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No evidence of Roger Stone’s collaboration with Russian spies, hackers or ‘Guccifer 2.0′ – Part #1

By Frank Parlato;

Media articles published in the last few days are reporting that Trump friend and adviser, Roger Stone has admitted he had a private Twitter exchange with “Guccifer 2.0”, an online entity suspected of being a front for a Russian spy group.

Reportedly, Stone is under investigation by the FBI over suspected contacts with Russian hackers – including potentially Guccifer 2.0 who allegedly exposed damning information about Democratic Party leaders that may have tilted the election toward Trump.

While Stone admitted having brief online contact with Guccifer 2.0, the reputed hacker of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer server network, there is no evidence to prove Stone had anything to do with hacking allegedly performed by Guccifer 2.0.

Guccifer 2.0 appears online in the persona of a Romanian hacker, or ‘hacktivist,’ with a self-proclaimed, self-righteous cause of promoting transparency and exposing politicians and globalists, including fighting the elusive ‘Illuminati.”

Through a website, twitter, and emails, and through online interviews, Guccifer 2.0 has taken credit – purportedly as a solo hacker – for hacking into the DNC computer network, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other Democrats’ computers, then leaking emails and other documents to the media and the website, WikiLeaks.

Based on analyses conducted by private sector cybersecurity individuals and firms, the U.S. “Intelligence Community” reportedly believe with “high confidence” that Guccifer 2.0 is a persona created by Russian intelligence services to cover for their “interference” in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The interference consisted primarily of hacking into Democratic party leaders’ computers and arranging to have their authentic emails and other documents published, which, in turn – because of the nature of the emails and documents – might have turned people away from the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Few would argue against the fact that the information in and of itself can be utilized for the betterment of the American people [for who would argue that more information is not desirable and that the public should not be made aware of email communications between party members who seem to be seeking to thwart the will of the people to serve themselves?].

After all, if the released material showed honesty and integrity, it would have also interfered in the election – but in an opposite way – it would have driven people to vote for Hillary and her party of inclusion and there might be no investigation.

But, the FBI is investigating, as are the House and Senate intelligence committees, as to whether any of Trump allies had illegal contacts with Russia.

The Russian government denies involvement in the hacking.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said there was “no proof” that Russia was behind the hacking.

To date there is no definitive proof that Guccifer 2.0 is a front for Russian spies.

The motives of the hackers are not crystal clear either.

The selective hacking and release of only Democratic Party leaders’ documents and emails clearly helped Trump. It could mean that Russians want Trump. It could also mean only Democrats are scoundrels, or the hackers could not, or did not care to hack, or hacked, but did not care to publish, Republican party leaders’ emails and documents, whether the documents showed they were scoundrels, just like the Democrats, or angels, as they themselves profess to be.

But it doesn’t conclusively prove the hacking was done by Russian-sponsored spies.

Stone has worked for Trump as a lobbyist, strategic adviser, and political consultant for more than 30 years. He urged Trump to run for president in 1988, 2000, and 2012. He worked unofficially for Trump during the campaign and, like Trump, he thinks America will not profit from a new Cold War that Obama and Clinton seemed to have desired with Russia.

During the campaign Stone, like Trump, said he did not believe Russia was involved in the hacking of Democrats computers.

During the campaign, security companies claimed Russia was responsible for the hacks, US intelligence chief James Clapper said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove it. The FBI investigated.

Today, however, Stone said he believes he is currently under FBI investigation for possible ties to Russia and their alleged hacking during the campaign. He told Russian sponsored TV that a grand jury may have been convened to investigate him and that the Federal government is likely monitoring his emails and online records and tapping his phone.

On his website, stonecoldtruth.com, Stone issued a flat denial saying he had “no contacts or communications with the Russian State, Russian Intelligence or anyone fronting for them or acting as intermediaries for them. None. Nada. Zilch. I am not in touch with any Russians, don’t have a Russian girlfriend, don’t like Russian dressing, and have stopped drinking Russian Vodka.”

The latest rash of media reports come on the heels of the online publication, The Smoking Gun’s report/editorial that federal investigators have evidence of private twitter communications between Stone and the believed-to-be-Russian, Guccifer 2.0, which, they argue, lends credence to suspicions that Stone was collaborating with the Russians to aid Donald Trump via illegal hacking. [www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/investigation/roger-stone-and-guccifer-913684

After the publication of the Smoking Gun story, Stone admitted he had a “brief” private exchange with Guccifer 2.0 – on  Twitter – hardly a place to engage a known and notorious hacker if one wanted to conduct espionage. Whether Romanian or not, communications on twitter with the party who allegedly hacked the DNC computer server is not one which anyone could reliably think would be kept secret, at least in the tradition of deep spy work – as Stone is suspected to have done with super spy/or spies, Guccifer 2.0.

Mainstream publications, such as UPI, have reported Stone’s admission, couched in breaking news’ terms such as “It is the first time that someone associated with Trump has confirmed any type of contact with the online persona, which the U.S. intelligence community believes is a cover for Russian intelligence.”

Stone has published screenshots of what he says is the entire exchange with Guccifer 2.0 on his website, stonecoldtruth.com.

He also said he was unaware at the time of any credible evidence that Guccifer 2.0 was connected with the Russians and at the time believed Guccifer 2.0 was a Romanian hacker serving the best interest of the public.

Prior to their twitter conversation, in an article (Aug 6] for Breitbart News, Stone, utilizing information available online, offered his theory that Guccifer 2.0 was behind the DNC hacking, was a Romanian hacker, not Russian, and that Hillary Clinton, with the mainstream media in tow,  were reporting mistakenly that Russians were involved in the hacking.

The timeline of events points away from Stone collaborating with Guccifer 2.0 in the DNC hacking:

  • June 14, 2016, the DNC acknowledged a hack.
  • June 15, a Guccifer 2.0 blog post claimed “he” had compromised the DNC — not Russian hackers –  and claimed he supplied WikiLeaks with documents.
  • June 20, Guccifer 2.0 made his debut on Twitter, and posted documents allegedly hacked from the DNC.
  • July 22  Wikileaks began publishing 44,053 emails and 17,761 attachments from seven key figures at the top of the US Democratic National Committee. Some of the DNC emails revealed party leaders collaborated to thwart the democratic process by rigging the primary to ensure Hillary Clinton’s election over Bernie Sanders.  Guccifer 2.0 claimed he hacked, then leaked, the DNC emails to WikiLeaks on his Twitter account the same day.
  • July 25, Assange said no one knows WikiLeaks’ sources and told NBC News that “it’s what’s in the emails that’s important, not who hacked them.”

At the time, it was Stone’s contention that the mainstream media ignored Guccifer 2.0, and preferred to focus on Clinton’s theory that the Russians and Donald Trump were behind the DNC hacking, an effective offensive ploy since it justified the relegation of the contents of the purloined emails to a secondary place of scrutiny.

  • Aug. 6, Stone, through Breitbart News, pointed readers to Guccifer 2.0 and the website where “he explains who he is and why he did the hack of the DNC….  This website isn’t hidden but of course our pathetic press patsies haven’t reported it; they just keep repeating Hillary’s spin.”

Stone theorized that “Hillary and her team were desperate to change the conversation … and never forget, her team includes most of the media….The story about the rigged Democrat machine wasn’t going to help Hillary and Trump was starting to overtake her in the polls…. Inspiration stuck: ignore Guccifer 2.0. The DNC being hacked by one person didn’t look sinister enough. Time for the victim card! Blame the Russians! Blame Putin! Blame Trump!”

  • Aug. 12, Guccifer 2.0 tweeted,  “@RogerJStoneJr thanks that u believe in the real #Guccifer2.”
  • Aug. 13 The twitter account of Guccifer 2.0 was banned in response to the distribution of a spreadsheet containing the private phone numbers and email addresses of every Democrat in the House of Representatives, as well as passwords to DCCC files to substantiate the claim. Stone called the Guccifer 2.0 ban on twitter “Outrageous!” and wondered, “why are those exposing the truth banned?” Stone further stated that the “Clintonistas” needed to “censor their critics to rig the upcoming election.” Stone tweeted “Censorship. Guccifer 2.0 a HERO.”
  • Aug. 14. The Twitter account of Guccifer 2.0 is reinstated.  Stone wrote, “Thank You, Sweet Jesus. I’ve prayed for it.” On the same day, Stone sent his first known private message to Guccifer 2.0 saying he was “delighted” that Twitter reinstated Guccifer 2.0’s account and added, “F-ck the state and their MSM [mainstream media] lackeys.” Guccifer 2.0 wrote back, “wow. thank u for writing back, and thank u for an article about me!!! do u find anything interesting in the docs i posted?” Stone replied “How the election can be rigged against Donald Trump.”
  • August 16, Stone posted a link to a story he authored about how the presidential election could be “rigged against Donald Trump” through the manipulation of electronic voting machines. Guccifer 2.0 replied privately to Stone’s tweet, “paying u back.” then Guccifer 2.0 retweeted Stone’s tweet on the “@GUCCIFER_2” Twitter account.
  • Aug. 17, Guccifer 2.0 privately messaged Stone, “I’m pleased to say that u r great man. and i think I gonna read ur books. please tell me if i can help u anyhow. it would be a great pleasure to me.”

The conversation “was so perfunctory, brief and banal I had forgotten it,” Stone said recently and explained, “Even if [Guccifer 2.0] is/was a Russian asset, my brief Aug. 14 correspondence with him on twitter comes AFTER I wrote about his role in the DNC hacks (Aug 5) and AFTER Wikileaks released the DNC material. How does one collaborate on a matter after the fact?”

And if one could collaborate before or after the fact, why would one not try to hide it?

Stay tuned for part #2…

Below are the screenshots of Roger Stone’s communications on Twitter with Guccifer 2.0.