More 2016 fraud conspirators could be indicted
Second, the Stone indictment also suggests a basis for charging conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Stone indictment identifies two people only by description, “Person 1” and “Person 2,” identified as
writer Jerome Corsi and radio host Randy Credico, respectively. This naming convention is used when the Department of Justice refers to people in an indictment without charging them. The fact that Corsi and Credico were not charged suggests that they are cooperating. If so, then they can provide Mueller with context behind some of the messages cited in the indictment.
For instance, the indictment alleges that Corsi and Stone discussed exploiting the released emails
to harm Hillary Clinton's campaign by “suggesting HRC old, memory bad, has stroke — neither he nor she well.” This kind of coordination could be evidence of their involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by interfering with the fair administration of elections, the same theory that Mueller has used in the two indictments he has filed against Russians.
It is not hard to imagine a superseding indictment in the hacking case to add other individuals who participated in the conspiracy, defined by the special counsel not only as hacking into computers and stealing emails, but also
staging “releases of stolen documents to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.” Any Trump campaign members or associates who knowingly helped to coordinate the timing or messaging around the release of the emails could be guilty as co-conspirators.
Who else has lied to Congress?
Third, this indictment shows how Mueller regards lies to Congress. Mueller is likely scouring the transcripts of all other Trump associates who have testified before Congress, such as Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr., for statements inconsistent with other evidence. One other clue that suggests Mueller is looking at lies to Congress appears in the
sentencing memorandum that Mueller filed in December in the case against Michael Cohen, in which Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about negotiations with Russia for a Trump Tower in Moscow.
The sentencing memo lists areas in which Cohen’s cooperation had been particularly valuable in the investigation, including information about “preparing and circulating his response to the congressional inquiries.” If Mueller finds that Cohen worked with other Trump associates to coordinate their lies, you can expect charges to follow.
Standing alone, the Stone indictment charges serious crimes. In context, it portends more charges to come.
