'Having established a reputation for shadiness, it became difficult for [Roger] Stone to convince a jury that he was, for once, completely on the level,' writes Errol Louis for CNNOpinion
Errol Louis is the host of"Inside City Hall," a nightly political show on NY1, a New York all-news channel. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles on CNN.
The guilty verdict against Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, is a devastating turn of events — perhaps the final chapter — in the storied life of a political trickster. It's also a cautionary tale about the dark corners of democracy, where the limits of law and morality are frequently tested, traded, and violated.
Stone knows the rules of this world better than anybody."You can call me a dirty trickster, you can call me a prankster, you can call me anything you'd like," he told Rolling Stone in 2018."I've never done anything that hasn't been done by my contemporaries in the political strategist business. I do fight hard for my clients, but I've never crossed the line into illegal activity.
Who is Roger Stone? 00:50Stone had publicly claimed to have a back channel to Julian Assange and the shadowy Wikileaks operation, and to know in advance about stolen emails that were released at key moments in the 2016 campaign, timed to help Trump by inflicting maximum harm on Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. Stone's connection was a slightly shady but perfectly legal arrangement.
Why Mueller cares about Roger Stone 01:38I frequently interviewed Stone about political strategy, Florida politics, the reasons for Trump's rise and men's fashion . He was an undeniably colorful character in the political circus and might yet emerge from what is the biggest setback in his life. Trump-haters might imagine that Stone, facing up to 20 years in prison, might be in a prime position to share damning information about the President. That's wishful thinking.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump associate Roger Stone found guilty of lies that protected TrumpBREAKING: Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and other charges in a case that has shed new light on President Trump’s anticipation of the release of stolen Democratic emails in 2016.
Read more »
Roger Stone found guilty on all 7 countsBREAKING: Roger Stone, veteran political operative and longtime friend of Pres. Trump, found guilty on all seven counts.
Read more »
Longest-serving Trump adviser Roger Stone found guiltyRoger Stone has been found guilty of all seven federal counts against him including witness tampering, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Former Stone Associate aide Sam Nunberg, who previously worked as Trump’s campaign aide, and Mother Jones’ David Corn join Ari Melber to discuss the verdict.
Read more »
Roger Stone jury ends first day of deliberation without verdict'The most interesting part of this trial was how prosecutors made Donald Trump a character... They made clear that what’s at issue in this trial is bad conduct by Donald Trump’s campaign that Roger Stone was lying to cover up.' - KenDilanianNBC
Read more »
After Roger Stone conviction, star witness against him feels 'horrible'Former radio talk show host and comedian Randy Credico told Yahoo News that he was in tears upon learning of the verdict and did not want to see Stone go to jail because of his testimony.
Read more »
Roger Stone jurors reach no verdict after first day of deliberationsThe only indication of how the jury was leaning came via two notes passed to the judge expressing confusion about ambiguous language in the charges.
Read more »