Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and his former campaign adviser, tried to get information he considered damaging to Hillary Clinton from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 presidential campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Journal, citing emails it had reviewed, reported the messages could raise questions about Stone's testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in September, when he said he "merely wanted confirmation" from an acquaintance that Assange had information about Clinton.
In a Sept. 18, 2016, email, Stone urged an acquaintance who knew Assange to ask the WikiLeaks founder for emails related to Clinton's alleged role in disrupting a purported Libyan peace deal in 2011 when she was secretary of state, the Journal reported.
"Please ask Assange for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30 – particularly on August 20, 2011," Stone wrote to Randy Credico, a New York radio personality who had interviewed Assange several weeks earlier. Stone referred to Clinton by her initials.
At the time, Stone did not have any formal role in the Trump campaign, the Journal noted.
According to the Journal, Credico initially responded that what Stone was requesting would be on WikiLeaks' website if it existed, but Stone replied: "Why do we assume WikiLeaks has released everything they have ???"
In another email, Credico asked Stone to give him a "little bit of time," saying he thought Assange might appear on his radio show the next day. A few hours later, Credico wrote: "That batch probably coming out in the next drop . . . I can't ask them favors every other day. I asked one of his lawyers . . . they have major legal headaches . . . relax," the Journal reported.
Credico told the Journal he never gave the message to Assange or his lawyers, but was "tired" of Stone "bothering" him, so he told Stone he had passed the message along.
Stone, in a text message to the Journal, said Credico had "provided nothing" to him and WikiLeaks never handed anything over. Both men deny ever having special access to WikiLeaks' material.
"I never had possession or access to any Clinton emails or records," Stone told the Journal, adding his testimony before the House committee was "complete and accurate."
According to the Journal, the unearthed emails come as special counsel Robert Mueller's team appears to be examining Stone’s role in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
After earlier asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in the House probe, Credico says he is willing now to talk with investigators, the Journal reported.
He said he met with the committee's Democratic staff members Wednesday for what he called a limited conversation about WikiLeaks, the 2016 campaign and Stone, the Journal reported.