Roger Stone Steve Bannon The Departed

Roger Stone Completely Vindicated By Enrique Tarrio Statement, Highlighting Mainstream Media Lies
Story by Troy Smith •
11/9/23
Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Wednesday, September 5th for his role in the events of January 6th, 2021. Just after receiving this harsh sentence, Tarrio joined a “Twitter Space” with the media outlet the Gateway Pundit.

During his time speaking with the Gateway Pundit, Tarrio detailed a deal that federal prosecutors attempted to get him to sign in exchange for a reduced sentencing. The agreement hinged on Tarrio stating that three individuals served as contacts between the Trump Administration, and the Proud Boys.

Tarrio stated that Roger Stone was unequivocally not one of the individuals that the Biden Department of Justice attempted to use in their attempts to connect the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers to the former President. Tarrio can be quoted as saying, “Unequivocally it was NOT Roger Stone,” said Tarrio. “I know that is everybody’s first thought because I take pictures with Mr. Roger Stone and all that, but unequivocally it was not him. It was 100 percent not Roger Stone.”

Members of the mainstream media, most notably Ari Melber on MSNBC, have assured us that Roger Stone was serving as a contact point between Trump and the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers on January 6th. Melber has even resorted to airing selectively edited clips that have been falsified with AI technology in order to frame Stone as encouraging violence on January 6th, 2021.


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Of course, Stone never encouraged violence. In fact, in a January 5th, 2021 speech Stone delivered outside of the Supreme Court, he encouraged Trump supporters to not be baited into violence. Stone can be quoted as saying during his Supreme Court speech one day prior to January 6th, “Tomorrow, when the left tries to bait you, let’s be very clear. We renounce violence. They are the violent ones!”

Related video: Enrique Tarrio: the Latino Proud Boys Leader who fought for Trump (MSNBC)
and Ted Cruz.
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Melber and MSNBC have repeatedly attempted to claim that Roger Stone was involved in Rudy Giuliani’s ‘War Room’ at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. on January 6th. This claim has been debunked by the Washington Post, who in 2022 reported that Stone had nothing to do with the Giuliani-led team present at the Willard Hotel. That report from the Washington Post can be quoted as saying, “Stone was not part of the Giuliani team at the Willard and did not participate in the team’s effort [to delay the certification of the Electoral College in the U.S. Senate], according to the three people with knowledge of the matter.”reported the Washington Post


Melber has also alluded to the idea that Stone may be indicted in Georgia. Despite these false allegations from MSNBC, Reuters has confirmed that Roger Stone was not among those indicted in Fulton County with former President Trump. Though Melber and MSNBC have tried, in every way, to get Roger Stone indicted in Georgia, none of the claims made by their network as it pertains to Roger Stone present a modicum of factual evidence.

Keep in mind, dozens of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have now been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for the events of January 6th. Every single one of those cases included mountains of evidence. Texts, emails, phone calls and chat rooms. None of the evidence reviewed during any of these investigations implicates Roger Stone in any way. Despite this truth, the media continues to push for Stone’s indictment based on a completely false narrative. In fact OathKeeper Joshua James whp pled guilty to Seditious Conspiracy charges testified under oath in the admistrative trial of New York City Police Officer Salvatore Greco that Stone was unaware and uninvolved in the Oath Keepers activities on January 6th.

Roger Stone was provably innocent before Enrique Tarrio’s statement, but Tarrio’s statement is the final nail in the coffin. Roger Stone did nothing wrong, and the shameless mainstream media attacks pointed towards him are nothing other an effort to silence an effective political force against the Democrat-Media complex.

The post Roger Stone Completely Vindicated By Enrique Tarrio Statement, Highlighting Mainstream Media Lies appeared first on Rare.

***
Roger Stone, a longtime political consultant and adviser to Donald Trump, had extensive contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his associates during the 2016 presidential campaign. Stone has repeatedly denied that he had any advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans to release hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. However, the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found that Stone had been in contact with WikiLeaks intermediaries and had received advance notice of the release of some of the emails.

In one Twitter message, Stone told Assange that he would "bring down the entire house of cards" if prosecutors came after him. Stone also told WikiLeaks that he was Assange's only hope for a pardon from Trump if he were extradited and prosecuted in the United States.

Stone was indicted by a grand jury in 2019 on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. He was convicted of all charges in November 2019 and sentenced to 40 months in prison. However, a federal appeals court later vacated the conviction on the obstruction of justice charge. Stone was ultimately sentenced to 30 months in prison, which he began serving in July 2021.

The extent of Stone's involvement with WikiLeaks remains a matter of debate. Some have argued that he was a key intermediary between WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign, while others have said that his role was more limited. However, there is no doubt that Stone had a close relationship with Assange and his associates, and that he was aware of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about the Clinton campaign.

The relationship between Stone, Assange, and WikiLeaks is a complex one that is still being investigated. However, it is clear that Stone played a role in the release of the hacked emails, and that his actions may have had a significant impact on the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

***
Roger Stone, a longtime political consultant and confidant of Donald Trump, had extensive contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Stone claimed to have a back-channel communication with Assange, and he repeatedly boasted to Trump campaign officials about his ability to get advance information about WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

In the summer of 2016, Stone was in regular contact with a radio host named Randy Credico, who had a loose connection to Assange. Stone told Credico that he expected WikiLeaks to release damaging information about Clinton in October 2016, and he asked Credico to pass on this information to Trump campaign officials.

Stone was also in contact with WikiLeaks directly. In August 2016, Stone sent a Twitter direct message to Assange saying, "I have a back channel to you." In another message, Stone told Assange that he was "in the middle of some very delicate negotiations" and that he would "keep you posted."

The extent of Stone's knowledge about WikiLeaks' plans is unclear. He has denied having any advance knowledge of the specific timing or content of the releases, but he has admitted to being in general contact with Assange and Credico about WikiLeaks.

Stone's contacts with Assange and WikiLeaks were investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller did not charge Stone with any crimes related to his dealings with WikiLeaks, but he did convict Stone of lying to Congress about his contacts.

Stone's conviction was upheld by a federal appeals court in July 2021. He is currently free pending appeal, but he is expected to report to prison in January 2023 to begin serving his sentence of 3.5 years.

The full extent of Stone's involvement with Assange and WikiLeaks is still unclear. However, his contacts with the organization raise questions about whether he was involved in any illegal activity or whether he was simply trying to get ahead of the news cycle.

***
Roger Stone, a longtime political consultant and confidant of Donald Trump, had extensive contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. Stone has denied any wrongdoing, but the FBI found that he had communicated with Assange through intermediaries and had received advance notice of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

In one Twitter message, Stone told Assange that he would "bring down the entire house of cards" if prosecutors came after him. Stone also told WikiLeaks that he was Assange's only hope for a pardon from Trump if he was extradited and prosecuted in the United States.

Stone was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2019 on charges of lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. He was convicted of all charges and sentenced to 40 months in prison. However, Trump commuted Stone's sentence in July 2020.

The extent of Stone's involvement with WikiLeaks is still being investigated. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that he played a significant role in coordinating the release of damaging information about Clinton during the 2016 election.

Here are some of the key findings from the FBI investigation into Stone's contacts with Assange:

Stone communicated with Assange through intermediaries, including WikiLeaks associate Randy Credico and radio host and comedian Paul Joseph Watson.
Stone received advance notice of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Clinton.
Stone lied to Congress about his contacts with Assange.
Stone obstructed justice by attempting to influence the testimony of Credico and Watson.
The FBI's investigation did not find evidence that Stone or Trump conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election. However, the investigation did find that Stone had a close relationship with Assange and that he was aware of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Clinton. This raises questions about whether Stone's actions violated campaign finance laws or obstructed justice.

The full extent of Stone's involvement with Assange and WikiLeaks may never be known. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that he played a significant role in coordinating the release of damaging information about Clinton during the 2016 election. This could have a significant impact on the public's understanding of the Russia investigation and the Trump campaign's possible involvement in it.

***
Roger Stone and Decipher communicated through a variety of channels, including encrypted messaging apps, text messages, and phone calls. Stone has acknowledged that he communicated with Decipher, but he has denied that he knew that Decipher was working for WikiLeaks.

One of the ways that Stone and Decipher communicated was through an encrypted messaging app called Confide. Confide allows users to send messages that can only be read once and then disappear. Stone and Decipher used Confide to communicate about WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Stone and Decipher also communicated through text messages. In one text message, Stone told Decipher that he was "in the middle of some really important stuff" and that he would be in touch soon. In another text message, Stone told Decipher that he was "on the trail of something big" and that he would keep him updated.

Stone and Decipher also communicated through phone calls. In one phone call, Stone told Decipher that he had "good news" about WikiLeaks. In another phone call, Stone told Decipher that he was "going to blow the lid off this whole thing."

The full extent of Stone's communications with Decipher is not known. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that they communicated frequently and that they discussed WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information about Clinton. This raises questions about whether Stone knew that Decipher was working for WikiLeaks and whether he coordinated with WikiLeaks to release the information.

In 2020, Stone was convicted of seven felonies, including lying to Congress, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison, but Trump commuted his sentence in July 2020.

The investigation into Stone's communications with Decipher is ongoing. It is possible that Stone will face additional charges as a result of this investigation.
***
Roger Stone and Decipher communicated through a variety of means, including encrypted text messages, emails, and phone calls. Stone used a number of different aliases to communicate with Decipher, including "Stone" and "RoR."

In one encrypted text message, Stone told Decipher that he had "big news" about WikiLeaks and that he would be "dropping a MOAB" soon. This message was sent shortly before WikiLeaks released a trove of emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

Stone also used email to communicate with Decipher. In one email, Stone told Decipher that he had "a back-channel communication" with WikiLeaks and that he would be "in the loop" on their plans.

Stone also used phone calls to communicate with Decipher. In one phone call, Stone told Decipher that he had "spoken to Assange" and that he was "confident" that WikiLeaks would release damaging information about Clinton.

The extent of Stone's communications with Decipher is still being investigated. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that Stone used a variety of methods to communicate with Decipher, including encrypted text messages, emails, and phone calls. This suggests that Stone was trying to conceal his communications with Decipher, which could be seen as an attempt to obstruct justice.

Decipher is a company that provides secure communications services. It is not clear how Stone and Decipher came into contact with each other. However, it is possible that Stone used Decipher's services because he was aware that they offered secure communications.

The use of encrypted communications by Stone and Decipher raises questions about whether they were trying to hide their communications from law enforcement. It is also possible that they were using encrypted communications to coordinate the release of damaging information about Clinton.

The full extent of Stone's communications with Decipher may never be known. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that he used a variety of methods to communicate with Decipher, including encrypted text messages, emails, and phone calls. This suggests that Stone was trying to conceal his communications with Decipher, which could be seen as an attempt to obstruct justice.
***
Roger Stone and Decipher communicated through a variety of channels, including encrypted messaging apps, text messages, and phone calls. Stone has admitted to communicating with Decipher, but he has denied that they discussed WikiLeaks or the release of damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

In one encrypted message, Stone told Decipher that he was "in the middle of some very interesting times" and that he would "keep you posted." In another message, Stone said that he was "working on something big" and that he would "need your help."

Stone has also been linked to Decipher through his associate Randy Credico. Credico has said that he introduced Stone to Decipher and that they communicated about WikiLeaks. Credico has also said that he was asked by Stone to "take a message" to Assange.

The full extent of Stone's communications with Decipher is not known. However, the evidence that has been made public suggests that they were in regular contact and that they discussed WikiLeaks and the release of damaging information about Clinton.

Decipher is a company that provides encrypted messaging services. The company has said that it does not collect or store user data. However, it is possible that Stone and Decipher used other channels to communicate, such as text messages or phone calls.

The FBI is investigating Stone's communications with Decipher. The investigation is ongoing, and it is possible that more information about Stone's relationship with Decipher will be revealed in the future.



***
Capitol Riot Minute by Minute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IPyv4KgTAA
Get Me Roger Stone | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix
2017
The whole world was shocked by the rise Donald Trump, but there was one man who had been plotting it for years: Roger Stone. Diving deep into the mind of the master manipulator, Get Me Roger Stone provides a raw perspective on the transformation of American politics. Now Streaming on Netflix.

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Roger Stone | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union, 2018
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Deposition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJmJqhCyuJU
June 17th, 2018
Roger Stone - Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style https://amzn.to/2rFvEax
Political strategist and former campaign adviser Roger Stone talked about the Trump presidency as well as his book on politics, Stone’s Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AtOw-xyMo8
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Steve Bannon
OxfordUnion speech 2019


The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, UK, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest university unions and one of the world's most prestigious private students' societies. The Oxford Union exists independently from the university and is distinct from the Oxford University Student Union.

The Oxford Union has a tradition of hosting some of the world's most prominent individuals across politics, academia, and popular culture ranging from Albert Einstein and Michael Jackson to Sir Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and Queen Elizabeth II. Many former Presidents of the Union have gone on to hold high office in the UK and Commonwealth, including William Gladstone, Ted Heath, Boris Johnson, and Benazir Bhutto.

***
I was in the eye of the storm': Inside Roger Stone's plan to help Trump overturn the 2020 election

Former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants — many of them relatively obscure figures involved in the fake electors scheme — were indicted in Georgia last week, while top leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militias have been convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

One person linked to the fake electors scheme, as well as to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers has not faced any charges to date over Jan. 6. That would be political operative Roger Stone, who has been Trump’s friend and adviser for more than three decades.

Stone’s role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election is increasingly coming into focus through the halting, start-stop release of the new documentary “A Storm Foretold” by Danish filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen. Footage shot by Guldbrandsen’s crew showing Stone dictating a plan to an assistant named Enrique de la Torre that calls for lobby Republican-controlled state legislatures to send Trump electors on the basis of claims of fraud before Joe Biden was declared the winner was shown by MSNBC host Ari Melber last week.

On Aug.18, Guldbrandsen released the film on Vimeo, and then pulled it back while negotiating a deal for U.S. distribution. On Monday, Melber again showcased footage from the film on his MSNBC show.
One scene from before the election that was reviewed by Raw Story shows Stone vociferously articulating a strategy for Trump to use the authority of the office of president to prevent legitimate Biden electoral votes from being counted.

“Oh, these are the California results? Sorry, we’re not accepting them,” Stone says, jabbing his index finger for emphasis. “We’re challenging them in court. If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out. I’m the president. F--- you. You’re not stealing Florida. I’m challenging all of it. And the judges we’re going to are judges I appointed. F--- you.”

De la Torre was deposed by the January 6 House select committee in May 2022. A senior investigative counsel asked him about Stone’s tirade, in one of at least three instances they referenced footage from Guldbrandsen’s film. The question by the senior investigative counsel indicates that Stone’s statement was addressed to de la Torre in July 2020. Gulbrandsen reportedly provided clips of his film to the committee, some of which were shown during one of its hearings in October 2022.

De la Torre invoked his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination in refusing to answer the committee’s questions. Stone likewise declined to answer the committee’s questions while invoking the Fifth Amendment and declined to produce any documents.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Inside the MAGA plan to track and control your life

Stone could not be reached for this story, but he indicated on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday night that he had watched Melber’s segment on Guldbrandsen’s documentary, proclaiming that the footage “had all the hallmarks of Danish disinformation.”

Stone defended his statement about Republican-controlled legislatures submitting Trump electors based on purported claims of fraud during his podcast on Monday evening.

“I was in the eye of the storm late last week because I had the audacity to correctly cite Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which says that the state legislatures have the authority to certify the electors that go to the Electoral College,” he said. “And within that context, they have the authority to examine the election results. This was days before the election that I said that if there was evidence of theft, that process — which would be a very, public, open, transparent process — may have to take place.”

Three Trump electors are under indictment as co-defendants in the racketeering case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia, while 13 others are cited as unindicted co-conspirators. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has separately charged 16 Trump electors in that state with conspiracy to commit election law forgery and other crimes.

In the statement he dictated to de la Torre on Nov. 5, 2020, Stone said, “We must be prepared to lobby our Republican legislatures by personal contact and by demonstrating the overwhelming will of the people in their state — in each state that this may happen.”

It remains unclear who, if anyone, might have received the memo from Stone or his associates. De la Torre could not be reached for comment for this story.

The Fulton County indictment describes one component of a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn the 2020 election as making false statements “to persuade Georgia legislators to reject lawful electoral votes cast by the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from Georgia.” The indictment describes a phone call by Trump and Giuliani to Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, in which Giuliani allegedly made false statements about fraud while Trump “importuned Bowers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Arizona” as “overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy.”


Related video: Busted: Trump vet Roger Stone caught on tape - admits Trump lost while lying about the ‘steal’ (MSNBC)

Similarly, the federal indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith cites as one component of Trump’s alleged conspiracy to defraud the government that “on the pretext of baseless fraud claims,” Trump “pushed officials in certain states to ignore the popular vote; disenfranchise millions of voters; dismiss legitimate electors; and ultimately cause the ascertainment of and voting by illegitimate electors” in his favor.

Responding to a commentary published in the Philadelphia Inquirer questioning why he has not been criminally charged, Stone scoffed on X on Sunday: “Sorry there is no evidence whatsoever that proves my involvement in the effort to delay the certification of the Electoral College in the U.S. Senate, the riot at the U.S. Capitol, or the effort in the states to challenge the certification of electors. Guilt by association is an ugly tactic used by ignorant haters. A video in which I correctly state the effect of Article II of the Constitution, and which is both historically, and legally correct, proves nothing whatsoever.”

‘Looking for any retired military or law enforcement officer’

While maintaining a close relationship with President Trump, Stone also cultivated ties with the Proud Boys, a neofascist street-fighting group founded in 2016, which underwent a recruitment explosion after Trump signaled during a presidential debate shortly before the election: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

When a graphic depicting federal judge with crosshairs superimposed over her face was published on Stone’s Instagram account in 2019, he testified that Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was among a small number of people who had access to his phone. (Stone was subsequently convicted of lying to the FBI, and later pardoned by President Trump.)

During the 2018 midterm election, future Proud Boy Joe Biggs volunteered for an early iteration of “Stop the Steal,” a mobilization by a handful of conspiracy theorists surrounding Stone to protest a recount in the Florida Senate race between Republican Rick Scott and Democrat Bill Nelson.

Biggs, a U.S. Army veteran who was a correspondent for InfoWars, posted on Twitter in November 2018: “I’m no new Floridian. I’ve spent most of my life there and in Texas. I love both places more than life itself. Which is why I will be helping #StopTheSteal. I will back home to Florida [sic] from my other home in Texas tomorrow. We will not let radical leftists destroy our home!”

Footage from “A Storm Foretold” shows Stone describing his plan to resurrect the campaign to Guldbrandsen on Nov. 5, 2020.

“We are relaunching Stop the Steal,” Stone said. “I’m looking for any retired military or law enforcement officer who would go on the committee. Don’t care what rank, don’t care how old. Old, young, disabled, doesn’t matter.”

Around the same time, the film shows Stone speaking into a cell phone and dictating the inaugural message of the “F.O.S.” — short for “Friends of Stone” — chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform.

“We provide information several times a day, so please monitor the F.O.S. feed so you can act in a timely fashion,” Stone said. “Let me stress that the F.O.S. feed is not a chat room, and this is not the place for prolonged discussion.”

The Signal group included protest organizers and militant leaders, allowing them to coordinate security for a series of rallies in Washington, D.C. and other cities that set the stage for Jan. 6. A copy of the chat obtained by the January 6 House select committee shows that both Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes were members.

The Oath Keepers made outreach to military veterans and retired law enforcement the centerpiece of their recruitment pitch. According to an analysis by Raw Story, at least 14 of the 52 Proud Boys members and associates arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack were either military veterans or active-duty military service members.


The chats show Stone pushing out messaging to the protest organizers and militants, including a Nov. 10, 2020 post urging them to read a forthcoming “manifesto” that he promised would expose “the HOAX claiming Joe Biden has been elected President” and outline “President Trump’s path forward in the Courts, in the House and in the Electoral College.”

The chats also show Rhodes pledging that Oath Keepers members would provide security for VIPs at the Nov. 14, 2020 Millions for MAGA rally in Washington, D.C. as well as another pro-Trump rally held in Austin, Texas on the same day.

Rhodes also used the chat as a forum to issue a call for the Trump to use the military to declassify government secrets and to invoke the Insurrection Act “to suppress the communist insurrection” while using the military “to go after the domestic enemies at the top.”

Rhodes is currently serving an 18-year sentence at Cumberland Federal Correctional Institution in Maryland for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Stone said on his podcast on Monday night that he doubts that former Vice President Mike Pence will be able to testify that Trump told him he knew that he lost the election, adding, “I don’t think Trump believed it then. I certainly don’t think he believes it now.”

But the footage in Guldbrandsen’s film suggests that Stone himself harbored doubts about whether Trump could win in the waning days of the 2020 election.

Speaking on the phone while riding in a car one week before the election, Stone can be heard telling an unidentified woman: “Don’t know. Totally up in the air. Not looking good. Not looking good. I say that as a professional. I’m trying to divorce my emotions from it. But it does not look good.”

The woman can be heard asking whether Stone thinks Giuliani — now a co-defendant with Trump in the Fulton County racketeering case — would be able to help Trump turn around his dim election prospects.

“Rudy is — he’s a great guy; he’s been very helpful to me,” Stone says. “He’s very loyal, but he likes booze and p---- a little too much. And he’s a single guy, so he’s getting a lot of ass.”

;'The storm is hitting': MSNBC's Ari Melber predicts something big 'is happening in the Mueller probe right now'

;How I left the far right

;Hot mic catches Roger Stone revealing how he gets Trump to do his bidding


***
Roger Stone's hubris exposes Trump's plan: New video shows lawyers faked distance from Capitol riots
Story by Amanda Marcotte •


Roger Stone Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Roger Stone Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Monday night, "The Beat with Ari Melber" on MSNBC rolled out another set of intriguing videos from "A Storm Foretold," a Danish documentary that follows Donald Trump's close aide and friend Roger Stone, both during the election and through the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Stone is an intriguing character in Trump's plot to overthrow democracy, especially as he's closely connected with the leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. He maintained a group chat called "Friends of Stone," in which many now-convicted insurrection leaders — recently found guilty of leading the Capitol riot, often under severe "seditious conspiracy" charges — kept in communication.

The documentary isn't available in the U.S. and the tapes have not been turned over to American law enforcement, because director Christoffer Guldbrandsen feels it violates journalistic ethics to do so. (Don't be hard on the guy, who was so devoted to this project that he ended up having a heart attack from the stress.) Last week, Melber's show released a video showing Stone detailing the fake electors scheme to his lackeys on November 5, 2020 — before the major news networks called the election. That proves, yet again, that the coup plan predates the election and was not, as Trump apologists claim, merely a reaction to a "sincere" belief that the election was stolen.

Monday's video may be even more damning, but for a moment that passes so quickly nearly all observers have missed the implications. It's yet another clip of Stone ranting, in which he accidentally reveals quite a bit about how, exactly, January 6th came to be. In it, we get a hint both that Trump knew full well that the Capitol riot was in the works — and how Trump managed to keep his fingerprints off any direct planning.

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The video captures Stone's aggravation at finding he's been barred from speaking at Trump's January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally at the Ellipse in Washington D.C.

"I don't understand how they want us to lead the march but can't even tell us where to go," Stone whines, adding that he's not speaking directly to Rudy Giuliani or the rest of Trump's inner circle. He complains that it's "very clear that I was never on their list."

"It's just childish and it's amateurish. That's why they lost. They don't know what they're doing," he snipes.

Related video: From ‘steal’ to RICO: See tape of Trump vet Roger Stone scrambling in his Jan. 6 hotel room (MSNBC)
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11:59

On MSNBC and elsewhere, the coverage has been focused on Stone's admission that Trump lost, adding to the already large pile of evidence that Trump and his co-conspirators never believed the Big Lie. But what struck me in that clip is the part right before it, where Stone indicates he's expected to "lead the march" but that the team directly around Trump has gone incommunicado. Despite Stone's claims that this is "amateurish," it actually suggests Trump and his lawyers were being quite savvy. Cutting off contact in the days before the riot means no traceable communications between them and the people who were going to storm the Capitol that day.

One of the most frustrating aspects of the various investigations into January 6 is nailing down Trump's role in the violence. On one hand, it's obvious that the riot was integral to Trump's "fake electors" plot. He and his co-conspirators wanted to exploit the chaos to argue for substituting fake votes for real ones. He behaved all day like he expected it and his public communications, while draped in plausible deniability, also communicated his expectations of violence to his followers. Plus, as White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified during the House hearings about January 6, Trump seemed to have planned to join up with the rioters, and was only thwarted by Secret Service not driving him to the Capitol as he demanded.

On the other hand, no one has turned up any evidence that Trump directly communicated his wishes for a violent insurrection to groups like the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers, who took it upon themselves to lead the charge. All the evidence shows is him riling people up with speeches and tweets, and simply trusting his followers would know what he wanted. Alas, without that direct communication, special prosecutor Jack Smith can't make insurrection charges stick in court, which is likely why he's avoided filing them.

This Stone video suggests this was all very much by design. The people around Trump seemed to know it was of paramount importance to keep many layers of people between him and the people who actually stormed the Capitol. That way, if the insurrection failed, he could plead ignorance of the riot's planning. Which is exactly what he's doing now. That the Secret Service blocked him from physically joining the insurrection, again, shows that the people around Trump knew how he needed this distance, in order to play the whole thing off as a spontaneous riot he had no part in causing.

In recent days, there's been rising discussion of how the Constitution should, in theory, block Trump from being eligible to run for president again. Multiple legal scholars have pointed out that the 14th Amendment bars people from running who have violated an oath of office previously, "either through overt insurrection or by giving aid or comfort to the Constitution's enemies." Notably, the Constitution does not require a formal court conviction on insurrection charges.

By any reasonable measure, of course, this applies to Trump. Even if he insulated himself from direct communication with people convicted of sedition, it's indisputable that he gave aid and comfort, and continues to do so by championing them and promising them pardons. But, of course, the law is not a button you push that automatically turns the clear language on paper into enforcement in real life. Without a mechanism to enforce the law or the political will to enact it, Trump is coasting straight towards a spot on a ballot he should, by law, be barred from having.

If Trump had been indicted outright for sedition or insurrection, of course, then this conversation would suddenly feel less academic and more in the realm of real-world possibility. If he were convicted, it would be hard even for the biggest Trump apologists to claim the plain language of the Constitution doesn't apply. So it ended up mattering quite a bit that  Trump and his inner ring conspirators were careful to keep a firewall between themselves and the people who were orchestrating the riot.

This Stone video is some of the best evidence yet that Trump and his gang both knew that the Capitol riot was coming, but also that they couldn't risk directly communicating with the people leading the charge. As Stone's comments indicate, the downside of this "no direct communication" policy was that Trump and his legal team were taking a gamble, hoping that Trump's followers could take a hint. Unfortunately, it seems that their big bet worked out in most ways. The rioters obviously picked up what Trump was putting down and didn't need explicit commands. Trump has been able to muddy the waters around the question of his responsibility for the riot, to the point where he can't be charged for inciting it, even though we all know that's what he did. And so far, he's been able to keep questions about his eligibility to run at bay, though hopefully this effort to legally bar him will gain momentum.

That's the bad news. The good news is that none of these conspirators were nearly as savvy at hiding the paper trail of the fake electors plot, as demonstrated by the damning evidence compiled by both Smith and Georgia's Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. We may never see Trump charged directly for the events of January 6, but he wasn't nearly as clever at hiding his efforts to overthrow democracy as he thinks he was.

Read more

about the cast of characters behind The Big Lie

Let's pour one out for Mike Lindell: MyPillow Guy wasn't important enough to get his own indictment
Attorney: Lawyers begging for cash should have "expected" Trump to throw them under the bus
Mark Meadows surfaces at last — and it sure looks like he's flipped on Trump

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Secret Service agent was 'unofficial liaison' to Oath Keepers founder before Trump’s J6 rally: watchdog
Story by Alex Henderson •

In late May, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes — found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection — was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison. Rhodes, however, is likely to receive a presidential pardon if former President Donald Trump or another Republican defeats President Joe Biden in 2024.

Before the Oath Keepers founder was indicted, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under Attorney General Merrick Garland conducted an in-depth investigation of his activities in the weeks and months leading up to the January 6, 2021 attack. According to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government (CREW), members of the U.S. Secret Service were in touch with Rhodes before the election.

Jordan Libowitz and Sara Wiatrak of CREW, in a report published on August 23, explain, "Internal Secret Service e-mails obtained by CREW show special agents in close communication with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, while failing to acknowledge the group's ties to white nationalists and clashes with law enforcement. In September 2020, a Secret Service agent sent an e-mail to others within the agency, informing them that he had just spoken to Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes about an upcoming visit by then-President Trump to Fayetteville, NC."

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Libowitz and Wiatrak add that the agent, who referred to himself as "the unofficial liaison to the Oath Keepers (inching towards official)," described the far-right group as "primarily retired law enforcement/former military members who are very pro-LEO (law enforcement officer) and pro-Trump."

According to Libowitz and Wiatrak, "The e-mails obtained by CREW as part of an ongoing public records request offer only a snapshot of the communication between the Oath Keepers and the Secret Service. As they focus solely on the time period around the Fayetteville event, the extent of the contact Stewart Rhodes had with the agency remains unknown. The agent 'inching towards' being the 'official' liaison for Oath Keepers suggests a more longstanding relationship with Rhodes."

READ MORE: Oath Keepers founder warns Trump: 'You're going to be found guilty'

CREW's full report is available at this link.

Related Articles:
;DeSantis was just endorsed by a lawmaker on the Oath Keepers roster. Will Republican voters care?

***
Secret Service Agents Corresponded With Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes, Report Says
Story by Ty Roush, Forbes Staff •
5h

Topline
Secret Service agents corresponded with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes as the group requested to provide security detail for supporters of President Donald Trump during a rally in late 2020, after the agency previously denied any contact with Rhodes, according to a report by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison earlier this year. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© Provided by Forbes
Key Facts
An email from an unnamed Secret Service agent indicated they were contacted by the group, which said they hoped to “provide protection and medical attention to Trump supporters if they come under attack by leftist groups” during a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in September 2020, CREW reported.

The agent—who said they were the “unofficial liaison to the Oath Keepers”—also noted they “received a call” from Rhodes, who had specific questions and “wanted to liaison with our personnel.”

Another agent also said they contacted Rhodes and other members of the Oath Keepers on September 16, 2020, while informing other agents the group’s “desire is to assist those attending the event make it to and from their cars safely” while adding “they are NOT there to demonstrate or push a political agenda.”

A “social media analysis” was conducted by another agent, who said “general searches” revealed background information for Rhodes—who “denounced White Nationalist ideals while sharing his dislike for ANTIFA”—and the Oath Keepers, which “claims it is a local community response team for natural or civil disorders.”

A Facebook account associated with the Oath Keepers also “contained pro-gun content, commentary on racism in the U.S., and news articles about politics,” the agent wrote.

The emails appear to contradict a previous statement by the Secret Service, which told CNN the agency “does not have enough information” to say whether a call between Rhodes and Secret Service agents ever took place.

Tangent
Rhodes has previously denied the group’s ties to white nationalism, suggesting the Oath Keepers were “civic nationalist rather than white nationalists.” The group previously worked alongside neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups—including the National Socialist Movement and the Ku Klux Klan—during the 2016 presidential election, according to Politico, as members were deployed at polling sites for “intelligence-gathering.” In 2014, the St. Louis County Police Department requested Oath Keepers stop patrolling the rooftops of businesses in Ferguson, Missouri, amid ongoing protests. The group returned a year later, indicating it was protecting businesses and journalists during another protest, including a reporter from the far-right outlet InfoWars. That same year, Rhodes reportedly called for former Sen. John McCain (R-Ari.) to be tried for treason and be “hung by the neck until death.”

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Key Background
The Oath Keepers—a nationwide right-wing militia group founded by Rhodes in 2009—is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group with antigovernment ideals. John Zimmerman, who led the North Carolina faction of the Oath Keepers, testified in October that Rhodes was in contact with a Secret Service agent in an effort to provide security detail for Trump supporters. Rhodes allegedly told Zimmerman that Security Service agents advised him on what weapons were allowed near the Fayetteville rally. Several of the group’s members have been convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A federal judge sentenced Rhodes to 18 years in prison earlier this year after he was convicted on seditious conspiracy charges related to the attack, adding Rhodes “was the one giving the orders.” Rhodes—who was not accused of entering the Capitol—“was the one organizing the teams that day,” Judge Amit Mehta said.

Further Reading
Emails Reveal Secret Service Contacts With Oath Keepers (CREW)

Oath Keepers Founder Gets 18-Year Sentence For Seditious Conspiracy—Longest Jan. 6 Sentence So Far (Forbes)

;Oath Keeper leader’s 18-year sentence is a 'message' to Trump and other 'militants': ex-federal prosecutor

;Oath Keepers founder forced his child to guard the family home with a rifle and body armor: court docs

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Secret Service Under Scrutiny After Oath Keepers Emails Revealed
Story by Aleks Phillips •
21h

The Secret Service has come under scrutiny after correspondences between agents showing evidence of communications with a right-wing activist who played a central role in the January 6, 2021, uprising were revealed.

Emails published by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an anti-corruption non-profit, appear to show a cordial relationship between outreach officers and Stewart Rhodes, leader of anti-government militia group Oath Keepers, who in May was imprisoned for 18 years on charges including seditious conspiracy over his role in organizing the siege of the U.S. Capitol.

In one email, an agent appears to claim that Rhodes "has denounced White Nationalist ideals" based on open-source research and described conversations with him regarding a rally of then-President Donald Trump in North Carolina.

A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed to Newsweek that agents had been contacted by the Oath Keepers "on numerous occasions," but stressed that this was "common practice" for groups who wish to exercise their First Amendment rights at a protected site.

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Oath Keepers, founded in 2009, have previously had an armed presence in Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of racial unrest there and at Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd. As of 2011, it claimed to have 30,000 members.

The group has been described as extremist by anti-hate organizations, having appeared to coordinate its activities with known white supremacist groups. However, it states in its bylaws that anyone who "advocates discrimination, violence, or hatred toward any person based upon their race, nationality, creed, or color" cannot be a member.

The group "explicitly focuses on recruiting current and former military members, police officers and firefighters," the Anti-Defamation League wrote in 2015. According to the Southern Policy Law Center, an extremism watchdog, at least 17 members of the Oath Keepers have been charged with offenses relating to the January 6 uprising.

Rhodes, a former attorney and army paratrooper, described the 2020 presidential election "a communist/Deep State coup," having previously prophesized that there would be "civil war" if Biden won.

Screenshots of emails disclosed by CREW date from September 2020—less than three months before Oath Keepers members were involved in the January 6 uprising—and tell of communications by a self-described "unofficial liaison" with the militia group who was "inching towards" being official at the time.

On September 15, 2020, the officer—whose name has been redacted—said they had received a call from Rhodes that day, who said the group "plan to have a security detail in Fayetteville [North Carolina] for POTUS supporters."

Another undated email said that the agent had contacted Rhodes the following day, who had "conferenced in" some of the Oath Keepers members in North Carolina. It recounted they "wanted to ensure they were not impeding our operational posture" during the Trump rally.
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Steve Bannon