177-470: Roger Jason Stone (born Roger Joseph Stone Jr. ; August 27, 1952) is an American political assistant and lobbyist. He is most well known for the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation , and his involvement with and connections to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as a political consultant for the 2016 campaign of 45th, and 47th U.S. president Donald Trump . Since
354-506: A Libertarian candidate for governor of Florida in 2014 , but in May 2013, he said in a statement that he would not run, and that he wanted to devote himself to campaigning in support of the 2014 Florida Amendment 2 referendum legalizing medical cannabis . Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Mueller special counsel investigation The Robert Mueller special counsel investigation
531-583: A criminal investigation that looked into potential conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges against Trump and members of his campaign or his administration. The investigation concluded in March 2019. The report concluded that the Russian Internet Research Agency 's social media campaign supported Trump's presidential candidacy while attacking Clinton's, and Russian intelligence hacked and released damaging material from
708-471: A dossier on each of the 800 delegates that gathered, which they called "whip books". Stone met Donald Trump in 1979, introduced by Trump attorney and mentor Roy Cohn . Stone was the New York regional political director seeking to raise money for the 1980 Reagan campaign , of which Trump joined the finance committee. Stone said Trump directed him to visit his father, Fred Trump , who gave him $ 200,000 for
885-624: A madam linked with the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, in her bid for the Libertarian Party nomination for governor of New York in the 2010 election . Stone said that the campaign "is not a hoax, a prank or a publicity stunt. I want to get her a half-million votes." However, he later was spotted at a campaign rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino , of whom Stone has spoken favorably. Stone admittedly had been providing support and advice to both campaigns on
1062-537: A " playboy ", describing his performance in the Senate and the House as "pathetic" on another occasion, saying that he was "smart enough, but he doesn't like the grunt work". Author John T. Shaw acknowledges that while his Senate career is not associated with acts of "historic statesmanship" or "novel political thought," Kennedy made modest contributions as a legislator, drafting more than 300 bills to assist Massachusetts and
1239-534: A "Libertarian moment" in 2016 and the end of the Republican party. In June 2012, Stone said that he was running a super PAC in support of former New Mexico governor and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson , whom he had met at a Reason magazine Christmas party two years earlier. Stone told The Huffington Post that Johnson had a real role to play, although "I have no allusions [ sic ] of him winning." Stone considered running as
1416-538: A Bachelor of Arts in government, concentrating on international affairs . That fall, he enrolled at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and audited classes, but he left after a semester to help his father complete his memoirs as an American ambassador. In early 1941, Kennedy toured South America. Kennedy planned to attend Yale Law School , but canceled when American entry into World War II seemed imminent. In 1940, Kennedy attempted to enter
1593-420: A badly burned crewman to the island with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth. From there, Kennedy and his subordinate, Ensign George Ross, made forays through the coral islands, searching for help. When they encountered an English-speaking native with a canoe, Kennedy carved his location on a coconut shell and requested a boat rescue. Seven days after the collision, with the coconut message delivered,
1770-546: A child and a volunteer in Goldwater's 1964 campaign . In 2007, Stone indicated he was a staunch conservative but with libertarian leanings. As a student at George Washington University in 1972, Stone invited Jeb Stuart Magruder to speak at a Young Republicans Club meeting, then asked Magruder for a job with Richard Nixon 's Committee to Re-elect the President . Magruder agreed and Stone then left college to work for
1947-470: A conclusion about possible obstruction of justice by Trump , citing a Justice Department guideline that prohibits the federal indictment of a sitting president. However, Attorney General William Barr pointed to ten episodes of potential obstruction. The investigation was created by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein . Former FBI director Mueller was chosen to lead due to a shortage of senate-confirmed U.S. attorneys . The dismissal of James Comey
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#17327983762892124-530: A conspiracy between the campaign and Russians" and "Mueller did not charge or suggest charges for [...] whether the Trump campaign worked with the Russians to influence the election". The investigation was, however, more complex. On May 29, 2019, in a press conference, Mueller stated that "If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that. We did not, however, make
2301-487: A counterattack." Stone first suggested Trump run for president in early 1998 while he was Trump's casino business lobbyist in Washington. Stone officially left the Trump campaign on August 8, 2015. In 2018, two associates of Stone alleged that Stone claimed to have had contact with Julian Assange during the 2016 presidential campaign. In response, Assange told The Washington Post that he had not met with Stone in
2478-560: A deal with Mueller's team to be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before the grand jury. On February 15, 2018, multiple sources reported that those interviews had taken place over several days that week. TMZ reported that Kristin M. Davis , the "Manhattan Madam" who had previously worked for Roger Stone, was subpoenaed in June 2018. On August 10, 2018, federal judge Beryl A. Howell found Stone's former aide Andrew Miller to be in contempt of court for refusing to testify before
2655-535: A determination as to whether the president did commit a crime... A president cannot be charged with a federal crime while he is in office. That is unconstitutional. Even if the charge is kept under seal and hidden from public view – that too is prohibited." John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK , was the 35th president of the United States , serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He
2832-461: A four-page letter of the report to Congress, describing the conclusions on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and obstruction of justice. Barr said the report would be delivered to Congress by mid-April, with some redactions of any information that would "potentially compromise sources and methods" or "unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties". A two-volume redacted version of
3009-482: A group entitled "People for a Safer New York" to send a flyer labeling Redlich a "sexual predator" and "sick, twisted pervert" on the basis of a blog post Redlich had made in 2008. Redlich later sued Stone in a New York court for defamation over the flyers, and sought $ 20 million in damages. However, the jury in the case returned a verdict in favor of Stone in December 2017, finding that Redlich failed to prove Stone
3186-925: A group of Russian hackers referred to as Viktor Netyksho, et al. On March 16, 2020, the US government dropped the charges against Prigozhin-owned companies Concord Management and Consulting and Concord Catering. Following the guilty plea of Michael Cohen for lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee, ranking member Mark Warner stated the committee had made multiple criminal referrals of individuals to Mueller and continues to examine witness testimonies for other false statements. The Democrat-controlled House Intelligence Committee voted in February 2019 to refer dozens of witness testimony transcripts and thousands of other documents to Mueller's office. Committee Republicans had blocked Democrat efforts to release
3363-464: A host of high-powered corporate clients, including Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation , The Tobacco Institute and, starting in the early 1980s, Donald Trump. In 1987 and 1988, Stone served as senior adviser to Jack Kemp 's presidential campaign, which was managed by consulting partner Charlie Black. In that same election, his other partners worked for George H. W. Bush (Lee Atwater as campaign manager, and Paul Manafort as director of operations in
3540-508: A philanthropist and socialite. His paternal grandfather, P. J. Kennedy , was an East Boston ward boss and Massachusetts state legislator . Kennedy's maternal grandfather and namesake, John F. Fitzgerald , was a U.S. congressman and two-term mayor of Boston . All four of his grandparents were children of Irish immigrants. Kennedy had an older brother, Joseph Jr. , and seven younger siblings: Rosemary , Kathleen , Eunice , Patricia , Robert , Jean , and Ted . Kennedy's father amassed
3717-402: A political influence scheme on social media. On January 25, 2019, Stone was arrested at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida , home in connection with Robert Mueller 's Special Counsel investigation and charged in an indictment with witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding , and five counts of making false statements. In November 2019, a jury convicted him on all seven felony counts. He
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#17327983762893894-537: A politician, and at that time he suffered from extreme shyness. Kennedy found "most of his fellow congressmen boring, preoccupied as they all seemed to be with their narrow political concerns." The arcane House rules and customs, which slowed legislation, exasperated him. Kennedy served in the House for six years, joining the influential Education and Labor Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee . He concentrated his attention on international affairs, supporting
4071-484: A preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut . Rose had wanted John and Joe Jr. to attend a Catholic school , but Joe Sr. thought that if they were to compete in the political world, they needed to be with boys from prominent Protestant families. John spent his first years at Choate in his older brother's shadow and compensated with rebellious behavior that attracted a clique. Their most notorious stunt
4248-471: A private detective agency that traced the call to the phone of Roger Stone's wife. Roger Stone denied leaving the message, despite the fact that his voice was recognized, claiming he was at a movie that was later shown not to have been screened that night. Stone was accused on an episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews on August 22, 2007, of being the voice on an expletive-laden voicemail threatening Bernard Spitzer, father of Eliot, with subpoenas. Donald Trump
4425-414: A private fortune and established trust funds for his nine children that guaranteed lifelong financial independence. His business kept him away from home for long stretches, but Joe Sr. was a formidable presence in his children's lives. He encouraged them to be ambitious, emphasized political discussions at the dinner table, and demanded a high level of academic achievement. John's first exposure to politics
4602-457: A process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing." In July 2019, Mueller testified to Congress that a president could be charged with obstruction of justice, or other crimes, after he left office. The first public US government assertion of Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election came in a joint statement on September 22, 2016, by Senator Dianne Feinstein and House member Adam Schiff ,
4779-609: A reporter. He said he gave additional reasons such as Trump's multiple depictions of the investigation into Trump associates and Russia as a "witch hunt", as well as Trump allegedly telling Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to mention the Russia probe in Rosenstein's memo to recommend firing Comey, and Trump's comments to the Russian ambassador and NBC relating Comey's firing to the Russia probe. A special counsel investigation
4956-458: A result of the first debate. The debates are now considered a milestone in American political history—the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role. Kennedy's campaign gained momentum after the first debate, and he pulled slightly ahead of Nixon in most polls. On Election Day, Kennedy defeated Nixon in one of the closest presidential elections of the 20th century. In
5133-469: A senator "the most corrupting job in the world." He complained that they were all too quick to cut deals and please campaign contributors to ensure their political futures. Kennedy, with the luxury of a rich father who could finance his campaigns, could remain independent of any special interest, except for those in his home state of Massachusetts that could align against his reelection. According to Robert Caro , Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson viewed Kennedy as
5310-422: A series of televised debates . An estimated 70 million Americans, about two-thirds of the electorate, watched the first debate on September 26. Kennedy had met the day before with the producer to discuss the set design and camera placement. Nixon, just out of the hospital after a painful knee injury, did not take advantage of this opportunity and during the debate looked at the reporters asking questions and not at
5487-416: A series of " teas " at hotels and parlors across Massachusetts to reach out to women voters. In the presidential election, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower carried Massachusetts by 208,000 votes, but Kennedy narrowly defeated Lodge by 70,000 votes for the Senate seat. The following year, he married Jacqueline Bouvier . Kennedy underwent several spinal operations over the next two years. Often absent from
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5664-583: A sizable Black population, Kennedy was not particularly sensitive to the problems of African Americans. Robert Kennedy later reflected, "We weren't thinking of the Negroes of Mississippi or Alabama—what should be done for them. We were thinking of what needed to be done in Massachusetts." Most historians and political scientists who have written about Kennedy refer to his U.S. Senate years as an interlude. According to Robert Dallek , Kennedy called being
5841-590: A spy in the Humphrey campaign who became Humphrey's driver. According to Stone, during the day he was officially a scheduler in the Nixon campaign, but "By night, I'm trafficking in the black arts. Nixon's people were obsessed with intelligence." Stone maintains he never did anything illegal during the Watergate scandal . The Richard Nixon Foundation later clarified that Stone had been a 20-year-old junior scheduler on
6018-597: A subject in the investigation due to his role in the dismissal of Comey. The special counsel appointment on May 17, 2017, came after protests, mostly from Democrats, over President Trump firing the FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017. In Congress, in reaction to Comey's firing, over 130 Democratic lawmakers called for a special counsel to be appointed, over 80 Democratic lawmakers called for an independent investigation, while over 40 Republican lawmakers expressed questions or concerns. Complicating
6195-568: A subject of investigation; other topics; and the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. A cost–benefit analysis of the investigation shows a net benefit for the government, with far more income than expenses. By December 2018, the investigation had cost approximately $ 32 million but gained approximately $ 48 million. More than half of the cost of the investigation was for personnel compensation and benefits. The gains were accrued primarily by uncovering unpaid taxes by targets in
6372-616: A top adviser at the time to Joseph Bruno (the Majority Leader of the New York State Senate ), was forced to resign by Bruno after allegations that Stone had threatened Bernard Spitzer , the then-83-year-old father of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer . On August 6, 2007, an expletive-laced message was left on the elder Spitzer's answering machine threatening to prosecute the elderly man if he did not implicate his son in wrongdoing. Bernard Spitzer hired
6549-644: A village on Cape Cod , where they swam, sailed, and played touch football. Christmas and Easter holidays were spent at their winter retreat in Palm Beach, Florida . In September 1930, Kennedy, 13 years old, was sent to the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut , for 8th grade. In April 1931, he had an appendectomy , after which he withdrew from Canterbury and recuperated at home. In September 1931, Kennedy started attending Choate ,
6726-660: Is featured in Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story , documentary on Lee Atwater made in 2008. He also was featured in Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer , the 2010 documentary of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal . Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg considers Stone his mentor during this time, and "surrogate father". In February 2010, Stone became campaign manager for Kristin Davis ,
6903-564: Is found. The Washingtonian grand jury is separate from an earlier Virginian grand jury investigating Michael Flynn; the Flynn case has been absorbed into Mueller's overall investigation. The grand jury has issued subpoenas to those involved in the Trump Tower meeting held on June 9, 2016, at Trump Tower, which was also the location of Trump's presidential campaign headquarters. NBC News reported on August 25, 2017, that "in recent days"
7080-436: Is often claimed that television viewers overwhelmingly believed Kennedy, appearing to be the more attractive of the two, had won, while radio listeners (a smaller audience) thought Nixon had defeated him. However, only one poll split TV and radio voters like this and the methodology was poor. Pollster Elmo Roper concluded that the debates raised interest, boosted turnout, and gave Kennedy an extra two million votes, mostly as
7257-561: Is quoted as saying of the incident, "They caught Roger red-handed, lying. What he did was ridiculous and stupid." Stone consistently denied the reports. Thereafter, however, he resigned from his position as a consultant to the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee at Bruno's request. In January 2008, Stone founded Citizens United Not Timid, an anti- Hillary Clinton 527 group with an intentionally obscene acronym . Stone
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7434-454: Is subject to oversight by the attorney general. After questions arose regarding contacts between then-senator Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in 2016, one of the first things Sessions did after being appointed attorney general, was to recuse himself from any Justice Department investigations regarding Russian interference in the election. Once Attorney General Sessions recused, oversight of any Russia investigation into
7611-572: Is then required to provide a summary of the findings to Congress, although he has considerable discretion in how much detail he provides. The full release of the Mueller findings to Congress and the public is not assured. Should Congress be dissatisfied with the summary it is provided, it could subpoena Mueller's full report, and, if necessary, sue in federal court. Congress could also call Mueller to testify. White House attorneys expect to preview whatever findings Barr decides to provide to Congress and
7788-719: The 1953 Worcester tornado ), except on certain occasions when the national interest was at stake. In 1954, Kennedy voted in favor of the Saint Lawrence Seaway which would connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, despite opposition from Massachusetts politicians who argued that the project would hurt the Port of Boston economically. In 1954, when the Senate voted to condemn Joseph McCarthy for breaking Senate rules and abusing an Army general, Kennedy
7965-420: The 1960 presidential election , he broke into politics to further John F. Kennedy 's presidential campaign : "I remember going through the cafeteria line and telling every kid that Nixon was in favor of school on Saturdays ... It was my first political trick." When he was a junior and vice president of student government at John Jay High School in northern Westchester County, New York , he manipulated
8142-858: The American embassy in London , where his father was serving as President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's ambassador to the Court of St. James's . The following year, Kennedy traveled throughout Europe, the Soviet Union , the Balkans , and the Middle East in preparation for his Harvard senior honors thesis. He then went to Berlin, where a U.S. diplomatic representative gave him a secret message about war breaking out soon to pass on to his father, and to Czechoslovakia before returning to London on September 1, 1939,
8319-530: The Boston Council from 1946 to 1955 as district vice chairman, member of the executive board, vice-president, and National Council Representative. To appeal to the large Italian-American voting bloc in Massachusetts, Kennedy delivered a speech in November 1947 supporting a $ 227 million aid package to Italy. He maintained that Italy was in danger from an "onslaught of the communist minority" and that
8496-526: The Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organizations. The investigation "identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign", and determined that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit electorally" from Russian hacking efforts. However, ultimately "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities". Mueller said
8673-499: The Democratic presidential nomination . Though some questioned Kennedy's age and experience, his charisma and eloquence earned him numerous supporters. Kennedy faced several potential challengers, including Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson II , and Senator Hubert Humphrey . Kennedy traveled extensively to build his support. His campaign strategy was to win several primaries to demonstrate his electability to
8850-499: The FBI Andrew McCabe claimed Rosenstein did not want to write the recommendation to fire Comey, and only did so because Trump ordered him to. The New York Times reported on January 11, 2019, that FBI counterintelligence grew concerned about Trump's ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign but held off opening an investigation because of uncertainty about how to proceed on such a sensitive matter. Trump's behavior during
9027-664: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and numerous secretive links between Trump associates and Russian officials . According to reports, Australian officials informed American officials that in May 2016, a Trump presidential campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos , told the Australian High Commissioner to Britain , Alexander Downer , that Russian officials were in possession of politically damaging information relating to Hillary Clinton ,
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#17327983762899204-473: The Fish and Wildlife Service budget, modernizing reserve-fleet vessels , tax incentives to prevent further business relocations, and the development of hydroelectric and nuclear power in Massachusetts. Kennedy's suggestions for stimulating the region's economy appealed to both parties by offering benefits to business and labor, and promising to serve national defense. Congress would eventually enact most of
9381-653: The National Conservative Political Action Committee , a New Right organization that helped to pioneer independent expenditure political advertising. In the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries , he worked in Ronald Reagan 's campaign for U.S. President . In 1977, at age 24, Stone won the presidency of the Young Republicans in a campaign managed by his friend Paul Manafort ; they had compiled
9558-569: The National Defense Education Act in 1959 to eliminate the requirement that aid recipients sign a loyalty oath and provide supporting affidavits. Kennedy cast a procedural vote against President Eisenhower's bill for the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and this was considered by some to be an appeasement of Southern Democratic opponents of the bill. Kennedy did vote for Title III of the act, which would have given
9735-864: The Naval Reserve Officer Training School in Chicago and at the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island . His first command was PT-101 from December 7, 1942, until February 23, 1943. Unhappy to be assigned to the Panama Canal , far from the fighting, Kennedy appealed to Massachusetts senator David Walsh , who arranged for him to be assigned to the South Pacific . In April 1943, Kennedy
9912-549: The PT-109 crew were rescued. Almost immediately, the PT-109 rescue became a highly publicized event. The story was chronicled by John Hersey in The New Yorker in 1944 (decades later it was the basis of a successful film ). It followed Kennedy into politics and provided a strong foundation for his appeal as a leader. Hersey portrayed Kennedy as a modest, self-deprecating hero. For his courage and leadership, Kennedy
10089-620: The Truman Doctrine as the appropriate response to the emerging Cold War . He also supported public housing and opposed the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 , which restricted the power of labor unions. Though not as vocally anti-communist as Joseph McCarthy , Kennedy supported the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 , which required communists to register with the government, and he deplored
10266-527: The Trump Tower meeting was neither improper nor evidence of collusion. The New York Times reported that White House aides and other people close to Trump anticipated that Whitaker would "rein in" the investigation. Whitaker, a vocal Trump supporter, had publicly criticized the Mueller investigation on several occasions before joining the Justice Department in September 2017, asserting it
10443-487: The U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate , serving as the junior senator for Massachusetts from 1953 to 1960. While in the Senate, Kennedy published his book, Profiles in Courage , which won a Pulitzer Prize . Kennedy ran in the 1960 presidential election . His campaign gained momentum after the first televised presidential debates in American history, and he
10620-505: The U.S. Naval Reserve the following year. During World War II , he commanded PT boats in the Pacific theater . Kennedy's survival following the sinking of PT-109 and his rescue of his fellow sailors made him a war hero and earned the Navy and Marine Corps Medal , but left him with serious injuries. After a brief stint in journalism, Kennedy represented a working-class Boston district in
10797-535: The party bosses , who controlled most of the delegates, and to prove to his detractors that a Catholic could win popular support. Victories over Senator Humphrey in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries gave Kennedy momentum as he moved on to the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. When Kennedy entered the convention, he had the most delegates, but not enough to ensure that he would win
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#173279837628910974-583: The " loss of China ." During a speech in Salem, Massachusetts on January 30, 1949, Kennedy denounced Truman and the State Department for contributing to the "tragic story of China whose freedom we once fought to preserve. What our young men had saved [in World War II], our diplomats and our President have frittered away." Having served as a boy scout during his childhood, Kennedy was active in
11151-779: The 17 team members were indeed Democrats (the rest unaffiliated to either of the two major parties), Mueller is a registered Republican, and choosing to hire or not hire career attorneys on the basis of political affiliation is contrary to both Justice Department policy and federal law. As the Mueller investigation progressed, Trump repeatedly expressed anger over Attorney General Sessions' decision to recuse. In July 2017, Trump said that Sessions should have informed him about Sessions' impending recusal before Trump even nominated him, then Trump would have nominated someone else for attorney general. In May 2018, Trump said that he wished that he had nominated someone other than Sessions for Attorney General. In August 2018, Trump declared that Sessions' job
11328-408: The 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon , Ronald Reagan , Jack Kemp , Bob Dole , George W. Bush , and Trump. In addition to frequently serving as a campaign adviser, Stone was a political lobbyist. In 1980, he co-founded a Washington, D.C.–based lobbying firm with Paul Manafort and Charles R. Black Jr. The firm recruited Peter G. Kelly and
11505-474: The 1990s, Stone and Manafort sold their business. Although their careers went in different directions, their relationship remained close. Stone married his first wife Anne Elizabeth Wesche in 1974. Using the name Ann E.W. Stone, she founded the group Republicans for Choice in 1989. They divorced in 1990. In 1995, Stone was the president of Republican Senator Arlen Specter 's campaign for the 1996 Republican Party presidential primaries . Specter withdrew early in
11682-595: The 2004 general election, Stone was accused by then- DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe of forging the Killian memos that led CBS News to report that President Bush had not fulfilled his service obligations while enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard . McAuliffe cited a report in the New York Post in his accusations. For his part, Stone denied having forged the documents. In 2007, Stone,
11859-771: The 2016 US election and his involvement with WikiLeaks. In the charging document, prosecutors alleged that, after the first Wikileaks release of hacked DNC emails in July 2016, "a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton Campaign. Stone thereafter told the Trump Campaign about potential future releases of damaging material by [WikiLeaks]." The indictment also alleged that Stone had discussed Wikileaks releases with multiple senior Trump campaign officials. By
12036-554: The 2016 election fell to the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , a Trump appointee. As part of his oversight, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel in May 2017 with the mandate "to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters". Rosenstein has said he would recuse himself from supervision of Mueller if he himself were to become
12213-466: The Attorney General powers to enjoin, but Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to let the provision die as a compromise measure. Kennedy also voted for the "Jury Trial Amendment." Many civil rights advocates criticized that vote as one which would weaken the act. A final compromise bill, which Kennedy supported, was passed in September 1957. As a senator from Massachusetts, which lacked
12390-473: The Democratic Party's chances of winning the election. Sharpton denies that Stone had any influence over his campaign. In that election a blogger accused Stone of responsibility for the Kerry – Specter campaign materials which were circulated in Pennsylvania. Such signs were considered controversial because they were seen as an effort to get Democrats who supported Kerry to vote for then Republican Senator Arlen Specter in heavily Democratic Philadelphia. During
12567-449: The Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12: "I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party candidate for president who also happens to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters—and the Church does not speak for me." He promised to respect the separation of church and state , and not to allow Catholic officials to dictate public policy. The Kennedy and Nixon campaigns agreed to
12744-802: The McClellan Committee) with his brother Robert, who was chief counsel, to investigate racketeering in labor-management relations. The hearings attracted extensive radio and television coverage where the Kennedy brothers engaged in dramatic arguments with controversial labor leaders, including Jimmy Hoffa , of the Teamsters Union . The following year, Kennedy introduced a bill to prevent the expenditure of union dues for improper purposes or private gain; to forbid loans from union funds for illicit transactions; and to compel audits of unions, which would ensure against false financial reports. It
12921-494: The Mueller investigation from Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. Previously in August 2017, one month prior to joining the Justice Department as Sessions' chief of staff, Whitaker wrote an opinion column for CNN titled "Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far". He stated that Mueller's investigation is a "lynch mob", that it should be limited and should not probe into Trump's finances. Whitaker also argued in 2017 that
13098-416: The Mueller report. On February 14, 2019, Barr was sworn in as attorney general after the Senate approved his appointment by a 54–45 vote that day, thus gaining oversight of the Mueller investigation from Whitaker. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein authorized Robert Mueller to investigate and prosecute "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with
13275-556: The New England region (some of which became law). In 1958 , Kennedy was re-elected to the Senate, defeating his Republican opponent, Boston lawyer Vincent J. Celeste, with 73.6 percent of the vote, the largest winning margin in the history of Massachusetts politics. In the aftermath of his re-election, Kennedy began preparing to run for president by traveling throughout the U.S. with the aim of building his candidacy for 1960. On January 2, 1960, Kennedy announced his candidacy for
13452-484: The Pacific. He oversaw a professional advertising campaign that ensured ads went up in just the right places the campaign had a virtual monopoly on [Boston] subway space, and on window stickers ("Kennedy for Congress") for cars and homes and was the force behind the mass mailing of Hersey's PT-109 article. Though Republicans took control of the House in the 1946 elections , Kennedy defeated his Republican opponent in
13629-512: The President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations". The report states that Congress can decide whether Trump obstructed justice, and has the authority to take action against him. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, decided on March 24, 2019, that the evidence was insufficient to establish a finding Trump committed obstruction of justice. Upon his resignation in May 2019, Mueller stated, "The Constitution requires
13806-462: The Reagan campaign. Stone recalled in 2017 that he and Donald Trump "hit it off immediately." Stone went on to serve as chief strategist for Thomas Kean 's campaign for Governor of New Jersey in 1981 and for his reelection campaign in 1985 . Stone, the "keeper of the Nixon flame", was an adviser to the former President in his post-presidential years, serving as "Nixon's man in Washington". Stone
13983-425: The Russian government’s 2016 election interference. Though there was insufficient evidence of a criminal conspiracy, members of the campaign were indicted, including national security advisor Michael Flynn and the chair of the Trump presidential campaign, Paul Manafort . The investigation resulted in charges against 34 individuals and 3 companies, 8 guilty pleas, and a conviction at trial. The report did not reach
14160-517: The Senate in 1952 against Republican three-term incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. with the campaign slogan "KENNEDY WILL DO MORE FOR MASSACHUSETTS". Joe Sr. again financed his son's candidacy (persuading the Boston Post to switch its support to Kennedy by promising the publisher a $ 500,000 loan), while John's younger brother Robert emerged as campaign manager. Kennedy's mother and sisters contributed as highly effective canvassers by hosting
14337-564: The Senate, he was at times critically ill and received Catholic last rites . During his convalescence in 1956, he published Profiles in Courage , a book about U.S. senators who risked their careers for their personal beliefs, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957. Rumors that this work was ghostwritten by his close adviser and speechwriter , Ted Sorensen , were confirmed in Sorensen's 2008 autobiography. At
14514-652: The South, and blamed the right-to-work provision for giving the South an unfair advantage over Massachusetts in labor costs. In May 1953, Kennedy introduced "The Economic Problems of New England", a 36-point program to help Massachusetts industries such as fishing , textile manufacturing , watchmaking , and shipbuilding , as well as the Boston seaport. Kennedy's policy agenda included protective tariffs , preventing excessive speculation in raw wool, stronger efforts to research and market American fish products, an increase in
14691-519: The Special Counsel's approach to potential obstruction of justice by Trump was "fatally misconceived" and that, based on his knowledge, Trump's actions were within his presidential authority. In June 2017, Barr had characterized the obstruction investigation as "asinine" and that it was "taking on the look of an entirely political operation to overthrow the president". Trump stated in a February 2019 interview that he had not committed to releasing
14868-529: The US democratic process". It is alleged that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election by bolstering the candidacies of Trump, Bernie Sanders , and Jill Stein in order to increase political instability in the United States as well as to damage the Clinton presidential campaign . When the special counsel was appointed by Rod Rosenstein in May 2017, the special counsel took over an existing counterintelligence investigation by
15045-667: The Warrior River at Choiseul Island , taking ten marines aboard and delivering them to safety. Under doctor's orders, Kennedy was relieved of his command on November 18, and sent to the hospital on Tulagi. By December 1943, with his health deteriorating, Kennedy left the Pacific front and arrived in San Francisco in early January 1944. After receiving treatment for his back injury at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Massachusetts from May to December 1944, he
15222-614: The White House, and a team representing Trump personally, including Jay Sekulow , Andrew Ekonomou , Rudy Giuliani , the Raskin & Raskin law firm, and Joanna Hendon . Former members of the defense team include white-collar crimes expert John Dowd and Ty Cobb representing the office of the presidency. Mueller's legal team was consistently attacked as biased against President Trump, who once referred to this team as "The 13 Angry Democrats". According to Politifact, while 13 of
15399-626: The ads were authentic. In the 2000 presidential election , Stone served as the campaign manager for Donald Trump's aborted campaign for President in the 2000 Reform Party presidential primaries . Investigative journalist Wayne Barrett accused Stone of persuading Trump to publicly consider a run for the Reform nomination to sideline Pat Buchanan and sabotage the Reform Party in an attempt to lower their vote total to benefit George W. Bush 's campaign . Later that year, according to Stone and
15576-642: The army's Officer Candidate School . Despite months of training, he was medically disqualified due to his chronic back problems. On September 24, 1941, Kennedy, with the help of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the former naval attaché to Joe Sr., Alan Kirk, joined the United States Naval Reserve . He was commissioned an ensign on October 26, 1941, and joined the ONI staff in Washington, D.C. In January 1942, Kennedy
15753-426: The base of Kolombangara around 2:00 a.m., and attempted to turn to attack, when PT-109 was rammed suddenly at an angle and cut in half by the destroyer Amagiri , killing two PT-109 crew members. Avoiding surrender, the remaining crew swam towards Plum Pudding Island , 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of the remains of PT-109 , on August 2. Despite re-injuring his back in the collision, Kennedy towed
15930-440: The camera. Kennedy wore a blue suit and shirt to cut down on glare and appeared sharply focused against the gray studio background. Nixon wore a light-colored suit that blended into the gray background; in combination with the harsh studio lighting that left Nixon perspiring, he offered a less-than-commanding presence. By contrast, Kennedy appeared relaxed, tanned, and telegenic, looking into the camera whilst answering questions. It
16107-584: The campaign due to the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions , appointed Mueller, a former Director of the FBI , to serve as Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) with authority to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections , including exploring any links or coordination between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government; "any matters that arose or may arise directly from
16284-510: The campaign of President Donald Trump", as well as "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation" and any other matters within the scope of 28 CFR 600.4 – Jurisdiction. The investigation's broad scope allowed Mueller to investigate many topics, including: Russian election interference; links between Trump associates and Russian officials; alleged conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russian agents; potential obstruction of justice; financial investigations; lobbyists; Trump as
16461-677: The campaign season with less than 2% support. Stone was for many years a lobbyist for Donald Trump on behalf of his casino business and also was involved in opposing expanded casino gambling in New York State, a position that brought him into conflict with Governor George Pataki . Stone resigned from a post as a consultant to the 1996 presidential campaign for Senator Bob Dole after The National Enquirer reported that Stone had placed ads and pictures on websites and swingers' publications seeking sexual partners for himself and Nydia Bertran Stone, his second wife. Stone initially denied
16638-432: The campaign, and that to characterize Stone as one of Nixon's aides or advisers was a "gross misstatement". After Nixon won the 1972 presidential election , Stone worked for the administration in the Office of Economic Opportunity . After Nixon resigned, Stone went to work for Bob Dole , but was later fired after columnist Jack Anderson publicly identified Stone as a Nixon "dirty trickster". In 1975, Stone helped found
16815-674: The campus newspaper, but had little involvement with campus politics, preferring to concentrate on athletics and his social life. Kennedy played football and was on the JV squad during his sophomore year, but an injury forced him off the team, and left him with back problems that plagued him for the rest of his life. He won membership in the Hasty Pudding Club and the Spee Club , one of Harvard's elite " final clubs ". In July 1938, Kennedy sailed overseas with his older brother to work at
16992-713: The committee. Stone's political career began in earnest on the 1972 Nixon campaign, with activities such as contributing money to a possible rival of Nixon in the name of the Young Socialist Alliance and then slipping the receipt to the Manchester Union-Leader . Eventually Magruder and Herbert Porter hired Stone to spy on rival presidential campaigns during the 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries . Stone subsequently hired Michael McMinoway to infiltrate campaigns of candidates such as Edmund Muskie and Hubert Humphrey . He also hired
17169-399: The conclusion on Russian interference "deserves the attention of every American". On potential obstruction of justice by Trump, the investigation "does not conclude that the President committed a crime", as investigators would not indict a sitting president per an Office of Legal Counsel opinion. However, the investigation "does not exonerate" Trump, finding public and private actions "by
17346-416: The counterintelligence angle. The New York Times reported in August 2020 that Rosenstein curtailed a May 2017 FBI inquiry into Trump's personal and financial dealings in Russia, giving the bureau the impression that the special counsel would investigate it, though Rosenstein instructed Mueller not to. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in his role as Acting Attorney General for matters related to
17523-608: The country was the "initial battleground in the communist drive to capture Western Europe." To combat Soviet efforts to take control in Middle Eastern and Asian countries like Indochina , Kennedy wanted the United States to develop nonmilitary techniques of resistance that would not create suspicions of neoimperialism or add to the country's financial burden. The problem, as he saw it, was not simply to be anti-communist but to stand for something that these emerging nations would find appealing. Almost every weekend that Congress
17700-537: The day that Germany invaded Poland ; the start of World War II . Two days later, the family was in the House of Commons for speeches endorsing the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany. Kennedy was sent as his father's representative to help with arrangements for American survivors of the torpedoing of SS Athenia before flying back to the U.S. on his first transatlantic flight. While Kennedy
17877-437: The days immediately before and after Comey's firing caused them to begin investigating whether Trump had been working on behalf of Russia against U.S. interests, knowingly or unknowingly. The FBI merged that counterintelligence investigation with a criminal obstruction of justice investigation related to Comey's firing. Mueller took over that investigation upon his appointment, although it was not immediately clear if he had pursued
18054-609: The documents to Mueller's office when Republicans controlled the Committee in 2018. On January 25, 2019, Roger Stone , a long time advisor to Donald Trump, was arrested by the FBI at a pre-dawn raid in Florida. The indictment filed by the Office of the Special Counsel contained 7 charges, including obstructing an official proceeding , witness tampering, and lying to congress in regard to the investigation into Russian interference in
18231-738: The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and Operation Mongoose . In October 1962, U.S. spy planes discovered Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba. The resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis , nearly resulted in nuclear war . In August 1961, after East German troops erected the Berlin Wall , Kennedy sent an army convoy to reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and delivered one of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963. In 1963, Kennedy signed
18408-424: The fall campaign). In April 1992, Time alleged that Stone was involved with the controversial Willie Horton advertisements to aid George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign , which were targeted against Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis . Stone has said that he urged Lee Atwater not to include Horton in the ad. Stone denied making or distributing the advertisement, and said it was Atwater's doing. In
18585-551: The fall general election campaign, the Republican nominee and incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon held a six-point lead in the polls. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, the Cuban Revolution , and whether the space and missile programs of the Soviet Union had surpassed those of the U.S. To address fears that his being Catholic would impact his decision-making, he told
18762-523: The film Recount , Stone was recruited by James Baker to assist with public relations during the Florida recount . The Brooks Brothers riot was a demonstration led by Republican staffers at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on November 22, 2000, during a recount of votes made during the 2000 United States presidential election, with the goal of shutting down
18939-743: The first nuclear weapons treaty . He presided over the establishment of the Peace Corps , Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the continuation of the Apollo program with the goal of landing a man on the Moon before 1970. He supported the civil rights movement but was only somewhat successful in passing his New Frontier domestic policies. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas . His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson , assumed
19116-497: The full report was publicly released on April 18, 2019. A less-redacted version of the report will eventually provided to a limited number of members of Congress. On August 3, 2017, Mueller empaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C. , as part of his investigation. The grand jury has the power to subpoena documents, require witnesses to testify under oath, and issue indictments for targets of criminal charges if probable cause
19293-457: The full special counsel report to be released to Congress and the public, excluding classified or grand jury information. The same day the bill was brought before the Senate for unanimous consent, but was blocked by Senator Lindsey Graham , who said it needed a clause requiring the appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations against the 2016 Clinton campaign. On March 15, Trump stated "there should be no Mueller Report" because "this
19470-408: The general election, taking 73 percent of the vote. As a congressman, Kennedy had a reputation for not taking much interest in the running of his office or his constituents' concerns, with one of the highest absenteeism rates in the House, although much was explained by illness. George Smathers , one of his few political friends at the time, claimed that he was more interested in being a writer than
19647-627: The general public can only regard it as a tragedy that politics has prevented the recommendations of the McClellan committee from being carried out this year," Kennedy announced. That same year, Kennedy joined the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee . There he supported Algeria's effort to gain independence from France and sponsored an amendment to the Mutual Defense Assistance Act that would provide aid to Soviet satellite nations. Kennedy also introduced an amendment to
19824-514: The general public. His personal life has been the focus of considerable sustained interest following public revelations in the 1970s of his chronic health ailments and extramarital affairs . Kennedy is the most recent U.S. president to have died in office . John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born outside Boston in Brookline, Massachusetts , on May 29, 1917, to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , a businessman and politician, and Rose Kennedy ( née Fitzgerald),
20001-466: The grand jury subpoenaed witness testimony from the executives of six public relations firms, who worked with Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on lobbying efforts in Ukraine. On January 16, 2018, The New York Times reported that Steve Bannon was subpoenaed by Mueller to testify before the standing grand jury in Washington, DC. Reuters and CNN reported the next day that Bannon had struck
20178-421: The grand jury. Also that day, the Mueller investigation subpoenaed Randy Credico , whom Stone had described as his "backchannel" to Julian Assange. The Wall Street Journal reported on November 14, 2018, that Mueller's investigators are examining whether Stone engaged in witness tampering by intimidating Credico into supporting Stone's assertions. Jerome Corsi , former Washington bureau chief of Infowars ,
20355-478: The grounds that the two campaigns had different goals: Davis was seeking to gain permanent ballot access for her party, and Paladino was in the race to win (and was Stone's preferred candidate). As such, Stone did not believe he had a conflict of interest in supporting both candidates. While working for the Davis campaign, Warren Redlich , the Libertarian nominee for Governor, alleged that Stone collaborated with
20532-536: The information on Papadopoulos "triggered the opening of" the original FBI investigation, rather than the Steele dossier by Christopher Steele as asserted by Trump and his allies. The special counsel also took over an FBI investigation on whether President Trump had committed obstruction of justice , which began within eight days after Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey . CNN reported in December 2018 that then-acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe started
20709-567: The investigation based on Comey's firing—which had been recommended in writing by Rosenstein in what became known as the Comey memo —and also Comey's allegation that Trump had asked him to stop investigating Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In February 2019, McCabe confirmed he launched the obstruction of justice investigation for those reasons—before he was fired from the FBI for allegedly lying to FBI agents after he leaked information about investigation into Clinton Foundation to
20886-475: The investigation"; and any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) . As Rosenstein later informed Congress, he elected to use a Special Counsel rather than have the FBI itself oversee the investigation because he did not believe acting Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe was the right person to lead the investigation. Instead, he would appoint a Special Counsel, as had been done in
21063-785: The investigation, seizing assets, and collecting fines. The Special Counsel indicted 34 people—seven U.S. nationals, 26 Russian nationals, and one Dutch national—and three Russian organizations. Two additional individuals were charged as a result of referrals to other FBI offices. Charges were filed against Trump campaign members George Papadopoulos , Paul Manafort , Rick Gates , Michael Flynn , and Michael Cohen . Charges were also filed against bank account seller Richard Pinedo , and lawyer Alex van der Zwaan as well as Paul Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik . Also indicted were Russia-based Internet Research Agency and related organizations and individuals directed by Yevgeny Prigozhin , and
21240-524: The money, but whatever it was, the Liberal party reached its right conclusion out of a matter of principle." In 1980, after their key roles in the Reagan campaign, Stone and Manafort decided to go into business together, with partner Charlie Black , creating a political consulting and lobbying firm to cash in on their relationships within the new administration. Black, Manafort & Stone (BMS), became one of Washington D.C.'s first mega-lobbying firms and
21417-523: The national popular vote, by most accounts , Kennedy led Nixon by just two-tenths of one percent (49.7% to 49.5%), while in the Electoral College , he won 303 votes to Nixon's 219 (269 were needed to win). Fourteen electors from Mississippi and Alabama refused to support Kennedy because of his support for the civil rights movement ; they voted for Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, as did an elector from Oklahoma. Forty-three years old, Kennedy
21594-495: The nations of the world to join to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." He added: All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin." In closing, he expanded on his desire for greater internationalism: "Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of
21771-619: The nomination of the Liberal Party of New York , a move that would help split the opposition to Reagan in the state. Stone said Cohn gave him a suitcase that Stone avoided opening and that, as instructed by Cohn, he dropped off at the office of a lawyer influential in Liberal Party circles. Reagan carried the state with 46% of the vote. Speaking after the statute of limitations for bribery had expired, Stone later said, "I paid his law firm. Legal fees. I don't know what he did for
21948-425: The nomination. Stevenson—the 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee—remained very popular, while Johnson also hoped to win the nomination with support from party leaders. Kennedy's candidacy also faced opposition from former President Harry S. Truman , who was concerned about Kennedy's lack of experience. Kennedy knew that a second ballot could give the nomination to Johnson or someone else, and his well-organized campaign
22125-435: The ouster of the student government president and succeeded him. Stone recalled how he ran for election as president for his senior year: "I built alliances and put all my serious challengers on my ticket. Then I recruited the most unpopular guy in the school to run against me. You think that's mean? No, it's smart." Given a copy of Barry Goldwater 's The Conscience of a Conservative , Stone became drawn to conservatism as
22302-470: The past. U.S. Attorneys serve as special counsel, but in May 2017 there were only three Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys serving at the time, the Senate having not yet confirmed the new president's nominees, and those three had remained as holdovers from the previous administration pending the arrival of the new attorneys. As a result, Rosenstein decided to select Robert Mueller, though he was retired, because of his reputation. As special counsel, Mueller had
22479-466: The power to issue subpoenas, hire staff members, request funding, and prosecute federal crimes in connection with the election interference along with other crimes he may uncover. The constitutionality of indicting a sitting president remains an unsettled legal question. The Special Counsel law requires a special counsel to confidentially provide the current attorney general with a report of findings. The attorney general, in this case William Barr ,
22656-598: The presidency . Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later. The FBI and the Warren Commission both concluded Oswald had acted alone, but conspiracy theories about the assassination persist. After Kennedy's death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Revenue Act of 1964 . Kennedy ranks highly in polls of U.S. presidents with historians and
22833-468: The presidency. After Joe's death, the assignment fell to JFK as the second eldest. Boston mayor Maurice J. Tobin discussed the possibility of John becoming his running mate in 1946 as a candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor , but Joe Sr. preferred a congressional campaign that could send John to Washington, where he could have national visibility. At the urging of Kennedy's father, U.S. Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in
23010-467: The presidential nomination, Kennedy gave his well-known " New Frontier " speech: For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won—and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier. ... But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises—it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. At the start of
23187-581: The program. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Audubon Society supporter, wanted to make sure that the shorelines of Cape Cod remained unsullied by industrialization. On September 3, 1959, Kennedy co-sponsored the Cape Cod National Seashore bill with his Republican colleague Senator Leverett Saltonstall . As a senator, Kennedy quickly won a reputation for responsiveness to requests from constituents (i.e., co-sponsoring legislation to provide federal loans to help rebuild communities damaged by
23364-402: The public, in order to consider asserting executive privilege to withhold the release of information gleaned from internal documents and interviews with White House officials. Commentators have noted that executive privilege cannot be invoked if the purpose is to shield wrongdoing or unlawful conduct. On March 14, 2019, the House voted 420–0 in favor of a non-binding resolution calling for
23541-473: The recount. After demonstrations and acts of violence, local officials shut down the recount early. The name referenced the protesters' corporate attire; described by Paul Gigot in an editorial for The Wall Street Journal as "50-year-old white lawyers with cell phones and Hermès ties", differentiating them from local citizens concerned about vote counting. Many of the demonstrators were Republican staffers. Both Roger Stone and Brad Blakeman take credit for managing
23718-529: The report. On the Good Morning America program he falsely stated, "An exhaustive investigation now indicates that a domestic employee, who I discharged for substance abuse on the second time that we learned that he had a drug problem, is the perpetrator who had access to my home, access to my computer, access to my password, access to my postage meter, access to my post-office box key." In a 2008 interview with The New Yorker , Stone admitted that
23895-403: The riot from a command post, although their accounts contradict each other. Republican New York Representative John E. Sweeney gave the signal that started the riot, telling an aide to "shut it down". In the 2002 New York gubernatorial election , Stone was associated with the campaign of businessman Thomas Golisano for governor of New York State. During the 2004 presidential campaign , Stone
24072-541: The rival presidential candidate to Trump from Democratic Party. Since the FBI, in response to this information, opened an investigation into the links between Trump associates and Russian officials on July 31, 2016, the meeting between Papadopoulos and Downer is considered to be the 'spark' that led to the Mueller investigation. In February 2018, the Nunes memo , written by staff for U.S. Representative Devin Nunes , stated that
24249-585: The school yearbook and was voted the "most likely to succeed." Kennedy intended to study under Harold Laski at the London School of Economics , as his older brother had done. Ill health forced his return to the U.S. in October 1935, when he enrolled late at Princeton University , but had to leave after two months due to gastrointestinal illness. In September 1936, Kennedy enrolled at Harvard College . He wrote occasionally for The Harvard Crimson ,
24426-499: The situation, Comey arranged to leak to the press classified information, notes from an interview with the president where Trump asked him to end the probe into Michael Flynn. Comey would later be rebuked by the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General for this action. Trump fired Comey on the recommendations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , although Deputy Director of
24603-592: The southern tip of the Solomon's Kolombangara Island. Intelligence had been sent to Kennedy's Commander Thomas G. Warfield expecting the arrival of the large Japanese naval force that would pass on the evening of August 1. Of the 24 torpedoes fired that night by eight of the American PTs, not one hit the Japanese convoy. On that moonless night, Kennedy spotted a Japanese destroyer heading north on its return from
24780-552: The spring of 2016 and WikiLeaks said it had had no contact with Stone. Stone said he could recall only one occasion on which he mentioned meeting with Assange, and said that mention was made as a joke. Court documents released in 2020 showed Stone and Assange exchanged messages in June 2017. Nearly three dozen search warrants were unsealed in April 2020 which revealed contacts between Stone and Assange in 2017, and that Stone orchestrated hundreds of fake Facebook accounts and bloggers to run
24957-566: The start of his first term, Kennedy focused on fulfilling the promise of his campaign to do "more for Massachusetts" than his predecessor. Although Kennedy's and Lodge's legislative records were similarly liberal, Lodge voted for the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and Kennedy voted against it. On NBC 's Meet the Press , Kennedy excoriated Lodge for not doing enough to prevent the increasing migration of manufacturing jobs from Massachusetts to
25134-499: The state delegation to the party's presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II , at the Democratic National Convention in August. Stevenson let the convention select the vice presidential nominee . Kennedy finished second in the balloting, losing to Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, but receiving national exposure. In 1957, Kennedy joined the Senate's Select Committee on Labor Rackets (also known as
25311-737: The strongly Democratic 11th congressional district of Massachusetts to become mayor of Boston in 1946. Kennedy established legal residency at 122 Bowdoin Street across from the Massachusetts State House . Kennedy won the Democratic primary with 42 percent of the vote, defeating nine other candidates. According to Fredrik Logevall, Joe Sr. spent hours on the phone with reporters and editors, seeking information, trading confidences, and cajoling them into publishing puff pieces on John, ones that invariably played up his war record in
25488-558: The team that defended President Trump in his personal capacity; and the team that represented the White House as an institution separate from the President . According to CNN, as of August 2018, the prosecution team included 15 attorneys, led by Mueller. The additional supporting staff brought the number over 30. There were a few reported departures from Mueller's team. The defense had two components: Emmet Flood representing
25665-583: The time of those contacts, it had been publicly reported that the DNC emails had been hacked by Russians and provided to Wikileaks. Stone was convicted of all charges in November 2019, after the conclusion of the investigation and his sentence was commuted by Trump. A total of thirty-four individuals and three companies were indicted by Mueller's investigators. Eight have pleaded guilty to or been convicted of felonies , including five Trump associates and campaign officials. None of those five convictions "involved
25842-716: The top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees , respectively. The US Intelligence Community released a similar statement fifteen days later. In January 2017, an assessment was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence , then headed by Obama appointee James Clapper , which asserted that Russian leadership had favored presidential candidate Donald Trump over rival candidate Hillary Clinton , adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally ordered an "influence campaign" to harm Clinton's electoral chances and "undermine public faith in
26019-598: The town of Lewisboro, New York , on the Connecticut border. His mother was the president of Meadow Pond Elementary School PTA, a Cub Scout den mother, and occasionally a small-town reporter; his father "Chubby" (also Roger J. Stone) was a well driller and sometime chief of the Vista volunteer Fire Department. He has described his family as middle-class , blue-collar Catholics. His ancestry includes Hungarian and Italian. Stone said that as an elementary school student during
26196-411: The vacant post of Attorney General. Barr was previously Attorney General under President George H. W. Bush . During his January 2019 confirmation hearings, Barr suggested the investigation's findings could be withheld from the public, as their release is not mandated by law. In June 2018, Barr had sent an unsolicited 19-page memo to deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein and Trump attorneys arguing that
26373-539: The war and its origins, and quickly became a bestseller. In addition to addressing Britain's unwillingness to strengthen its military in the lead-up to the war, the book called for an Anglo-American alliance against the rising totalitarian powers. Kennedy became increasingly supportive of U.S. intervention in World War II, and his father's isolationist beliefs resulted in the latter's dismissal as ambassador. In 1940, Kennedy graduated cum laude from Harvard with
26550-752: Was "going too far" and referring to it as a "lynch mob". Whitaker is also a personal friend of Sam Clovis , a former co-chair of the Trump campaign who has testified to Mueller's investigators and grand jury. Because of his prior statements and involvement, many Democrats and some Republicans have asserted that Whitaker's potential conflicts of interest require him to recuse himself from overseeing Mueller, although Whitaker reportedly indicated he had no intention of doing so. Justice Department ethics officials typically review conflicts of interest to recommend recusals, but their findings are not binding and are usually kept confidential. On December 7, 2018, President Trump declared that he would nominate William Barr for
26727-482: Was a factor in the decision to use a Special Counsel. The Mueller investigation took over the FBI 's investigation, Crossfire Hurricane . The Mueller investigation's scope included allegations of "links and/or coordination" between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign. Mueller was mandated to pursue "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." The probe included
26904-533: Was a friend of William Randolph Hearst , arranged a position for his son as a special correspondent for Hearst Newspapers ; the assignment kept Kennedy's name in the public eye and "expose[d] him to journalism as a possible career." That May he went to Berlin as a correspondent, covering the Potsdam Conference and other events. Kennedy's elder brother Joe Jr. had been the family's political standard-bearer and had been tapped by their father to seek
27081-581: Was a protégé of former Connecticut Governor John Davis Lodge , who introduced the young Stone to former Vice President Nixon in 1967. After Stone was indicted in 2019, the Nixon Foundation released a statement diminishing Stone's ties to Nixon. John Sears recruited Stone to work in Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign , coordinating the Northeast . Stone said that Roy Cohn helped him arrange for independent candidate John B. Anderson to get
27258-509: Was able to earn the support of just enough delegates to win the presidential nomination on the first ballot. Kennedy ignored the opposition of his brother Robert, who wanted him to choose labor leader Walter Reuther , and other liberal supporters when he chose Johnson as his vice-presidential nominee. He believed that the Texas senator could help him win support from the South . In accepting
27435-408: Was an advisor (apparently unpaid) to Al Sharpton , a candidate in the Democratic primaries . Defending Stone's involvement, Sharpton said, "I've been talking to Roger Stone for a long time. That doesn't mean that he's calling the shots for me. Don't forget that Bill Clinton was doing more than talking to Dick Morris ." Critics suggested that Stone was only working with Sharpton as a way to undermine
27612-512: Was an illegal & conflicted investigation." Five days later he stated, "I told the House, 'If you want, let [the public] see it,'" adding, "that's up to the Attorney General." On March 25, 2019, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked an effort by minority leader Chuck Schumer for the Senate to take up the same resolution approved by the House eleven days earlier. The special counsel delivered its report to Attorney General Barr on March 22, 2019. Two days later, on March 24, Barr sent
27789-503: Was an investigation into 45th U.S. president Donald Trump regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 2017 to March 2019. It was also called the Russia investigation , Mueller probe , and Mueller investigation . The investigation focused on three points: The investigation found no evidence that President Trump or any of his aides coordinated with
27966-431: Was an upperclassman at Harvard, he began to take his studies more seriously and developed an interest in political philosophy . He made the dean's list in his junior year. In 1940, Kennedy completed his thesis, "Appeasement in Munich", about British negotiations during the Munich Agreement . The thesis was released on July 24, under the title Why England Slept . The book was one of the first to offer information about
28143-402: Was assigned to Motor Torpedo Squadron TWO, and on April 24 he took command of PT-109 , then based on Tulagi Island in the Solomons . On the night of August 1–2, in support of the New Georgia campaign , PT-109 and fourteen other PTs were ordered to block or repel four Japanese destroyers and floatplanes carrying food, supplies, and 900 Japanese soldiers to the Vila Plantation garrison on
28320-441: Was assigned to the ONI field office at Headquarters, Sixth Naval District , in Charleston, South Carolina . His hope was to be the commander of a PT (patrol torpedo) boat , but his health problems seemed almost certain to prevent active duty. Kennedy's father intervened by providing misleading medical records and convincing PT officers that his presence would bring publicity to the fleet. Kennedy completed six months of training at
28497-407: Was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal , and the injuries he suffered during the incident qualified him for a Purple Heart . After a month's recovery Kennedy returned to duty, commanding the PT-59 . On November 2, Kennedy's PT-59 took part with two other PTs in the rescue of 40–50 marines. The 59 acted as a shield from shore fire as they escaped on two rescue landing craft at the base of
28674-426: Was described as instrumental to the success of Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign . Republican political strategist Lee Atwater joined the firm in 1985, after serving in the #2 position on Reagan-Bush 1984. Because of BMS's willingness to represent brutal third-world dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines , the firm was branded " The Torturers' Lobby ". BMS also represented
28851-504: Was easy. They cut my PT boat in half." On August 12, 1944, Kennedy's older brother, Joe Jr. , a navy pilot, was killed on an air mission. His body was never recovered. The news reached the family's home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, a day later. Kennedy felt that Joe Jr.'s reckless flight was partly an effort to outdo him. To console himself, Kennedy set out to assemble a privately published book of remembrances of his brother, As We Remember Joe . In April 1945, Kennedy's father, who
29028-417: Was elected president, narrowly defeating Republican opponent Richard Nixon , the incumbent vice president. Kennedy's presidency saw high tensions with communist states in the Cold War. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam , and the Strategic Hamlet Program began during his presidency. In 1961, he authorized attempts to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in
29205-417: Was exploding a toilet seat with a firecracker. In the next chapel assembly, the headmaster, George St. John, brandished the toilet seat and spoke of "muckers" who would "spit in our sea," leading Kennedy to name his group "The Muckers Club," which included roommate and lifelong friend Lem Billings . Kennedy graduated from Choate in June 1935, finishing 64th of 112 students. He had been the business manager of
29382-479: Was in session, Kennedy would fly back to Massachusetts to give speeches to veteran, fraternal, and civic groups, while maintaining an index card file on individuals who might be helpful for a campaign for statewide office. Contemplating whether to run for Massachusetts governor or the U.S. Senate , Kennedy abandoned interest in the former, believing that the governor "sat in an office, handing out sewer contracts." As early as 1949, Kennedy began preparing to run for
29559-421: Was involved with the flyers. Stone volunteered as an unpaid adviser to comedian Steve Berke ("a libertarian member of his so-called After Party") in his 2011 campaign for mayor of Miami Beach, Florida in 2012. Berke lost the race to incumbent Mayor Matti Herrera Bower . In February 2012, Stone said that he had changed his party affiliation from the Republican Party to the Libertarian Party . Stone predicted
29736-403: Was released from active duty. Beginning in January 1945, Kennedy spent three months recovering from his back injury at Castle Hot Springs , a resort and temporary military hospital in Arizona. On March 1, 1945, Kennedy retired from the Navy Reserve on physical disability and was honorably discharged with the full rank of lieutenant. When later asked how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked: "It
29913-784: Was renamed Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly (BMSK) in 1984. During the 1980s, BMSK became a top lobbying firm by leveraging its White House connections to attract high-paying clients, including U.S. corporations and trade associations, as well as foreign governments. By 1990, it was one of the leading lobbyists for American companies and foreign organizations. His personal style of achieving his clients' goals have been described as "a renowned infighter", "a seasoned practitioner of hard-edged politics", "a Republican strategist", and "a political fixer". Stone has referred to himself as "an agent provocateur". He has described his own political modus operandi as "Attack, attack, attack – never defend" and "Admit nothing, deny everything, and launch
30090-411: Was safe at least until the November 2018 United States midterm elections . Sessions resigned as attorney general on November 7, 2018, the day after the midterm elections, writing that he had resigned at Trump's request. With Sessions' resignation, Trump appointed Matthew Whitaker , Sessions' chief of staff, as Acting Attorney General on November 7, 2018. This meant that Whitaker assumed oversight of
30267-400: Was sentenced to 40 months in prison. On July 10, 2020, days before Stone was scheduled to report to prison, Trump commuted his sentence. On August 17, 2020, he dropped the appeal of his convictions. Trump pardoned Stone on December 23, 2020. Stone was born on August 27, 1952, in Norwalk, Connecticut , to Gloria Rose (Corbo) and Roger J. Stone. He grew up in the community of Vista, part of
30444-441: Was subpoenaed to appear on September 7, 2018, before a Mueller grand jury. Corsi's attorney said he expected his client to be asked about his association with Roger Stone, who had appeared to know in advance that WikiLeaks would release damaging information about the Clinton campaign. The investigation involved multiple legal teams: the attorneys that took part in the investigation (supervised by Special Counsel Robert Mueller );
30621-447: Was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War , and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba . A Democrat , Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his presidency. Born into the prominent Kennedy family in Brookline, Massachusetts , Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940, joining
30798-451: Was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency (though Theodore Roosevelt was a year younger when he succeeded to the presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901). Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president at noon on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address , he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." He asked
30975-409: Was the first major labor relations bill to pass either house since the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 and dealt largely with the control of union abuses exposed by the McClellan Committee but did not incorporate tough Taft–Hartley amendments requested by President Eisenhower. It survived Senate floor attempts to include Taft-Hartley amendments and passed but was rejected by the House. "Honest union members and
31152-449: Was the only Democrat not to cast a vote against him. Kennedy drafted a speech supporting the censure. However, it was not delivered because Kennedy was hospitalized for back surgery in Boston. Although Kennedy never indicated how he would have voted, the episode damaged his support among members of the liberal community in the 1956 and 1960 elections. In 1956, Kennedy gained control of the Massachusetts Democratic Party , and delivered
31329-592: Was touring the Boston wards with his grandfather Fitzgerald during his 1922 failed gubernatorial campaign. With Joe Sr.'s business ventures concentrated on Wall Street and Hollywood and an outbreak of polio in Massachusetts , the family decided to move from Boston to the Riverdale neighborhood of New York City in September 1927. Several years later, his brother Robert told Look magazine that his father left Boston because of job signs that read: " No Irish Need Apply ." The Kennedys spent summers and early autumns at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts ,
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