“If you testify, you’re a fool,” Roger Stone told an associate in late 2017 as House investigators scheduled an appearance in the sprawling probe of Russian election meddling. Instead, Stone told his ally he should pull a “Frank Pentangeli.”
It was a reference to “The Godfather: Part II,” federal prosecutors pointed out in their indictment of Stone on Friday. They said Stone -- a longtime ally of Donald Trump -- was attempting to persuade a friend to lie to avoid contradicting him. The friend appears to be Randy Credico, a comedian and radio host. Both men are supporters of Wikileaks, which published hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee to help Trump win the election.
"I guarantee you you are the one who gets indicted for perjury if you’re stupid enough to testify," Stone told Credico, according to the indictment. In December 2017, Credico told the House he would plead the Fifth, just days before he was set to appear. Credico ultimately appeared before Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury in September 2018.
It’s unclear what will happen to the two men now. Stone was arrested Friday in Florida. But we all know how Pentangeli ended up: he slit his wrists in prison, after a visit from Michael Corleone’s consiglieri.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.