Roger Stone Indictment Implicates Trump Campaign in Campaign Finance Violations Related to WikiLeaks Documents Stolen by Russian Intelligence Officials

Statement of Common Cause V.P. for Policy & Litigation Paul S. Ryan

Roger Stone’s indictment implicates the Trump campaign in campaign finance violations during the 2016 election related to WikiLeaks documents provided by Russian Intelligence officials. The indictment makes clear that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has uncovered evidence that a “senior Trump campaign official was directed” by someone else within the campaign, perhaps Donald Trump himself, to contact Stone and request that Stone obtain “damaging information” on Clinton from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was in possession DNC emails that had been hacked by Russian intelligence officers.

Federal law prohibits soliciting political “contributions” from foreign nationals and defines “contribution” to include “any gift … of money or anything of value . . . for the purpose of influencing” a federal election. The Trump campaign seemingly violated the law by soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign national–in the form of requests that Stone obtain damaging information on Hillary Clinton from Assange, information originating with Russian intelligence hackers, for the benefit of the Trump campaign.

Today’s indictment is just the latest in a long line of charges and convictions secured by the Special Counsel’s investigation and puts to bed the idea of a hoax once and for all. Laws were broken repeatedly by members of the Trump campaign and everyone who broke the law must be held accountable. No American is above the law, not even the President, and if he violated the law, then he too must be held accountable.

Statement of Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn

The Mueller investigation must be protected and allowed to complete its work to determine the full extent of the Russian attacks aimed at swaying the results of the 2016 presidential race. Critics of the Special Counsel and his investigation do not have a leg to stand on. It is time for every member of Congress to put their country before their party and protect our democracy.

As these events get closer to the Oval Office, public pressure for full public hearings and release of the complete report when ready is growing. Anyone in Washington who thinks they can bluff or stonewall their way out of this investigation is fooling themselves and underestimating the American people.