Special counsel Robert Mueller wants an official copy of Roger Stone’s House Intelligence Committee transcript, according to a report.
The formal request, made last Friday, is Mueller’s first of the House Intelligence panel, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Mueller’s team has had access to an unofficial transcript of Stone’s September 2017 interview for weeks as part of a declassification process conducted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
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Legal experts told the newspaper the move suggests Mueller is preparing to indict Stone, potentially for lying to Congress, which cannot be done without a certified document.
The House Intelligence Committee is reportedly yet to turn over the transcript. Members of the panel are expected to discuss the matter during a closed-door meeting Thursday.
A number of Stone’s associates have spoken with investigators working for Mueller, leading to speculation that they are probing whether or not people connected with Trump had notice of emails released by WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.
On Oct. 7, 2016, WikiLeaks dumped emails stolen from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman, by a group allegedly linked to Russian intelligence. That same day the Washington Post published the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.
Stone, in a cryptic tweet, appeared to foreshadow the release. The self-described “political trickster,” however, has said the missive was predicated on opposition research into work Podesta and the lobby firm he founded with his brother, Tony, did involving Russia.
Stone told the Post on Wednesday he was aware Mueller’s office had asked for the transcript, but dismissed concerns he was facing legal trouble.
“I don’t think any reasonable attorney who looks at it would conclude that I committed perjury, which requires intent and materiality,” he said.
