The Political Ramifications of the Roger Stone Arrest

on your campaign have any contact with Russia? And the denials were adamant. So it's it's with stories like this, with movements like this, that we have to go back and look at the narrative that they've been laying out over the last two years on this. Absolutely, but let's also be clear, take one step back here and say, still no evidence that President Trump was involved in this?

Right is talking about Trump campaign officials, etcetera. And number two, no indication yet that there was any direct contact with the Russians. That's Dan Abrams, legal analyst on ABC News, stepping in to rescue his co a legal analyst who did what people do all the time, and did it.

I are doing it on this story today. She that that woman there, she said we I asked the president directly, has anybody in your campaign had any contact with Russian And they said no, that's not what we're talking about today. We're talking about wiki leaks. He's being accused of talking to wiki leaks. You just conflated wiki leaks in Russia as if that's a given, and it's not. If it turns out to be, that's a story, but that's not known at this point. But even then, what kind of

story is the question? Sure? David Drucker cover as well. He covers everything that's important in the capital for the Washington Examinaries, the senior political correspondent, and joins us Now, David never dull moment, huh know, I uh, you know, I'm out west and I woke up and my phone was pulled up alerts and uh you know, here we go again with the story. Never does I want to

I want to glimpse into David Drucker's life. So you you wake up, you look at your phone like I did you see all the news bulletins that came across Roger Stone arrested. Did you sigh, did you get excited? Did you put your head in your hands? What was your reaction? In my reaction was is this going to get in the way of other stories I find more interesting? Even though this is this could be a very important story, good one. I mean, I think I think we're all

pretty much used to this at this point. Although I will say the story in and of itself, the indictmon of Stone, Um, the fact that we think the individual he was communicating with, the Steve Bannett, I think that's a pretty big deal. So the senior Trump official who told him, hey call Wickily allegedly, hey called wiki leaks and see what they got was the correct? Okay, all right? Fair enough? Um. And as always, the question that we try to ask to help clarify things for our listeners is,

you know, does this go to being rude? Does it go to being clearly unethical? Does it go to violating campaign laws? Does it go to committing felonies? You know, on cable news they try to whip it up that everything is a felony. But if Stone called wiki leaks and forget about the lying for now, because it's not clear to me why you would have liked. But if you called Wiki leaks and said, hey, we understand you've got some dirt. What kind of dirt you got? Was

that a crime? Well, I'm not a legal analyst, so I'm not going to tell you it is or is not a crime because I'm not exactly sure, and I think it's a little complicated. I do think the political ramifications could be serious, depending on what more comes out.

But I mean, let's think about this, right, somebody who is close to the Republican nominee for president, who is working on behalf of if not directly before the Republican nominee for president, is talking to foreign a foreign adversary of the United States, which Wiki leak is, and was it continues to be that, yes, we did, because Wiki leaks had already during the Obama administration leaked very sensitive materials, classified information that was very embarrassing and damaging to the

United States and its work around the world diplomatically and otherwise. And they they obtained the information basically illegally, and they used it simply to damage the United States. This is not like me having a whistleblower type source in the United States government. They bring the information. I set it. I talked to government officials about what this all means.

There's a purpose here. You know, I've uncovered you know, some wrongdoing or some you know, you're not being honest about North Korean missile sites and all this sort of the thing. This was just cables and information of a sensitive nature between our Secretary of State and other officials and foreign officials and made it harder for us to do business overseas. It damaged the United States. So that's

what Wiki leaks has always been about. And so Roger Stone is working with an adversary of the United States that might have obtained information from another adversary of the United States, and he's using it specifically to damage the Democratic nominee for president. Now, there's nothing wrong with using opposition research to damage the the opposition. We do all do that, I mean mean political operatives, both parties. Um,

there's nothing new and nothing wrong with doing it. I mean, you know, other than some people have the ethical problems with it, but it's perfectly within bound. But it's unusual, to say the least, to take information that may have been illegally obtained from a foreign entity and with and then use that wield that against the opposition, especially when when adversaries don't you know, it's not about you know, winning an election, it's about damaging the United States from

the point of view. Wiki leaks, yeah, and putin if he was involved. David Drucker of the Washington New Saminar is on the line. I've just been trying to figure out this out. So if People Magazine, if if they found out People Magazine had some dirt on Hillary Clinton, and Bannon told Roger Stone, Hey, you know the guy overt People Magazine, call him up and say, say, what's the dirt and when you're going to release it? The difference is People Magazine is not a hostile actor, correct,

And People Magazine wouldn't say. I mean, I get calls all the time from you know, political operatives. What do you have on my opponent? Am I going to tell you what I have? Unless I need you to comment on this? When are you going to release it? Well, I'm not a member of your campaign. I'm not going to strategically coordinate with you to defeat your opponent. You'll see what I've got when I publish it. If I

need your comment, because that's part of my job. As a journalist, I will call you say I have information. I want you to comment. That's how this works. I will also give my the subject I'm writing about an opportunity to comment. Well, let you, trusting my question would have what's it working? It's not journalism. I just want to make that clear. Look was not to journalism, right right? Fair enough? So, but again it goes, is that just unusual?

Is it unethical? Is it illegal? Or what? So? I very unethical and possibly illegal, but I do not know, and so I do not want to give you information that could be wrong. Fair enough, Yeah, absolutely so, just out of curiosity. What we're what's a story you do? You have a great deal of enthusiasm for today that you'd really I'm not gonna in my world, it's fun, but I'm not gonna tell you just in case. You know, Roger Stone is listening from jail and then tells my

competitors and then they beat me to it. Also, it's lurks here, but I will alert you guys next week. So you're working on a story that you think is bigger than there's Roger Stone thing, Well, that's worth paying attention to. I said, it's more important to me. It's more fun for me. Okay, I'm in this. I'm in

this for myself. Is it? Is it? Kamala Harris uh being an item with Willie Brown back in the day, will I am willing to stipulate that I am not writing about the personal life of any Democratic presidential Canada, at least not at the moment. Fair enough. David Drucker The Washington I'm struck by the fact that CNN had cameras at Roger Stone's house. Did the FBI leaked to CNN, Hey,

We're going in get your cameras there. Kate Bennet of CNN and tweeted that the report one of the reporters they have monitoring covering the Muller investigation noticed, uh, some activity at the courthouse or that got the brand jury or something yesterday and just kind of inkling and decided

to jet down to Florida. And I will say, the CNN has a very, very being reporting staff and a lot of good reporters, And it totally strikes me if you're covering this every single day and this is your job, that these sorts of things sometimes do strike you, and you you do these sorts of things so it's not necessarily um on you you know crazy that um a, look, border had a good feeling it was in the right place at the right time. Okay, all right. David Drucker,

senior political correspondent in Washington Examiner. Thanks, David, good to talk to you. Good luck on that big expose you're working on. Then the you know the thing. So, I think Julian Assange is an enemy of the United States. I've thought that for a long time, yes, but all of the media hasn't thought that for a long time. No. Indeed, when when, when he was exposing various things that a lot of the left leaning media doesn't like exactly, he was a hero there for a while, truth seeker right,

helping out poor Bradley Manning for instance. Yeah, yeah, well yeah, place James Comey made the points so beautifully that if you're helping him, helping out the left and their media, you're a hero. And if you're hurting him, you're a villain who every motive must be questioned, and if it changes next week, you're a hero again. So I just yeah, yeah, but yeah, Wiki Leaks is obviously an anti American organization. Yeah,

but they're not. They're not. Are they on a list somewhere as a I don't know, that's an interesting respversary or something. Yeah, I don't. I will tell you this. I will repeat this since it's really in the nutgraph, as we say in the news business, it's the beginning of what you ought to know. Roger Stone was indicted only for lying and allegedly tampering with a witness, not for anything to do with hacking or talking to wiki leaks or reporting that John Podesto is an ass or

you know, or any of that. Just lying, okay, And you'd think if they were going to go to his house and somebody, at least somebody local tiptop CNN. I'm sorry. I love David, but I do not buy that it was just a dogged reporting. Wait a minute, there's a lot of action at the courthouse in d C. I wonder if they're going down to Fort Lauderdale. Let let's pond thousands of dollars to send a CNN crew down to Florida. Well, I have a feeling they have a

stringer who just watches Roger Stone's house. Um, you know, because they are such an avowidly anti Trump network. But anyway, it wasn't. What was I gonna say? Oh, as long as the FBI and the Justice Department went to the trouble of gearing up and and pounding out his door and dragging him out of bed and his you know, his uh, his T shirt and thong that he sleeps in. Um, you'd think that go ahead and indict him for whatever else was illegal while they were there. Um. So it

could be it's just lying where this ends. Nobody knows. Hey, I'm exhausted by it, but he saw the hell done wells Fargo is waving fees for furload federal workers trying to get a good little pressed. We haven't forgotten. Well, yeah, nicely to do that. Glad you're doing it. Nice thing to do. You're you're still a criminal organization in my opinion.

If you wave those fees for the next seventy five years, maybe that would equal the fees on various accounts for cards that I never have to have open for awesome our text line four nine five k f TC. You're listening to the Armstrong and Getty show, I'm strong and get good conscience. When you're ready to ride metro, we want you to know we're ready for you. Here are just a few of the people at Metro to tell you how we're doing our part to keep riders safe.

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