Far-right writer Jerome Corsi claims Roger Stone asked him to reach out to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about releasing hacked emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman.
Corsi writes in his forthcoming book “Silent No More” that he told the grand jury impaneled for special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal Russia investigation that Stone, a confidant of President Trump, requested the favor on Oct. 7, 2016, the same day the so-called “Access Hollywood” tape was published by the Washington Post, according to the Daily Caller on Tuesday.
In his tell-all, Corsi recounts how his attorney, David Gray, spoke with Aaron Zelinsky, a prosecutor working for Mueller’s office, about the recording and email dump.
“Zelinsky told David Gray that Stone had told me in advance about the Billy Bush video and asked me to get word to Assange to hold the release of the first batch of the Podesta emails until after the Washington Post had published the damaging Billy Bush ‘hot mic’ recording,” Corsi wrote. “That is exactly what happened.”
Stone pushed back on Corsi’s version of events Tuesday, telling the Daily Caller that his account was “preposterous” and “completely false.” Stone added he had no prior knowledge of the “Access Hollywood” tape and, if he had directed someone to liaise with Assange, it would have been comedian Randy Credico. Credico, who was subpoenaed by Mueller in August and scheduled to testify before the grand jury in September, had allegedly told the self-described political trickster that WikiLeaks had information which could “roil” both the 2016 campaigns.
The excerpt from Corsi’s book Tuesday comes one day after the former Washington bureau chief of right-wing publication Infowars said he rejected a plea deal from Mueller. In exchange for leniency, Corsi would have pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about an email titled “Get to Assange,” which he received from Stone on July 25, 2016, suggesting that he contact Assange.
“At the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and get the pending WikiLeaks emails … they deal with [Clinton] Foundation, allegedly,” Stone’s message reportedly states.
Corsi said he then forwarded Stone’s note to Ted Malloch, an academic turned informal Trump campaign adviser, who was detained at Boston’s Logan Airport and questioned by the FBI in March. Malloch was also subpoenaed by Mueller and supposedly agreed to appear in front of the grand jury in April.
Corsi has repeatedly denied willfully misleading prosecutors, but writes in his book that he “clearly” “did not shut the door” on Stone’s efforts to collaborate with Assange.
Corsi has testified before the Russia grand jury on two occasions since being subpoenaed in August. Mueller’s team has been probing whether he had a source who gave him advance warning that WikiLeaks had obtained emails stolen from Podesta, allegedly by a group connected to Russian intelligence. Corsi has said he suspected WikiLeaks had Podesta’s emails; however, he claims his prediction was based on publicly available information.
One of Mueller’s main lines of inquiry is whether or not Trump associates had notice of WikiLeaks’ email dumps. Several people connected to Stone have become central to Mueller’s probe, but he has yet to be contacted by the special counsel’s office.
