Politics

John Podesta Takes A Victory Lap After Roger Stone Verdict

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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Former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta took a social media victory lap after a Washington D.C. federal jury convicted longtime Trump associate Roger Stone on seven criminal counts.

“Just about to take off on a long transatlantic flight in a middle coast seat. I think I will just sit back, relax, and enjoy it,” Podesta wrote via Twitter along with a link to a New York Times article about the Stone verdict.

Stone was found guilty on Friday of one count each of obstructing an official proceeding and witness tampering, and five counts of making false statements to the House Intelligence Committee.

Although the Mueller investigation determined that no Trump associates played a direct role in hacking or disseminating DNC server emails, Stone was seen by the Trump campaign as an “access point” to Wikileaks, according to former former White House strategist Steven Bannon’s testimony.

In early October 2017, less than two months after Stone tweeted that it would “soon [be] Podesta’s time in the barrel,” Wikileaks began releasing the then-Clinton campaign manager’s hacked emails. Though Democrats used the tweet to accuse  Stone of orchestrating the leaks himself, he denied having direct advance knowledge. (RELATED: BARR: Roger Stone — Convicted On The Charge Of Supporting Donald Trump)

Absent a presidential pardon, the longtime Trump friend could receive up to 50 years in prison. However, he is expected to get far less than that when he is sentenced in January as a first-time, non-violent offender.

Podesta wasn’t the only Democrat to celebrate the Stone verdict: