Special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly obtained evidence that a top associate of Roger Stone had advance knowledge concerning emails stolen from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and given to Wikileaks, which released them online.
NBC News reports that a source close to the Mueller investigation revealed the existence of messages in which Jerome Corsi, a top ally of Stone’s, appears to take credit for the release of the emails.
{mosads}The source, along with others, say that there is no evidence yet that Stone, an informal adviser to President Trump’s campaign, or Corsi were involved in the email theft or release or that Corsi’s involvement went beyond advance knowledge of the situation. Stone for months has denied collusion with Wikileaks and Russian intelligence agents, who are thought to be behind the hack. He disputed the NBC report in an email to The Hill on Sunday, linking to other interviews he’s done in which he denies having any advanced knowledge of the Wikileaks dump.
Corsi’s lawyer declined to comment when reached by NBC News.
One former associate of Stone says that Mueller’s investigators think they are “on to something” and are vigorously pursuing leads.
“I was questioned vigorously for hours,” a former Stone associate, who remained anonymous, told NBC. “They think they’re on to something.”
One of the former Stone associates reportedly questioned by Mueller and is team is Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chair who struck a deal with prosecutors to avoid a second trial in Washington, D.C. after being convicted of eight counts related to money laundering and bank fraud in Virginia.
Manafort was reportedly questioned about his former business dealings with Stone earlier this month, as Mueller’s team continues to put pressure on Stone’s former partners. Stone released a statement at the time denying any wrongdoing.
“I am highly confident Mr. Manafort is aware of no wrong doing on my part during the 2016 campaign, or at any other time, and therefore there is no wrongdoing to know about,” Stone told ABC News. “Narratives to the contrary by some in the media are false and defamatory.”
Updated: Sunday Oct. 28 at 9:48 p.m.