Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile mercilessly ripped President Trump’s former election campaign adviser Roger Stone following his conviction in federal court Friday.
Ms. Brazile, who briefly led the Democratic National Committee during former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful 2016 campaign against Mr. Trump, rejoiced about the verdict several hours after Stone was found guilty of seven federal criminal counts.
“I hope he roasts in hell,” Ms. Brazile said during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
“Go to jail, go to hell. I’ve never been so proud of the jurors,” Mr. Brazile said later during the segment. “I can’t stand that son of a bitch.”
Ms. Brazile, the DNC’s interim chair during the final months of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, reasoned that Stone was found guilty of counts related to the dissemination of stolen emails that complicated the former Democratic candidate’s failed White House bid.
Emails stolen from the DNC and John Podesta, the chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, were released throughout the race by outlets including the website WikiLeaks. Federal law enforcement agencies have since determined that the emails were stolen by Russian state-sponsored hackers prior to being provided to WikiLeaks for publication.
Stone, 67, was charged by the Department of Justice in January with interfering in the government’s efforts to investigate Russian involvement in the election, including several counts related to lying to members of Congress regarding discussions he had during the race about WikiLeaks. He faces a maximum sentence of 50 years imprisonment following his conviction Friday morning on all seven counts.
“That son of a bitch worked with WikiLeaks to destroy not just Democrats, but to destroy our democracy,” Ms. Brazile said on HBO. “So I hope he roasts in hell.”
“They worked to destroy Hillary Clinton,” Ms. Brazile added. “And yes, they took our emails, took our personal information, and then they turned against us and threatened our lives and harassed us.”
Ms. Brazile became interim Democratic National Committee chair in July 2016 when her predecessor, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, resigned amid the uproar surrounding WikiLeaks publishing the DNC’s internal emails.
Emails released later by WikiLeaks belonging to Mr. Podesta showed that, while simultaneously serving as vice chair of the DNC and acting as a CNN commentator, Ms. Brazile had notified Mrs. Clinton’s campaign in advance about a question that would be asked in a Democratic presidential primary debate being aired by the network. She subsequently severed ties with CNN and became a Fox News contributor in March 2019.
Stone declined to comment. He is prohibited by court order from discussing matters involving his case.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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