Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone said Sunday that he does not believe the Democratic National Committee was hacked during the 2016 campaign.
“I don’t even believe the Democratic National Committee was hacked,” Stone said during an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” He began to cite a “more likely” scenario after reading an article from The Nation, but was cut off by host Chuck Todd.
The comment came as he was being asked about WikiLeaks, which published emails stolen from the DNC and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta in the summer of 2016.
WATCH: Roger Stone, former Trump campaign aide, tells Chuck “I don’t even believe the Democratic National Committee was hacked.” #MTP pic.twitter.com/1H4gMKTMLZ
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 20, 2018
Stone attracted scrutiny he appeared to anticipate a WikiLeaks document release, saying in 2016 on Twitter that Podesta’s “time in the barrel” would soon occur, after which Podesta’s hacked emails were published by WikiLeaks. He, however, has denied ever having any early-access knowledge from WikiLeaks about the release of Podesta’s emails, claiming instead the statement was based on his own investigations. Stone said Sunday that he he not been contacted by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation team, although at least two of his associates are reportedly being sought after. He also said he is “prepared” to be indicted if the Mueller investigation takes that route.
In the past, Stone has said the DNC hack was an “inside job” and that the Russians were “most likely” behind the WikiLeaks emails dump.
In April, Stone was named in a multimillion-dollar DNC lawsuit against the Russian government, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks alleging a conspiracy between the three entities to disrupt the 2016 presidential campaign in order to get Donald Trump elected.
Stone has sought to twist the case to his advantage, demanding the DNC preserve its database servers and electronic equipment.
“In the unlikely event that your politically motivated lawsuit survives the pleading stages, we demand that the Democratic National Committee (‘DNC’) immediately preserve the DNC’s database servers and electronic equipment,” Stone’s attorney, Robert Buschel, wrote in a letter last month to Michael Eisenkraft, an attorney representing the DNC.
Buschel said the letter had two purposes: To inform the committee they plan on investigating the DNC’s claims that Russians hacked their servers, and to demand they preserve equipment to defend Stone against various claims made against him in their new lawsuit.
