Thread by @MMineiro_CNS

It's a chilly Friday in Washington and we're back with the Roger Stone trial.

Judge Jackson just started the day out by addressing false reports and threats coming out of InfoWars this week, specifically threats directed at the jury. @CourthouseNews

@CourthouseNews Judge called reports by Alex Jones, not mentioning the conspiracy theorist's name, are "uninformed" & "caused great consternation among members of the public.”

Said individuals who want to "get it right can easily do so" reporting from the courthouse/media room for reporters.

@CourthouseNews Randy Credico is back on the stand. Left his glassed in the witness waiting room but now we're underway with his continued testimony under DOJ questioning.

Said Stone never asked or sought his permission to name Credico as his intermediary.

@CourthouseNews ICYMI here's a breakdown of Credico's first half of testimony plus testimony from a 14-year FBI veteran who served on Mueller's investigative team. @CourthouseNews
courthousenews.com/comedian-denie…

@CourthouseNews Credico diving into his many, many texts with Stone--

“I told you to watch his tweets. That’s what I was basing it on. I told you to watch his tweets in October, not before that. I knew nothing about the DNC stuff...." Credico texted Stone Nov 2017

@CourthouseNews “Not the way I remember it. Oh well -- guess Schiff will try to get one of us indicted for perjury.” Stone texted back

@CourthouseNews Credico asking for Kleenex, can be heard over the mic huffing on his glasses to wipe of smudges....

"Thank you" he says and goes back to reading the tiny print of the texts listed out on the govt's evidence sheets

@CourthouseNews Moving to line 310 of this govt exhibit, to give you a sense of how long these text chains are between Stone and Credico.

Just one of dozens of exhibits submitted as evidence in this comms heavy case.

@CourthouseNews Heading into the expletive heavy messages between Stone and Credico now and the witness just asked:

"Do I have to pronounce these four letter words?" Credico

"Sir, you can just omit them in your response." DOJ attorney

"Ok, what the BLANK..." Credico

@CourthouseNews “If you testify you are a fool. Because of Trump I could never get away with asserting my fifth amendment rights. But you can. I guarantee you are the one who gets indicted for perjury if you are stupid enough to testify.” Stone texted Credico 12/1/17

@CourthouseNews “What then did Mr. Stone tell you to do?” DOJ

“Here we go again. ‘Start practicing your Pentangeli.” (Godfather reference that DOJ says is evidence of witness tampering)

@CourthouseNews Asked if he wanted to testify to House Intel Comm Credico answered:

“I certainly did not want to be stuck as the guy who helped Trump win the election...wanted to clear it up....would have said that I wasn’t the back channel.”

@CourthouseNews On Jan 25 2018 Credico told Stone he received a subpoena from Mueller, though he had not yet.

"I was very frustrated at this time....because I was the guy who was the back channel basically....people extrapolate they you are hiding something." Credico

@CourthouseNews Text thread that followed on Jan 25:

“Waste of your time -- tell him to go fuck himself" Stone
“Who” Credico
“Mueller” Stone

@CourthouseNews Stone wrote on his website in 2018 that it was Credico who first brought Assange to his attention in mid July 2016 and that "“up until this time, I had not been paying much attention to wikileaks and was not following the wikileaks or assange feeds on twitter.”

@CourthouseNews Credio testifying that Stone's claim is absolutely not true.

@CourthouseNews Credico still not reading of the curse words on these texts, instead spelling them out, this one Stone sent to him 5/21/18

“You are so full of S-H-I-T. You got nothing. Keep running your mouth and I’ll file a bar complaint against your friend Margaret.”

@CourthouseNews Margaret is Margaret Kunstler, longtime friend of Credico.

Said he was ashamed to have introduced her to Stone on a previous matter.

@CourthouseNews DOJ asked why Credico concerned about Stone in 2018.

“Well this was it right here. This was the crux of it, bringing Margaret, Mrs. Kunstler into it, that was the crux of it.”

@CourthouseNews Following up, DOJ asks if Credico was concerned about being made Stone's patsy again:

“That already happened. I was the patsy at this point.”

That's it for govt's direct, 15min break and then we're back with cross-examination by the defense.

@CourthouseNews Looks like we might get a faster paced cross-examination this time around, defense is switching up its attorney from Rogow to Buschell, who Stone has worked with for years.

He's at the lectern, Credico in the box.

@CourthouseNews Oh wow Buschell is coming out swinging.

Asked if Credico ever delivered messages to Stone from Julian Assange -- Credico said no.

“Even though in all fairness you led Roger Stone to believe you were one.”

“I disagree.” Credico

“Very well, we’ll go through some items."

@CourthouseNews Credico and Buschell were talking over each other in a tangled first 10 mins but Judge Jackson just said that the person with the hardest job in the room is the court reporter transcribing the entire proceeding so they have to answer and ask questions individually.

@CourthouseNews Defense showing Credico a tweet he sent out about WikiLeaks in 2016 not yet submitted as evidence so jury can't see it yet.

"Did you say anything substantive about this? Judge Jackson
"No" Credico

@CourthouseNews “You wanted Roger Stone to believe that you had an in with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, didn’t you?” Buschell

“I had my own Julian Assange connection....was I trying to fool him? No. I was one-upping him. I did have Julian Assange coming on my show.” Credico

@CourthouseNews “So when Mr. Stone got the information that you were an intermediary, that you were a go-between, you played him didn’t you....that was in your head, that you played Roger Stone?” Buschell

“That I played Roger Stone? To get Roger Stone off my back my friend.” Credico

@CourthouseNews Couple diff govt objection the form of questioning by the defense, repeatedly accusing Credico of "playing" Roger Stone, pretending that he was a back channel to Assange.

“I still will imply to this court that I was never a back channel to Julian Assange, I never was.” Credico

@CourthouseNews Jackson telling Buschell to move on.

@CourthouseNews “Can we use some time frames here?” Jackson
“Yeah can we have the dates for that?” Credico

Buschell asking questions about Credico meeting with Adam Schiff in 2018

"If [Schiff] made the request [Assange] would talk with him."

@CourthouseNews Credico testified that he never asked Assange directly about talking with Schiff.

This was all in 2018, govt has objected to the relevance of a video the defense wants to introduce. Attorneys talking at the bench now with Judge Jackson.

@CourthouseNews The video was an interview Credico gave on Ari Melber's show but Buschell seems to have lost the argument to screen it because he is moving on now....

@CourthouseNews Buschell asking if Credico did not want to be associated with Stone and thus the Trump campaign...

“Absolutely, would you?”
“I do not like kids in cages, I do not like --” Judge cuts Credico off. He adds he was a Bernie Sanders supporter.

@CourthouseNews Buschel describing the Godfather references that DOJ says are witness tampering by Stone were just an "ongoing back and forth."

“I’m sure over the years every Italian that I know knows every scene from the Godfather I and II. I am one of them and Stone is one of them.” Credico

@CourthouseNews Credico saying yes he admits he was still in communication with Stone into 2018.

"Once again I did not want to rile the guy. I can’t work on his level. He plays hard ball, he throws a lot of junk and I did not want to get hit.”

@CourthouseNews Getting heated with Buschel telling Credico he threatened Stone.

“Show me what I threatened him with.”

“Come on Mr. Credico.”

Judge says don't argue with the witness -- “Can you ask a specific question with a date and time."

@CourthouseNews “Can you try, I know this is an intense experience, to now argue with the lawyer....there are people’s job who it is to object to the question.” Judge

“I’m sorry, excuse me.” Credico

“I’m not saying you did anything wrong.” Judge

@CourthouseNews Buschel asks if Stone is a dog lover, rescues dogs, hitting at threats Stone made to take Credico's dog Bianca away from him.

@CourthouseNews Credico says yes and that “I don’t think he was going to steal the dog....he didn’t like what I was saying rebutting what was untrue by him so he talked about the dog.”

said other people would get ideas

“I know he would have never touched that dog. So it was hyperbole by him.”

@CourthouseNews Bianca is a coton tulear.

Credico earlier testified that he has no wife, no kids and the dog is very dear to him.

@CourthouseNews DOJ attorney back at the lectern for redirect---nearing the end of Credico on the stand.

@CourthouseNews DOJ Attorney ran through Aug 2016, Oct 2017, Jan 2017, Jan 2018 texts Credico sent to Stone making reference to a back channel.

“Sir all of those references to Roger Stone’s back channel, sir were those references to yourself?
"No" Credico testified. He's off the stand now.

@CourthouseNews Margaret Kunstler testifying.

DOJ put up an email Credico sent Kunstler (was a WikiLeaks lawyer)

“CAN YOU FIND OUT FROM JA IF THERE IS A S tate or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30 --particularly on August 20, 2011 that mention Dr. R.K. Paul or confirm this narrative.”

@CourthouseNews DOJ asked: “Was this the only time that mr credico asked you to confirm any information with Assange?” She testified yes.

Credico this morning testified that he sent the email in 2016 to her AOL account because he knew she wouldn't see it.

@CourthouseNews STEVE BANNON UP NEXT, former white house chief strategist

@CourthouseNews DOJ indicated coming back from the lunch break that the 4th witness, now known to be Bannan, would be under 20 mins.

Waiting on him to enter the courtroom now.

@CourthouseNews "We have not lost him," Judge Jackson just said, adding it just takes time to get people where they need to be. Told the courtroom they can stretch as they wait.

@CourthouseNews Bannon sworn in. Seated in the witness box wearing a black shirt, black pants and black jacket.

@CourthouseNews Appearing in court pursuant to a subpoena

"yes...I have been compelled to testify" Bannon

Said he would not have voluntarily appeared to testify today

@CourthouseNews CEO of Trump 2016 campaign was the highest position in the campaign Bannon said and had a physical office on the 14th floor of Trump Tower in NYC.

Before that Breitbart News executive chairman for 4ys

@CourthouseNews “I probably talked to Roger every couple of weeks...principally I think by email.”

“I knew he had a longstanding relationship with the candidate.” Steve Bannon testifying as a DOJ witness

@CourthouseNews Asked how many times did he communicated with Stone as CEO of the Trump campaign Bannon said:

"I don't totally recall but I would say a half dozen, 10, 12 something like that."

@CourthouseNews “Who if anyone was the campaign’s access point to WikiLeaks?” DOJ attorney
“The campaign’s access point? I don’t think we had one.” Bannon

@CourthouseNews But then right after the DOJ attorney read off Bannon's grand jury testimony that "it was generally believed that the access point or the potential access point to Wikileaks" was Stone.

@CourthouseNews Stone emailed Bannon in Aug 2016:

“Trump can still win -- but time is running out.

Early voting begins in six weeks.

I do know how to win this but it ain’t pretty.

Campaign has never been good at playing the new media.

Lots to do--let me know when u can talk.”

@CourthouseNews "When you’re having this back and forth with Mr Stone on Oct 4 2016 did you believe Mr Stone actually knew what happened that day?” DOJ

“Yes I took it from the email that he had quite a detailed knowledge of what went on.” Bannon

10/4/19 there was an expected WikiLeaks dump

@CourthouseNews Stone's attorney now asking “Roger Stone was not sent by anyone in the campaign to talk to Julian Assange, true?”

“Not to my knowledge, no.” Bannon

“And the campaign, when you were there, never sent anyone to contact Julian Assange.”

“Not to my knowledge, no.” Bannon

@CourthouseNews “As you sit here today you don’t think that roger stone had any inside knowledge or predictions from Wikileaks?” Stone's attorney

DOJ: objection
Judge: sustained

@CourthouseNews Redirect by DOJ

"You were asked on cross examination whether or not you were interested in what Wikileaks had, is that right?"

"That's correct."

Pulling back up the email from Stone about the day WL would hold press conference on release of Clinton emails

@CourthouseNews “Why did you write to Stone in particular at 9:25 that morning, what was that?” Judge Jackson asks rephrasing a DOJ question about the 10/4/19 email, the defense raised an objection.

“Because Roger was the guy that had told me he knew WikiLeaks Julian Assange.” Bannon testified

@CourthouseNews And Bannon is off the witness stand in under an hour.

@CourthouseNews Judge just instructed the jury not to research/talk about the case over the long weekend.

She then asked if there is anything else and DOJ attorney asked to approach the bench, there now with defense.

@CourthouseNews No word on what that was about. Court adjourned until Tuesday.

@CourthouseNews “I do know how to win this but it ain’t pretty." Roger Stone emailed Steve Bannon in August 2016.

Today the former Trump campaign CEO/White House chief strategist testified under oath that Stone was the "access point" to Julian Assange. @CourthouseNews
courthousenews.com/key-witness-sa…