Thread by @dfriedman33

New thread for Stone's lawyer's closing statement: Rogow says the prosecution's argument that Stone lied to HPSCI to protect Trump "Is absolutely false and it makes no sense." Rogow says that's because Trump was already elected in 2017 when Stone testified.

Obviously, the Trump-Russia investigation had major political impacts after Trump's election. Rogow's argument here is wanting. It purposely ignores political context.

Rogow shows a June 17, 2016 Credico tweet linking a WikiLeaks tweet, in which Credico wrote: "Assange to drop coup de gras” versus Clinton. The implication being that this public tweet makes Credico as possible backchannel to Stone earlier than the government says.

Rogow says that because Corsi didn't testify in this trial, the jury should ignore evidence such as Corsi's emails to Stone about WikiLeaks.

Rogow's voice is soft and he has a somnolent vibe. He doesn't do much to emphasize his points. Total contrast with Kravis, who was loud, crisp, clear and concise.

Rogow says Stone's emails with Trump campaign officials "doesn't prove anything." And "it sure doesn't prove anything about the [Trump] campaign and Russia."

He making this argument in case where his client is charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Rogow argues Trump didn't care in 2017 about Congress investigating Russian interference. "It makes no sense. Mr. Trump had a lot other things on his mind by the time Mr. Stone was before the committee. He’s president of the United States...What was he gonna be protected from?"

Rogow cites the charge that Stone lied to the committee by saying he had no written communications with his intermediary. "The answer to that is that is true, but not about Russia."

Referencing the prosecution's focus on the Godfather II, Rogow cites line a from another movie, Cool Hand Luke: "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." That's the shortcoming of the House Intelligence Committee, Rogow says: "A failure to communicate."

Rogow is talking about former FBI agent Michelle Taylor testimony recounting what happens in Frank Pentangeli scece in the Godfather II. I don't follow his point, but what a crazy trial.

Rogow perks up talking about the charge that Stone engaged in witness tampering with Credico. "These two guys tampered with each other for 20 years!"

Rogow: "We have no motive to lie because protecting the campaign is a nonissue. We have no reason to lie."

He's killing me with this. Does he think the jury doesn't know Trump was running for reelection? They are gonna believe Trump was indifferent to collusion investigations?

Rogow: "If you listen to Roger Stone's voice, this was not the voice of a man who was trying to lie, to mislead."

Rogow says prosecutors narrowed their case down to "five or six" false statements by Stone "out of hundreds" of answers he gave. This isn't even true. Stone is charged with telling five kinds of lies, repeatedly, not just lying five times. Also, one lie is still illegal.

Prosecutor Marando, responding to Rogow's claim that Stone lacked motive to lie to protect Trump. "There was an investigation doing on at the time as to whether there was any nefarious activity that went on during that campaign."

"You don’t think that if it came out...that Roger Stone was spending that time during the campaign trying to fish for into from WikiLeaks, possibly by a foreign government, that wouldn’t look bad" for Trump? Marando asked.

Marando notes that the Intelligence Committee's 2018 report said that "WikiLeaks played a key role" in Russia's interference effort. Shows the panel cared about WikiLeaks, contrary to Stone's defense.

Marando cites Trump's opening statement to HPSCI in which Stone addressed claims he had advance knowledge of what WikiLeaks would dump. "He is literally telling the committee that he knows that one of the reasons that they are there is the transfer of information to WikiLeaks."

This contradicts Stone's claim that he was only thinking about collusion with Russia and so he didn't have to bother to not lie to the committee about WikiLeaks.

Marando asks the jury about Rogow's claim that Credico "played" Stone by pretending to have access to Assange. "You saw Randy Credico," Marando says. "Did that look like a mastermind to you who was going to manipulate and somehow control Roger Stone?"

Marando point out that as early as October 19, 2016, Credico pointed out to Stone that he really didn't get access to Stone when he visited London. And Credico reiterated that in January 2017 that he wasn't Stone's backchannel. But Stone lied 9 months later in his testimony.

"So the claim that Mr. Credico somehow manipulated Mr. Stone makes absolutely no sense," Marando says.

Marando closes by quoting Stone's lawyer Rogow saying of the case: "So what? So what?"
Marado: "Truth matters. Truth still matters, okay." Maybe you can "find your own truth" online, he says. But in "our institutions of self-governance," courts & Congress "truth still matters."

"Mr. Stone lied Congress," Marando says. "He obstructed justice and he tampered with a witness. And that matters. And you don’t look at that and..say 'so what.'"
And that's the end.