With a Godfather reference and a Nixon quote, Mueller accuses Roger Stone of witness tampering
By James Hohmann
January 25 at 9:55 AM
-snip-
Prosecutors say Stone made repeated references to “The Godfather: Part II” in December 2017 as he pushed an unnamed “Person 2” to not tell the truth to the House Intelligence Committee so he could cover up his role. “People close to the case said Person 2 is New York comedian Randy Credico,” per Rosalind Helderman, Devlin Barrett and John Wagner.
“On multiple occasions … Stone told Person 2 that Person 2 should do a ‘Frank Pentangeli’ before [the committee] in order to avoid contradicting Stone’s testimony,” according to the indictment. “Pentangeli is a character in the film ‘The Godfather: Part II,’ which both Stone and Person 2 had discussed, who testifies before a congressional committee and in that testimony claims not to know critical information that he does in fact know.”
If you’ve never seen the movie, the Pentangeli character tells congressional investigators pressing him on his ties to the mafia: “I don’t know nothin’ about that.” Watch the scene:
On Dec. 1, 2017, Stone allegedly texted Credico: “And if you turned over anything to the FBI you’re a fool.” Later that day, he purportedly texted Stone, “You need to amend your testimony before I testify on the 15th.” Stone allegedly replied, “If you testify you’re a fool. … I guarantee you you are the one who gets indicted for perjury if you’re stupid enough to testify.”
On Nov. 19, 2017, after Credico had texted Stone about a request by the House committee for him to testify, Stone allegedly responded by quoting Richard Nixon trying to orchestrate the Watergate cover-up: “‘Stonewall it. Plead the fifth. Anything to save the plan.’” The next day, Credico declined the House committee’s request for a voluntary interview.
Nixon had given that instruction to John Mitchell, his former attorney general and reelection campaign chairman, during a meeting in March 1973. It was recorded by the Oval Office taping system — and played for jurors during Mitchell’s trial the next year. Stone, who got his start in politics on Nixon’s 1972 reelection campaign, has a Nixon tattoo on his back.
-snip-
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2019/01/25/daily-202-with-a-godfather-reference-and-a-nixon-quote-mueller-accuses-roger-stone-of-witness-tampering/5c4a8f2a1b326b29c3778cc6/
= new reply since forum marked as read
