Trump's counselors lied again and again, Mueller says. The question is, why?

They Lied to the Public for Months Before Donald Trump Was Elected – Then At Several after taking office. 19659004] They lied to Congress as lawmakers sought to investigate the attack on US democracy by Russia in 2016.

And they lied to the FBI, even though they knew that lying was a crime.

Indictments and Advocacy Agreements Unveiled in Recent Years For 20 months, special advocate Robert S. Mueller III has repeatedly shown that some of President Trump's closest friends had lied about Russia and related issues.

On Friday, Mueller presented a new allegation: Trump's longtime confidant. Roger Stone lied to Congress by obstructing the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.

[Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone indicted by special counsel in Russia investigation]

Trump and his colleagues dismissed this series of misleading maneuvers as a video game little related to the quest Mueller case: if his campaign was a criminal plot with Russia.

Following Stone's indictment on Friday, Trump's lawyer, Rudol W. Giuliani, mocked, "Another case of misrepresentation? Almighty God.

But it is not clear if the special council shares this view. Although Mueller has not accused any American of criminal coordination with Russia, the lies carefully dispelled by his prosecutors for more than 20 months are not mere quarrels.

They documented various falsehoods committed by Trump advisers who masked the efforts of people in its orbit to develop.

The remaining question – both Mueller's team, who is working on a final investigation report, and the American people – explains why.

Did the men of the president lie? to protect an obscure secret still hidden on the campaign's interaction with Russia, engaging in a huge effort to obstruct the investigation – an investigation perhaps including Trump?

Did they lie to avoid harming Trump's victory by recognizing that Russia had played a role in his election?

Did they each lie for their own reasons, drawing inspiration from the president – who told many riddles, including the ab

The former campaign president of Mr. Trump , deputy campaign director, former national security advisor, personal advocate and foreign policy advisor were all accused of lying to investigators investigating Russia's activities.

In their new indictment against Stone, prosecutors said he had lied to Congress about his efforts to find out about WikiLeaks' plans in 2016 as the group was publishing Democratic emails allegedly stolen by Russian agents.

Stone falsely told Congress that he had never spoken of his efforts with the Trump campaign and had never asked for an intermediary. to communicate with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to Mueller's team.

[Roger Stone was in close contact with Trump campaign about WikiLeaks, indictment shows]

Stone denied the charges and promised to fight in court. "Perjury requires both materiality and intent," he told CNN late Friday. "There is not one."

"Second, where is Russian collusion?" Adda Stone. "Where is the WikiLeaks collaboration? Where is the proof that I received something from Wikileaks or Julian Assange and that I passed it on to Donald Trump or the Trump campaign? "

Trump himself echoed this message.

" The greatest witch hunt in the history of our country! NO COLLUSION! ", Tweeted the president after the arrest of Stone.

Legal experts noted that the alleged lies were important in themselves.

" Elected officials and government officials have always expressed their belief that & ## s They can simply say what they want in a high-profile investigation with impunity, "said Jacob S. Frenkel, a former lawyer at Dickinson Wright's private law firm.

Some Trump's friends confused their confusion. Assumed actions of Stone.

"If he had told the truth as alleged, there would have been no underlying crime," said Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax. "There would have been no crime.

The indictment on Stone provides new details that recall one of Mueller's central investigations: to try to determine if anyone on Trump's orbit was coordinating his activities with the Russia or WikiLeaks.

By filing, prosecutors are deploying the efforts of Stone and Trump campaigners to learn more about what WikiLeaks had in its cache in the summer of 2016 – actions that took place after Russia was accused of theft of emails from the Democratic Party June.

[Read the Roger Stone indictment]

Some analysts have noted, however, that Mueller's growing accusations do not address the issue of criminal coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"I think there is a theory in which you could include in such a plot, and I wonder why not," said Barbara McQuade, a former US lawyer. "Do not they think the evidence goes that far? Do they think this conduct does not constitute a plot to scam the US and that it is rather a dirty ploy? "

Steve Hall, who retired from the CIA in 2015 after 30 years of directing and managing operations in Russia, said the substance of the lies and the alleged misrepresentations documented by Mueller paint a general picture with serious implications.

"In my opinion, these lies – what was lied and in what condition they were told – contribute to the pattern of counterintelligence that began to manifest, indicating that Larger members of the Trump team are involved in relations with the Russians, "he said.

million. Hall said the country needed to step back from the political and even criminal discussions of everyone. Mueller indictment. "We have to look beyond people who get a parking ticket or even a few years in prison," he said. "What about the bigger picture? It was Russia, attacking the United States. "

The deception of Trump advisers who has led to guilty pleas to date has a common sense: it is largely about their interactions with Russia.

[Russians interacted with at least 14 Trump associates during the campaign and transition]

Michael Trump's longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about efforts to build a Trump real estate project in Moscow during the election campaign, at a time when the candidate Time, Trump, had claimed to have no commercial ties with Russia.

Cohen had also lied about asking for help for the lucrative project. from one of the closest advisers to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump had stated that no one in his orbit had had contact with the Russian government.

Former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, admitted to lying – first to Vice President Pence, then to the public and finally to the FBI – about to find out. he had spoken to him. a Russian envoy in December 2016 about the sanctions imposed by President Obama in retaliation for the Russian interference in his campaign.

This happened as investigators sought to understand why Russia, whose priority foreign policy objectives include the lifting of US sanctions, has fought so hard to help elect Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Foreign Policy Adviser George Papadopoulos admitted to lying about his contacts with a professor who warned him in April 2016 that thousands of Clinton emails had been sent to Russia.

Prosecutors said the former president of the Trump campaign was Paul. Manafort continued to lie even after pleading guilty to two conspiracy charges, including lying to the Department of Justice. His latest lies, they said, involved details of his campaign interactions with a Russian employee that the FBI had assessed related to Russian intelligence services.

Until Mueller finishes his investigation, the congressional Democrats will probably focus on the president himself and what he knew lies.

On Friday, the President's Representative, Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted: "Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, Rick Gates Michael Flynn. . . What did the president know and when did he know?

Some legal analysts said the charges did not appear to be a criminal case against the president.

The lie "certainly warns you of the possibility of some kind of obstructionist conspiracy," said James M. Trusty, former chief of organized crime at the Department of Justice, who now practices in a private practice at Ifrah Law. But, he added, "at the end of the day, it seems that people are making independent and individual choices, which puts them in hot water. I think that's the kind of thing the Mueller probe does not want to ignore. . . but the indictments themselves do not advance the case. "

The number of lies documented by the special advocate could also undermine Mueller's efforts to broaden the cause by impeding efforts to separate truth from fiction," said some long-time Trump associates.

"In Trump's world, everyone lies, everyone does not tell the truth, they all lie at the end of the day, I do not know how Mueller can believe anyone," said Louise Sunshine, a long-time leader of the organization Trump.

Trump's allies say the president knows that many people around him are not trustworthy – and thinks he can be the only one to be in charge. to use to his advantage if one of his former collaborators tried to take it to him.

He asked Giuliani and his other lawyers to question the credibility of anyone who l? attack, according to White House collaborators who have requested anonymity, describe private conversations. After Cohen, Trump's long-time personal attorney, pleaded guilty, the Twitter president called him "rat" who "invents stories".

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump advisor, said that he thought people around Trump had lied to investigators because they were trying to make sure their version of events was aligned with lies that the president was telling the American people.

"They all conspired," he said, "against themselves".