Rachel Alexander is the WorldNetDaily columnist who’s pushing the conspiracy theory that corrupt Republican ex-Rep. Steve Stockman is the victim of the “deep state” and not, you know, his corruption. Now she’s trying to whitewash the crimes of another right-winger, claiming in her Nov. 18 column that sleazy Republican operative Roger Stone was merely “convicted of bragging”:
Stone was initially investigated for allegedly colluding with Russia to influence the election. But Robert Mueller’s investigation found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. So why is Stone facing time in prison? Why did Mueller get him indicted? Stone could face as many as 50 years of incarceration, a life sentence for someone his age, in his late 60s.
The crux of the prosecution’s case was that Stone colluded with Wikileaks and the Russians to obtain Clinton crony John Podesta’s emails. What actually happened was Stone exaggerated the significance of some tips he had gotten about getting the emails. He didn’t lie about his dealings with Wikileaks because he wasn’t in direct contact with the news source. Regardless, it has never been proven that the Russians stole Podesta’s emails, so there’s no proof of Russian involvement. And ultimately, Stone never was able to produce anything from Wikileaks to give to the Trump campaign. He was a grandstander, and anyone who knows anything about him would know that’s his character.
Actually, it’s been very much proven that the Russians stole the emails of Podesta and other Democratic officials. Also, Stone was not convicted for “bragging” but, rather, for lying to Congress and witness intimidation. Alexander downplayed that last charge too
Alexander concluded by complaining:
Stone will be sentenced Feb. 6. If the sentence is for more than a year, it will be drastically unfair. This isn’t a guy who has committed murder or rape. Six months would be more than enough to send a message.
The lesson learned is if you are a high-level Trump supporter, adviser, etc., you can expect the Deep State to come after you. The left is sending a message to Trump supporters to beware of helping him in 2020. Six Trump associates have now been convicted. And it’s easier to get a guilty verdict against a Trump associate in heavily Democratic D.C., where only 36% of voters chose Trump in 2016.
A second lesson is if you are going to be an associate of Trump, you need to lie low. The left goes after his more visible supporters. Rudy Giuliani, watch your back. They are already coming for you, and we know their success rate.
Apparently, not lying to Congress is not a lesson Alexander thinks should be learned here.