This morning, long time Trump confidante and adviser Roger Stone will testify before the House Intelligence Committee about his role in the Trump-Russia scandal. From his history with disgraced former campaign chairman and FBI target Paul Manafort to his multiple timely predictions about when Russian hackers were going to strike, here’s what you need to know about the many ways Stone fits into the Trump web of collusion.
1. Roger Stone’s relationship with Paul Manafort goes back four decades. In 1977 Manafort managed Stone’s campaign for Young Republican National Federation Chair and the two started a lobbying firm together in 1981.
2. Roger Stone was caught on tape admitting he communicated with Julian Assange during the campaign and predicted an “October Surprise.” Asked about his prediction for an “October Surprise,” Stone said, “Well, it could be any number of things. I actually have communicated with Assange. I believe the next tranche of his documents pertain to the Clinton Foundation but there’s no telling what the October surprise may be.”
3. Roger Stone communicated with hacker Guccifer 2.0, a front for Russian intelligence, during the campaign. Stone exchanged
4. Roger Stone predicted Julian Assange had a “payload coming” three days before Wikileaks released John Podesta’s emails. On October 4, Stonetweeted “Roger Stone tweeted “Libs thinking Assange will stand down are wishful thinking. Payload coming.” Wikileaks released the first batch of Podesta’s stolen emails on October 7.
5. Roger Stone publicly defended Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey and Trump thanked him. Trump called Stone on May 11, two days after he fired Comey, to say Stone was doing a “good job.”
For more information check out the complete Trump-Russia timeline.