Roger Stone Timeline Puts Trump’s WikiLeaks Ties in Focus

(Bloomberg) -- Special Counsel Robert Mueller has fashioned another detailed timeline of events in his Friday indictment of longtime Donald Trump ally Roger Stone. The 24-page document uses code to identify many of the people and organizations involved, but several of their real identities seem clear.

Jerome Corsi, a conservative conspiracy theorist and Stone associate who relayed WikiLeaks updates to Stone, has acknowledged being Person 1.

Randy Credico, a comedian and radio host who has known Stone for more than a decade, matches the description of Person 2. Credico didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.

Steve Bannon is the high-ranking Trump campaign official in early-October emails with Stone, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bannon didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Organization 1 is believed to be WikiLeaks, headed by Julian Assange.

Here’s how it all went down, according to the indictment.

2016

• May: the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee realize their computer systems have been hacked. In June, the DNC publicly announces it was hacked by Russian government actors.
• June and July: Stone tells unnamed senior Trump campaign officials he has information suggesting WikiLeaks is in possession of documents that would damage Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.
• July 22: WikiLeaks releases stolen DNC documents. Shortly thereafter, an unnamed senior Trump campaign official is directed -- it’s unclear by whom -- to contact Stone about any additional releases by WikiLeaks. Stone then tells the Trump campaign about potential future releases.
• July 25: Stone directs Jerome Corsi in an email to contact Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and get the pending WikiLeaks emails, which Stone appears to believe will reference the Clinton Foundation. Corsi then forwards Stone’s email to an unnamed associate and Trump supporter in the U.K.
• August 2: Corsi emails Stone from Europe, saying, “Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps. One shortly after I’m back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be very damaging.” Corsi adds: “Would not hurt to start suggesting HRC old, memory bad, has stroke.”
• Early August: Stone claims publicly and privately to have chatted with WikiLeaks.
• Mid-August: WikiLeaks publicly denies direct communication with Stone. Stone then adjusts his public comments to say his communication with WikiLeaks had been through someone he describes as a “mutual friend" and a “go-between.”
• Mid-August: Stone continues to communicate with members of the Trump campaign about WikiLeaks and future releases.
• Aug. 23: Randy Credico interviews Stone on his radio show, asking for insight from Stone’s communications with Assange into a possible “October surprise.” Stone says he’s a recipient of “pretty good information.”
• Aug. 25: Assange is a guest on Credico’s radio show for the first time and discusses Stone. Credico then texts Stone to tell him Assange talked about him. “He didn’t say anything bad we were talking about how the Press is trying to make it look like you and he are in cahoots,” Credico told Stone.
• Aug. 27: Assange “has kryptonite on Hillary," Credico says in a text to Stone. Credico later reminds Stone not to name him as his link to Assange.
• Sept. 18: Stone emails Credico a damaging article about Clinton’s time as secretary of state and directs him to ask Assange for any State Department or Clinton campaign emails that would “confirm this narrative.”
• Sept. 30: Credico texts Stone a photo of himself standing outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. A few days later, Credico texts Stone, “Big news Wednesday ... now pretend u don’t know me ... Hillary’s campaign will die this week.”
• Oct. 3: Stone writes to a supporter, “The payload is still coming.” Stone then receives an email from an unnamed reporter with ties to Bannon, asking what Assange has. “Hope it’s good,” the reporter says.
• Oct. 7: WikiLeaks starts releasing about 30 tranches of documents hacked from the personal email account of Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, totaling over 50,000 stolen documents. Shortly thereafter, a Bannon associate texts Stone to say: “well done.”

2017

• May: Stone is asked to appear before a U.S. House committee and produce documents. Stone responds with a letter saying he doesn’t have anything.
• Sept. 26: Stone testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, denying he knew in advance about the hacking of Podesta’s email or “had advanced knowledge of the source or actual content” of WikiLeaks documents. He says he had no documents, emails or text messages relevant to the hacked documents or discussions with Assange. He also denies sending or receiving emails or texts with Credico. In fact, they “exchanged over 30 text messages” that day.
• Oct. 19: Stone sends Credico an excerpt of his letter to the House committee that identifies Credico as his “intermediary” with WikiLeaks. Stone then urges him to falsely confirm what Stone had previously testified to, including that Credico provided him with the basis of his early August 2016 statements about contact with WikiLeaks.
• November: Credico receives a request from the House to testify voluntarily before the committee. He then speaks and texts repeatedly with Stone, who tells Credico to testify falsely to avoid contradicting him or to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
• Nov. 17: Stone texts Credico, saying to “Stonewall it. Plead the fifth. Anything to save the plan . . . Richard Nixon.”
• Dec. 1: Stone tells Credico that he should do a “Frank Pentangeli” in his House testimony, referring to a character in the film “The Godfather: Part II” who lies to Congress about what he knows.
• Dec. 24: Credico tells Stone in a text message that he should “be honest w fbi ... there was no back channel ... be honest.” Stone replies two minutes later: “I’m not talking to the FBI and if your smart you won’t either.”

2018

• April 9: “You are a rat," Stone says to Credico in an email. "A stoolie. You backstab your friends--run your mouth my lawyers are dying Rip you to shreds.” Stone also says he will “take that dog away from you,” referring to Credico’s dog. Stone then writes to Credico: “I am so ready. Let’s get it on. Prepare to die [expletive].”

2019

• Jan. 25: Stone is arrested in a pre-dawn raid at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home. He’s accused of obstructing Mueller’s investigation, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress. He appears in court and is freed on a $250,000 bond. Afterwards, he declares he’s innocent: “The whole Russia investigation is a distraction from the real crimes of the Clintons and Obamas.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Joe Schneider

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