WASHINGTON • US President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone has been convicted on all charges by a federal court jury that found the veteran Republican operative and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" guilty on seven counts of lying to the US Congress, obstruction and witness tampering.
During the trial, prosecutors pressed their case that Stone lied to lawmakers about his outreach to WikiLeaks - the website that disclosed many hacked Democratic e-mails ahead of the 2016 US election that proved embarrassing to Mr Trump's Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton - to protect Mr Trump from looking bad.
The verdict on Friday, in a trial arising from former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that detailed extensive Russian interference in that election, not only deals a blow to Stone, but also renews scrutiny on Mr Trump's actions as a candidate even as he endures an impeachment inquiry that threatens his presidency.
When the verdict was read, Stone, 67, faced the jury of nine women and three men, and showed no outward signs of emotion as he was pronounced guilty.
Mr Trump fumed after the conviction of Stone, a friend of his for decades.
"So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter, asking why it was not his adversaries, including Mrs Clinton and "even Mueller himself", saying: "Didn't they lie?"
"A double standard like never seen before in the history of our country," Mr Trump added.
US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson set a sentencing date of Feb 6. Six of the criminal counts each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison and the seventh carries a maximum term of 20 years. Stone is likely to get far less time as a first-time non-violent offender.
REUTERS
