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- It’s been a busy week for news from the Russia investigations.
- The longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone, an informal adviser to President Donald Trump, was indicted on seven federal charges. Stone pleaded not guilty to all of them.
- Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is also preparing to testify before three congressional committees before reporting to prison.
- Here are all the stories you may have missed.
The past week saw a number of huge developments in the Russia investigations.
Informal Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone was indicted on seven charges in the Russia probe and pleaded not guilty to all of them, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is gearing up to testify before three committees, and acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker dropped some cryptic hints about the timeline of the Russia investigation.
Here are all the stories you may have missed in the past week:
Roger Stone was indicted on seven charges—and pleaded not guilty to all of them
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On Janaury 25, Stone was indicted on five counts of making false statements to investigators, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of witness tampering in the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. He was arrested at his home early that day.
Stone pleaded not guilty to all seven counts in a Washington, DC, federal courthouse on Tuesday. Prosecutors allege that Stone lied about his communications with Randy Credico and Jerome Corsi, people the long-time GOP strategist says served as intermediaries between him and radical pro-transparency group Wikileaks.
They also accused him of attempting to intimidate Credico to prevent him from testifying to Congress and the FBI, and of making false statements to Congress.
Stone, who has known and worked with Trump on-and-off for nearly 40 years, briefly served as a communications strategist on the Trump campaign. He is the eighth US person affiliated with the Trump campaign or administration to be charged in the Mueller probe.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said the Mueller investigation is "close to being completed."
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo
For months, media outlets have speculated when the notoriously secretive Mueller probe would end.
In a Monday press conference, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker became the first senior Justice Department official to offer a clue as to when the investigation would conclude.
"Right now the investigation is, I think, close to being completed," Whitaker told reporters. "And, I hope that we can get the report from director Mueller as soon as possible."
Some DOJ veterans said Whitaker’s seemingly off-the-cuff remark was inappropriate, since Mueller probe still has several loose ends to tie up. They also cautioned against taking Whitaker’s comment at face value, given recent media reports suggesting there are still several other shoes that will drop in the Russia probe.
Former Trump campaign officials Rick Gates and Michael Flynn are still cooperating with Mueller until at least March, Mueller is engaged in a legal battle with Paul Manafort over alleged breaches of his plea agreement, and a federal judge recently extended the DC grand jury reviewing evidence in the Mueller probe until the summer.
Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is preparing to testify before three congressional committees before reporting to prison
Associated Press/Craig Ruttle
Cohen is due to report for his three-year prison sentence on March 13, but not without appearing for three hearings on Capitol Hill.
Cohen originally agreed to publicly appear before the House Oversight Committee on February 7, but postponed his testimony due to safety concerns caused by alleged "ongoing threats" against his family by Trump.
CNN reported Monday, however, that lawyers for Cohen are "in discussions" for him to provide his previously agreed-upon public testimony if his safety can be guaranteed.
Cohen is also expected to testify before the House and Senate intelligence committees in closed-door sessions on February 8 and February 12, respectively.
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign-finance violations in the Southern District of New York. The violations were related to payments to buy the silence of two women, Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, who say they had affairs with Trump.
Federal prosecutors said in their sentencing memo for Cohen that he made the payments "in coordination with and at the direction of" an individual widely believed to be Trump, making him an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.
On November 30, Cohen struck a deal to plead guilty to one count of lying to Congress in exchange for cooperating with Mueller. He admitted to lying to lawmakers about the Trump Tower Moscow deal, and people close to him have said he intends to set the record straight during his closed-door testimony before the congressional intelligence committees this month.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Here are some of the hidden State of the Union details you might miss on TV
- The $2 billion Cabinet: This is how much the 10 wealthiest members of Trump’s Cabinet are worth
- Roger Stone says Trump’s presidency is in danger, calls Mueller’s Russia probe a ‘speeding bullet’ heading for president’s head
Source: Business Insider