WASHINGTON (CN) — Roger Stone can now add convicted felon to the list of colorful monikers he’s collected over decades in Washington, besides dirty trickster, political provocateur and longtime Trump adviser.
A federal jury found Stone guilty on all seven felony counts that he lied to Congress, obstructed its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and tampered with a key witness.
The conviction included five false statements to the House Intelligence Committee, including that Stone never discussed WikiLeaks releasing Russian-hacked emails with the Trump campaign.
The verdict is a sweeping victory for the Justice Department in the final criminal case filed against a Trump ally by former special counsel Robert Mueller.
Asked if he had comment while exiting the D.C. federal courthouse, Stone said "none whatsoever.” Stone, and his attorneys, remain under a court-imposed gag order.
Federal prosecutors told the jury at the outset of the trial, unfolding down the street from Capitol Hill where televised impeachment hearings got underway this week, that Stone lied because “the truth looked bad for Donald Trump.”
The president weighed in over Twitter, questioning whether the unanimous verdict was a “double standard like never seen before in the history of our Country?”
Facing a maximum sentence of 50 years, Stone, 67, is expected to get off with a more lenient prison term as a first-time offender.
A political strategist who cut his teeth during the Watergate scandal, Stone joins other convicted Trump insiders to serve time for crimes uncovered by Mueller’s two-year investigation: Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort are currently behind bars, while Michael Flynn and Rick Gates await sentencing after pleading guilty.
The 12-person jury, nine women and three men, included an IRS civil tax attorney, a senior adviser for AARP and a former congressional candidate. They disappeared behind closed doors midmorning Thursday but failed to reach a verdict, dragging deliberations into Friday.
Stone was seen entering the courthouse Friday morning carrying a red Bible. Standing as the verdict was read aloud, in a pinstriped suit with a blue and white polka dot tie, the defendant was stone-faced.
But moments later security officers escorted Michael Caputo out of court when the former Trump campaign aide refused to stand, then turned his back to the jury as they exited the room.
The Justice Department looked to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to remand Stone’s conditions of release, placing him behind bars to await sentencing in February 2020.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis told the judge that she had reason to believe Stone would defy court orders because he allegedly violated his gag order by texting InfoWars host Alex Jones the day before.
The far-right conspiracy theorist claimed Stone contacted him Thursday telling Jones that he expected to be convicted and appealing for Trump to pardon him. Stone’s attorney, Bruce Rogow, told Jackson he had “no personal knowledge of the incident” but said his client was prepared to abide by her orders.
The prosecutor reminded Jackson that Stone had repeatedly failed to adhere to the gag order, triggered by Stone posting a photo of the judge to Instagram with what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun behind her head. Jackson in past proceedings had described his continued social media posts on the case as “middle school” behavior.