Roger Stone convicted: Longtime South Florida political consultant, Trump confidant guilty
Indicted in January, Stone vocally and defiantly disputed the charges, alleging he was part of a "Deep State" conspiracy. On the day he was arrested, Stone appeared on the steps of the federal courthouse in
Stone was charged on seven counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements. The 24-page document included some unusual findings, including threats to a dog, accusations of being a "rat," colorful language in text messages and even a reference to "The Godfather" saga.
He was convicted on all counts.
>>Who is
The Stone verdict would have been the focus of the news cycle -- except it was overshadowed by the ongoing impeachment inquiry into
The congressional investigation on Friday featured public testimony from the former
Still, across across
"Five of Trump's lieutenants,
Stone had steadfastly maintained his innocence. "I am of course no stranger to the world of hardball politics," Stone said. "But treason -- treason is a step too far."
Stone's legal quagmire came five months after one of his former partners, financier Manafort, was found guilty on charges of filing false tax returns and bank fraud.
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The case against Manafort was brought by former special counsel
Stone and Manafort, a
As speculation that Stone would face criminal charges swirled after Manafort's conviction, Stone seemed to dare federal prosecutors to come after him in a speaking engagement in
"I'm ready. I will never roll on
>>
His outspoken attacks on the indictment eventually earned him a gag order. Even so, Stone continued his public appearances.
Speaking at the
"I think I'm being targeted because I supported
Stone, who has boasted of having a tattoo of Nixon on his back, idolized the former president. But most recently he has been most admiring of Trump.
Appearing at a conservative summit at the
Stone began encouraging a Trump presidential bid more than three decades ago, succeeding in persuading the celebrity mogul to make a 1987 trip to
Stone also backed Trump in 2000 when the real estate tycoon mulled a presidential run as a third-party supporter of abortion rights, gun control and single-payer health care. In 2011, Stone helped Trump rebrand himself as a tea party conservative.
When Trump finally launched his campaign in 2015, Stone was on board for only a short period after reportedly losing a power struggle with the then-campaign manager,
But Stone remained a vocal Trump supporter. Mueller's indictment, released in April of this year, said Stone "maintained regular contact" with Trump's campaign, including discussions about potential future releases of documents stolen by Russian hackers from the
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