Former Trump Associate Roger Stone Arrested, Charged

Joshua Perry, Co-Editor-In-Chief

Roger Stone, who advised Trump during his political campaign, was arrested last Friday on seven counts related to the investigation of Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election.

The indictment against Stone includes charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress. Stone, who was released from Federal Court in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. after paying $250,000 in bail, claimed that he was innocent, according to The Guardian.

The indictment claims that Stone was tasked with uncovering useful dirt on Hillary Clinton from the collection of DNC emails hacked by Russians and released on Wikileaks.

Stone, one of Trump’s closest supporters, has a reputation for unsavory dealings in politics that even he has embraced, according to Morgan Pehme, one of the directors of Netflix’s documentary on the political consultant titled “Get Me Roger Stone.”

“Roger has a profound understanding of the dark heart of the American public and how to speak to us in a way that will manipulate and move us to be in service of his agenda,” Pehme said in an interview with NPR. “And it was that insight that he lent to the Trump campaign.”

Stone is just the most recent target of Former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s probe into Trump’s possible connections with Russia, which started in May 2017. Other campaign associates of Trump have been charged, including campaign advisor George Papadopoulos, former campaign chair Paul Manafort, and former national security advisor Michael Flynn, according to Vox.

However, acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said that the investigation is now coming to a close, according to CNN, and Mueller is preparing to give his final report.

Junior Muriel Bowen said that the end of the Russia probe could possibly have more indictments in store, which would be a fitting end to the investigation, in her opinion.

“I think that people in both parties want to see justice served to those involved,” Bowen said.