A federal judge on Tuesday tossed a defamation lawsuit brought by conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi and his lawyer Larry Klayman against self-described “dirty trickster” Roger Stone and his longtime friend Michael Caputo.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly called the legal arguments by Corsi and Klayman “jenga-like” in his seven-page opinion dismissing the case over a lack of jurisdiction.
Corsi, a conservative writer who was the one-time D.C. bureau chief for InfoWars, and Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and current head of Freedom Watch, had filed a complaint in D.C. federal court in April 2019, alleging Stone and Caputo sought to defame the two of them ahead of Stone’s trial.
“Defendant Stone knew that he was going to be indicted, and therefore began this public relations campaign to smear, defame, intimidate, and threaten Plaintiffs Corsi and Klayman … in order to try to influence public opinion and Special Counsel Robert Mueller — by trying to attribute guilt to Plaintiff Corsi and not him — as well as to try to raise money for his legal defense,” Corsi and Klayman claimed, adding, “The goal of these defamatory statements is to create the false implication that Plaintiffs are not true conservatives and not supporters of President Trump.”
Corsi was repeatedly interviewed by Mueller’s team about his alleged outreach to WikiLeaks and the possibility he was an intermediary between Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Corsi has denied this, and Mueller never charged him.
Stone complained to the court in May 2019 that Corsi and Klayman “do not ever attempt to allege the jurisdictional elements necessary to demonstrate why Roger Stone should be hauled into court in the District of Columbia.” Stone pointed out neither he nor Caputo lived in Washington, D.C., and that none of the “allegedly defamatory comments” about Corsi and Klayman were made there. Stone claimed “this persistent form of harassment towards Mr. Stone is designed to discredit Mr. Stone in anticipation of his upcoming criminal trial in November, in which Plaintiff Corsi is more than likely going to be a witness against Mr. Stone.”
The lawsuit by Corsi specifically cited Caputo’s March 2019 appearance on Ari Melber’s MSNBC show.
“The Mueller team finds themselves at the end of the hallway … and they’re staring at Jerry Corsi, who believes the most wild conspiracies in the world … They end at the freak show tent,” Caputo said. Alluding to Corsi not being charged, Caputo added, “He could be the luckiest man in the world … I also believe that it indicates that Corsi gave them information that they were looking for, probably on Roger Stone.”
Corsi was not called as a witness at Stone’s trial.
Judge Kelly said on Tuesday that neither of the D.C. codes referenced by Corsi conferred the court with “long-arm jurisdiction” over Stone or Caputo. The judge said Corsi argued Stone and Caputo conduct lots of business in D.C., but Stone countered that his work was based out of Florida, where he lives, and the Trump campaign had been based in Virginia and New York. Caputo said his work for Trump was also based in New York, and he gave the MSNBC interview from a New York studio.
Kelly, referring to the arguments by Corsi, said “this theory does not even purport to explain how Corsi’s defamation claim is related to Caputo’s business activities in the District of Columbia.” The judge added, “As for Stone, these alleged events and motives, piled on top of each other jenga-like, are far too attenuated to show that Corsi’s defamation claim arose from any of Stone’s business in the District of Columbia.” He dismissed the case.
Corsi, a proponent of the unfounded “birther” conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama, was mentioned in Mueller’s report 41 times. In November 2018, Corsi said he was offered a deal to plea to one count of perjury, but rejected it.
“They can put me in prison the rest of my life. I am not going to sign a lie,” Corsi said, adding that being questioned by Mueller was “like being interrogated as a POW in the Korean War.” He said he hadn’t talked with Assange and “investigators were so mad because I didn’t give them what they wanted.”
Corsi, through Klayman, filed a lawsuit for hundreds of millions of dollars against Mueller in December 2018, alleging “illegal and unconstitutional surveillance” and leaking of grand jury information. That lawsuit was dismissed in October 2019.
Caputo was mentioned in Mueller’s report nine times, including him allegedly learning in the spring of 2016 that Florida-based Russian Henry Oknyansky “claimed to have information pertaining to Hillary Clinton.” The report said Caputo notified Stone and “brokered communication between Stone and Oknyansky,” who met in May 2016.
Stone, a longtime friend to Trump, mentioned more than 100 times in Mueller’s report, was swept up in the investigation and arrested in early 2019. He was found guilty in November on five separate counts of lying to the House Intelligence Committee during its investigation into Russian interference about his alleged outreach to WikiLeaks, one count he “corruptly” obstructed the congressional investigation, and another for attempting to “corruptly” persuade the testimony of radio host Randy Credico.
Prosecutors in February recommended Stone receive up to nine years behind bars. But after Trump tweeted he “cannot allow this miscarriage of justice,” the Justice Department suggested a less severe sentence. The four line prosecutors on the case withdrew as the department walked back the “unduly high” sentence recommendation, though the Justice Department seemed to reverse course again when replacement prosecutors defended the actions of their predecessors in court.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Stone to 40 months for obstruction of justice, 18 months for witness tampering, and 12 months for the other five counts — to be served concurrently.
Stone is seeking a retrial following allegations of jury bias surrounding the jury foreperson’s anti-Trump posts on social media.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler planned to have lawmakers grill Attorney General Barr about the Stone case late last month, but the hearing was postponed due to the coronavirus.