over the place like messy kids.
29
corruption all the way down.
22
I would just like to acknowledge what a spectacular photo this is of Roger Stone and I applaud the photographer.
35
Considering what an ego maniac he is, it’s perverse agreeing with you.
3
@Nora: I agree. Great Picture. You would think that with all the people running around with smart phone cameras that Photo-journalism would be obsolete - but not so.
5
@Nora
Hope he can get a picture of the Richard Nixon tattoo on his back.
1
This is hard to believe, but Stone, Trump, et al. make Julian Assange look like an individual of integrity.
25
What more do we need to learn about Trump, really? We already know that the depths to which the soulless man will sink is bottomless. I'm SO over the subject of Donald John Trump. This is one case where the accused has been tried, condemned and sentenced to perpetual infamy in my book. Everything else, like Mr. Stone and his role in the saga, is simply more salaciousness for the made-for-TV bio pic to come.
29
@ManhattanWilliam
Please,God,NO !
No TV bio pic of Trump and his family,his partners in sleaze and crime !
The world is sick of this deluded boor who tries to sell himself as a leader of genius, while he is merely an ignoramus afloat in bathos.
We've seen and heard enough of him. Let him disappear forever into own foul miasma !
8
I still think Mueller left Congress in a bad spot. Why end the investigation before the Stone trial or even subpoenaing Trump? This is more explosive than anything in the Mueller Report. And why was a subpoena supposedly a bad idea? Because it would take too long? No way, this would be prioritized. And I think it's about time we have the SCOTUS say once and for all that the POTUS can be subjected to subpoena and indictment. No more speculation. And then the crazy scenario where the SCOTUS orders Trump to comply, but he defies it?? You would think that should draw a unanimous impeachment, but who knows. That leads me to another thought I've been having: if all 3 branches are equal, how come the Supreme Court has no say in the impeachment process? If Congress doesn't impeach a president for TEN COUNTS (!) of obstruction, maybe it should be the Supreme Court's duty to remove a president in that situation. Give a Special Counsel (or US Attorney) an avenue to "indict" a sitting president by presenting his findings directly to the Supreme Court. Clearly this would take an ambitious Constitutional Amendment but I think it's necessary. The POTUS shouldn't be a criminal and the POTUS is not above the law or the Constitution. This ends here and now with Trump.
40
@Progressive
The SCOTUS has a role in the impeachment process, the Cheif Justice conducts the trial in the Senate, with all 100 Senators as jurors.
Jurors who right now are meeting-- the Republican faction anyways, inside Cadet Bone Spurs hotel to plan THEIR impeachment moves. If this is not jury tampering I don't know what is. They should ALL be forced to recuse. And Sen Lady Lindsey Graham! "Ah will not read the transcripts (that I have been demandin' for weeks!) And I wash my hands of tha whole affair". Just because he sounds like a cast member from "Gone with the Wind" don't be fooled. He is a snake in the grass.
27
@judith loebel
Why are no Dems calling for Graham to resign?
If he refuses read the evidence, what is he doing on the committee?
5
Roger Stone absolutely deserves to be prosecuted for his perjury.
Obama NSA Director James Clapper also deserves to be prosecuted for his. The great tragedy and shame is that Clapper is rewarded with paid speaking gigs and space in this paper for the exact same crime.
Stone, enabling and empowering Trump; Clapper lying and hiding and covering for the NSA's mass warrantless surveillance vs US citizens on US soil.
In each case, outrageous and serious results against the American people.
The Democrats and their aligned media should get serious about taking on the excesses and abuses of the military-industrial complex and national security state instead of embracing it with open arms and trying to cast out the likes of Tulsi Gabbard.
14
Trump lied under oath with his written answers to Mueller.
Republicans impeached Clinton for lying under oath.
Let's agree to support impeaching Trump for lying under oath for far more serious reasons.
34
@GRH - - Mr. Stone has been warned not to even state his case in PUBLIC by the ''judge'' in this case. Can you imagine ANYONE ordering Messers Clapper, Brennan, Comey, et al not to publicly present their side of a trial they were part of?
3
@L osservatore
Yes, and I am certain these men would comply.
Stone threatened the life of the judge. His "friend" from FOX has threatened and tried to "doxx" a juror in Stones trial.
Which group is more honorable?
15
The Trump era is ending. The question is whether America will be able to accept it.
68
@greg
"The Trump era is ending."
I'll believe it when I see it. Of course like hundred(s) of millions of right-thinking, decent Americans I hope you are right.
33
@greg,
That depends on what part of America you’re talking about. Most of America will be happy it’s over, but we will have to be diligent, the republitards won’t stop their campaign of propaganda, of ignoring science, or climate change. The democrats controlled the house for 40 years, the Senate for 26, and in that time, they provided electricity, running water, they created Head Start, they lifted millions of people in the Deep South out of abject poverty, they funded education, we were the first country to land a man on the moon, and return them, safely to the earth. When President Johnson became president, in 1963, there were thousands of people in the state he represented as a congressman then a Senator, Texas, had no running water, or electricity in 1964, Johnson fixed that. Johnson believed that the biggest threat to this country was bigotry, ignorance, poverty, not our fellow man, not our neighbor. He wanted to lift people out of poverty so that they would be tax payers instead of tax eaters. He believed that the only way to do that, was through education, but he wanted that for all Americans, as he said in speech to congress when he said no American has had the American promise fulfilled, especially black Americans.
Johnson said, their fight is our shared fight, and he told republicans that he never thought he’d have the power to help the people stuck in poverty, to give African Americans the right to vote, he said he had a secret, he intended to use it.
9
Interesting thesis, but Stone is in the dock charged with lying to Congress under oath. Trump is not at his side at all.
19
As the dominoes continue to fall; Trump and Giuliani are surely wondering how line before they are hauled into court to face the music. Of course they will have lots of company if they ever end up in the gray bar motel. Not that I believe it will ever come to that. No one sitting in the White House will ever really be held to account the way any "citizen" ever would. No; the Big Ones always get away. Even if; like Nixon; it requires the "Get Out of Jail Free " card known as a Presidential Pardon. Pence would see to that.
57
@Greg Hodges Trump cannot be pardoned for state crimes. My guess is the list is long and includes Trump's kids.
14
@Greg Hodges After Watergate, a number of White House senior advisors went to prison. Haldeman, Ehrlichmann, John Dean, just to name a few. Nixon's Attorney-General, John N. Mitchell, who ran the Department of Justice, was also convicted and sent to prison. Many other White House staff, government personnel, and people involved in CREEP (Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign) were convicted and imprisoned. None were pardoned.
Nixon himself _was_ pardoned by President Ford after he resigned, but that was the only pardon issued to anyone involved in Watergate.
Read your history.
12
@Greg Hodges Hopefully Pence will be dispatched quickly - he's known about the Ukraine and other situations.
5
From the reporting that I have seen of Mr. Stone's trial, he looks quite guilty of - minimally - lying to the House Intelligence Committee about his role in swinging the 2016 election to Mr. Trump by conspiring with Russian Intelligence who hacked and stole DNC emails, and Julian Assange of Wikileaks, to time dumps of injurious stolen information about Hillary Clinton at sensitive points in the electoral process to disadvantage her campaign and to advantage Mr. Trump's.
I think there was a feeling at that time - by Mr. Stone and others - that if they had not influenced the election (as above) that Mr. Trump would have lost.
Mr. Stone himself, Richard Nixon's dirty-tricks man, admitted that he lied about his role in this conspiracy because he thought it would look bad for Trump in the run-up to the election.
Perhaps Mr. Stone and Mr. Trump should join their close friends and lawyers in the federal penitentiary.
226
@Omar Temperley
No matter the out come, 45 will pardon him, and all others connected with the crimes.
In 2020 the largest priority should be the reduction of a presidents power, along with the senate majority leader, the antiquated voting process taking an individuals vote away, a large reduction in corporate influence. Also, an immediate retaliation in kind from another nation.
18
@plages
You take a very reserved view of what is possible with Stone - and the presidency and in Congress going forward - despite the growing resentment and resistance to Trump and the Senate Republicans.
I see that McConnell is only one point ahead of an upstart woman Democrat running for his seat in Kentucky.
Don't know, but there's seems like such a willingness to adapt to what others might consider unbearable, completely unacceptable political realities the US now.
4
Every rock you turn over, Trump crawls out. He always had friends that were disreputable and sleazy. And now in the last three years the prior and ongoing deeds of these people are being revealed.
All our intelligence agencies agree the Russian hacked the Presidential election for Trump and WikiLeaks was a Russian asset.
Anyone who disputes that is also a Russian asset. Yes the Republicans with their phony denials are helping Putin. They should throw the book at Roger Stone. He belongs in pinstripes with Manafort and soon to be convicted Flynn.
253
@Babel
Nancy Pelosi was right when she said of Donald Trump: "All roads lead to Putin."
There's a reason Trump doesn't want us to see his taxes. He owes Deutche Bank & the Russian oligarchs milions. He's literally leveraged his body & soul to them.
5
How long will it be before Donald Trump says of Roger Stone, "I hardly know the guy"?
303
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
And "I think he brought the coffee" "ask Rudy"
27
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Or, perhaps, "He's not my type."
26
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
And where’s that bus!
19
We are known by the company we keep...
Go ahead, Mr. Trump, please introduce your company. Let’s start with misters Stone, Flynn, Cohen, Manafort, and Giuliani...
137
@GMOinSLO Sleep with dogs; get fleas.
3
First, I am going to share my thoughts on the outcome of one of the lawsuits involving Trump: the article by Alan Feura about the outcome of his trial for misusing the funds of his "charitable foundation". I cannot believe that what he turned around and tweeted about its being outstanding philanthropy with a few technical issues was permitted to stay on Twitter: there was no philanthropy until it was ordered as part of the trial outcome. He used the funds for political purposes.
These investigations may be the only way that Trump is forced to speak-- or sign off on--the truth. Shouldn't the outcomes include limiting his comments about the investigations to what has been determined in a court of law?
This will have repercussions on the Roger Stone investigation as well as on impeachment activity: if Trump is permitted to turn around after being found guilty and promptly state the opposite to his supporters, how will they ever realize that he is the Emperor with No Clothes, and someone whose reality is totally unhinged.
320
@Helen Plaisance
I’m pretty sure many of these foundations are tax gimmicks.
32
Foundations can be a way for the wealthy to have better tax options, and to allow them to use their money in service of the foundation, but also in ways that benefit themselves. Trump wasn’t convicted of using his foundation for tax breaks, he was convicted of using it for campaign funds, which is illegal, and not the typical use of foundations.
50
@Helen Plaisance why are Trump’s offspring not facing charges of fraud and miappropriTion of funds? Lock them up.
40
By "Trump is Also in the Dock," do you mean a toothless condemnation that his followers (not voters) will ignore?
29