New evidence from right-wing conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi’s plea bargain negotiations with Robert Mueller’s team has put the Trump campaign’s possible connection to the WikiLeaks 2016 releases of emails damaging to Hillary Clinton front and center in the Russia investigation. Corsi, in announcing this week that he had refused a plea deal from the special counsel, released a draft of the plea document that outlined an email from Corsi to Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone alerting Stone that he had heard that WikiLeaks was set to release “very damaging” material on the Clinton campaign. The email relaying that information to Stone was dated Aug. 2, 2016. The following day, according to the Washington Post reported Wednesday, Stone spoke to Trump on the telephone.
“In an interview, Stone insisted that the topic of hacked emails was never broached in the Aug. 3 phone call—or in any other communication with Trump,” according to the Post. “It just didn’t come up,” Stone said. “I am able to say we never discussed WikiLeaks. I’m not sure what I would have said to him anyway because it’s all speculation . . . I just didn’t know if it’s true or not.” Stone’s call most certainly remains circumstantial evidence, but the circumstances seem to be closing in on Trump. The calls do not put Trump in the driver’s seat of the WikiLeaks releases by any stretch, but they certainly put him much closer to the action and potentially giving him knowledge of the looming release of more damaging emails.
For reference, here’s where that Aug. 3rd call fits into the timeline of the WikiLeaks releases.