By CNN Staff
Roger Stone is telling anyone who will listen that Robert Mueller has it wrong. Stone is saying he did not coordinate with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign or try to pressure a friend into lying to the special counsel.
The Trump ally and veteran GOP dirty trickster made that case in a CNN interview the other day. He repeated it in what one friend described as “nervous energy” calls to friends and associates in recent days
Stone believes the special counsel’s office will seek an indictment. CNN reporting details emails and other evidence that question whether Stone coordinated with WikiLeaks — and perhaps the Trump campaign — about Democratic emails hacked and released late in the 2016 campaign.
The new reporting on Stone raises a bigger issue that has some of the President’s friends and allies worried.
Mueller has been quiet for weeks. Justice Department guidelines urge prosecutors to be cautious in the 60 days or so before an election, so not to be seen as trying to influence voters.
But with the election Tuesday, Trump-related investigations could climb back into the news. That includes the work of the special counsel and separate federal investigations in New York.
The worry on Team Trump is negative headlines coming at a time that is already pressure-packed. Democrats could capture the House.
A wave of administration personnel turnover is about to unfold. And there are year-end pressures as Congress returns with big post-election spending issues and the President heads overseas.
Just the name “Mueller” makes the President angry, a Trump insider said in a weekend exchange. If the election goes poorly for the White House, this source suggested the President will be on edge, anyway. And if the investigations then roar back into the news, “I’m worried about a volcano.”
