Role of Roger Stone

Background

¶Roger Stone has known President Trnmp for many years and was an advisor to the Trnmp Campaign from close to its inception until approximately August 2015. After leaving the Campaign in August 2015, Stone continued to promote the Campaign and maintained regulai· contact with Trnmp Campaign members, including can didate Tnnnp and, when they joined the Campaign, with campaign officials Paul Manafo1i, Steve Bannon, and Rick Gates. According to multiple witnesses involved with the Campaign, beginning in June 2016 and continuing through October 2016, Stone spoke about WikiLeaks with senior Campaign officials, including can didate Trnmp.

Contacts with the Campaign about WikiLeaks

¶Stone has publicly denied having any direct contact with Assange and claimed not to have had any discussions with an intermediary connected to Assange until July or August 2016.¹⁹³¹⁹³ Executive Session, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House of Representatives, th 116 Cong. 39-40 (Sept. 26, 2017) (Statement of Roger J. Stone, Jr.). Other members and associates of the Trump Campaign, however, told the Office that Stone claimed to the Campaign as early as June 2016—before any announcement by Assange or WikiLeaks—that he had learned that WikiLeaks would release documents damaging to the Clinton Campaign. On June 12, 2016, Assange claimed in a televised interview to "have emails relating to Hillary Clinton which are pending publication,"¹⁹⁴¹⁹⁴ See Mahita Gajanan, Julian Assange Timed DNC Email Release for Democratic Convention, Time (July 27, 2016) (quoting the June 12, 2016 television interview). but provided no additional context.

¶In debriefings with the Office, former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates said that, before Assange's June 12 announcement, Gates and Stone had a phone conversation in which Stone said something "big" was coming and had to do with a leak of information.¹⁹⁵¹⁹⁵ In February 2018, Gates pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to a superseding criminal information charging him with conspiring to defraud and commit multiple offenses (i.e., tax fraud, failure to report foreign bank accounts, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal) against the United States, as well as making false statements to our Office. Superseding Criminal Information, United States v. Richard W. Gates III, 1:17-cr-201 (D.D.C. Feb. 23, 2018), Doc. 195 ("Gates Superseding Criminal Information"); Plea Agreement, United States v. Richard W. Gates III, 1:17-cr-201 (D.D.C. Feb. 23, 2018), Doc. 205 ("Gates Plea Agreement"). Gates has provided information and in-court testimony that the Office has deemed to be reliable.Show full note Stone also said to Gates that he thought Assange had Clinton emails. Gates asked Stone when the information was going to be released. Stone said the release would happen very soon. According to Gates, between June 12, 2016 and July 22, 2016, Stone repeated that information was coming. Manafort and Gates both called to ask Stone when the release would happen, and Gates recalled candidate Trump being generally frustrated that the Clinton emails had not been found.¹⁹⁶¹⁹⁶ Gates 10/25/18 302, at 1-2.

¶Paul Manafort, who would later become campaign chairman, provided similar information about the timing of Stone's statements about WikiLeaks.¹⁹⁷¹⁹⁷ As explained further in Volume I, Section IV.A.8, infra, Manafort entered into a plea agreement with our Office. We determined that he breached the agreement by being untruthful in proffer sessions and before the grand jury. We have generally recounted his version of events in this report only when his statements are sufficiently corroborated to be trustworthy; to identify issues on which Manafort's untruthful responses may themselves be of evidentiary value; or to provide Manafort's explanations for certain events, even when we were unable to determine whether that explanation was credible. His account appears here principally because it aligns with those of other witnesses.Show full note According to Manafort, sometime in June 2016, Stone told Manafort that he was dealing with someone who was in contact with WikiLeaks and believed that there would be an imminent release of emails by WikiLeaks.¹⁹⁸¹⁹⁸ [Redacted: (b) (3)]

¶Michael Cohen, former executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Donald J. Trump,¹⁹⁹¹⁹⁹ In November 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to a single-count information charging him with making false statements to Congress, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a) & (c). He had previously pleaded guilty to several other criminal charges brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, after a referral from this Office. In the months leading up to his false-statements guilty plea, Cohen met with our Office on multiple occasions for interviews and provided information that the Office has generally assessed to be reliable and that is included in this report.Show full note told the Office that he recalled an incident in which he was in candidate Trump's office in Trump Tower when Stone called. Cohen believed the call occurred before July 22, 2016, when WikiLeaks released its first tranche of Russian-stolen DNC emails.²⁰⁰²⁰⁰ Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 8-9. Stone was patched through to the office and placed on speakerphone. Stone then told the candidate that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and in a couple of days WikiLeaks would release information. According to Cohen, Stone claimed that he did not know what the content of the materials was and that Trump responded, "oh good, alright" but did not display any further reaction.²⁰¹²⁰¹ Cohen described the content of the call in an initial interview with our Office and its timing in a later interview. With respect to timing, Cohen stated that he believed the call would have been in July 2016, based on his own travel schedule and other factors. Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 8. Cohen believes that WikiLeaks had not released any campaign-related documents at the time, and that Stone's telephone call was prior to the release of stolen DNC documents on July 22, 2016. In February 2019 congressional testimony, Cohen stated he believed the conversation in question occurred on "either the 18th or 19th and I would guess that it would be on the 19th" of July. See Testimony of Michael D. Cohen, Committee on Oversight and Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, 116th Cong. 5 (Feb. 27, 2019).Show full note Cohen further told the Office that, after WikiLeaks's subsequent release of stolen DNC emails in July 2016, candidate Trump said to Cohen something to the effect of, "I guess Roger was right."²⁰²²⁰² Cohen 9/18/18 302, at 10. During his February 2019 congressional testimony, Cohen stated: Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that within a couple of days there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect, wouldn't that be great. See Testimony of Michael D. Cohen, Committee on Oversight and Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, 116th Cong. 5 (Feb. 27, 2019).Show full note

¶After WikiLeaks's July 22, 2016 release of documents, Stone participated in a conference call with Manafort and Gates. According to Gates, Manafort expressed excitement about the release and congratulated Stone.²⁰³²⁰³ Gates 10/25/18 302 (serial 241), at 4. Manafort, for his part, told the Office that, shortly after WikiLeaks's July 22 release, Manafort also spoke with candidate Trump and mentioned that Stone had predicted the release and claimed to have access to WikiLeaks. Candidate Trump responded that Manafort should stay in touch with Stone.²⁰⁴²⁰⁴ [Redacted: (b) (3)] Manafort relayed the message to Stone, likely on July 25, 2016.²⁰⁵²⁰⁵ [Redacted: (b) (3)] Manafort also told Stone that he wanted to be kept apprised of any developments with WikiLeaks and separately told Gates to keep in touch with Stone about future WikiLeaks releases.²⁰⁶²⁰⁶ [Redacted: (b) (3)]

¶According to Gates, by the late summer of 2016, the Trump Campaign was planning a press strategy, a communications campaign, and messaging based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks.²⁰⁷²⁰⁷ Gates 4/10/18 302, at 3; Gates 4/11/18 302, at 1-2 (SM-2180998); Gates 10/25/18 302, at 2. Gates also stated that Stone called candidate Trump multiple times during the campaign.²⁰⁸²⁰⁸ Gates 10/25/18 302 (serial 241), at 4. Gates recalled one lengthy telephone conversation between Stone and candidate Trump that took place while Trump and Gates were driving to LaGuardia Airport. Although Gates could not hear what Stone was saying on the telephone, shortly after the call candidate Trump told Gates that more releases of damaging information would be coming.²⁰⁹²⁰⁹ Gates 10/25/18 302 (serial 241), at 4.

¶Stone also had conversations about WikiLeaks with Steve Bannon, both before and after Bannon took over as the chairman of the Trump Campaign. Bannon recalled that, before joining the Campaign on August 13, 2016, Stone told him that he had a connection to Assange. Stone implied that he had inside information about WikiLeaks. After Bannon took over as campaign chairman, Stone repeated to Bannon that he had a relationship with Assange and said that WikiLeaks was going to dump additional materials that would be bad for the Clinton Campaign.²¹⁰²¹⁰ Bannon 10/26/18 302, at 1-2.

Roger Stone's Known Efforts to Communicate with WikiLeaks

¶Three days after WikiLeaks released stolen DNC documents on July 22, 2016, Stone sent an email to his associate Jerome Corsi directing him to "[g]et to Assange [a]t Ecuadorian Embassy in London and get the pending [WikiLeaks] emails . . . they deal with Foundation, allegedly."²¹¹²¹¹ 7/25/16 Email, Stone to Corsi. Corsi is an author who holds a doctorate in political science.²¹²²¹² Corsi first rose to public prominence in August 2004 when he published his book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry. In the 2008 election cycle, Corsi gained prominence for being a leading proponent of the allegation that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Corsi told the Office that Donald Trump expressed interest in his writings, and that he spoke with Trump on the phone on at least six occasions. Corsi 9/6/18 302, at 3.Show full note In 2016, Corsi also worked for the media outlet WorldNetDaily (WND). Corsi first met Stone in early 2016 and began having recorded conversations with Stone that Corsi intended to use as content for WND. According to Corsi, by March 2016, Corsi stopped making recordings with Stone and began to be more of a self-described "operative" for Stone, seeking to assist the Trump Campaign in a personal capacity.²¹³²¹³ Corsi 10/31/18 302, at 2; [Redacted: (b) (3)] Corsi was first interviewed on September 6, 2018 at the Special Counsel's offices in Washington, D.C. He was accompanied by counsel throughout the interview. Corsi was subsequently interviewed on September 17, 2018; September 21, 2018; October 31, 2018; November 1, 2018; and November 2, 2018. Counsel was

¶After receiving Stone 's July 25, 2016 email, Corsi fo1warded the email to another associate, Theodore Malloch, who lived in London at the time. 2 14 Corsi told the Office during interviews that he "must have" previously discussed Assange with Malloch.2 15 Corsi also told the Office that he introduced Malloch and Stone earlier in 2016, when Malloch wanted to become involved in the Campaign.2 16 On July 31, 2016, Stone sent another email to Corsi, this one stating that Malloch "should see Assange." 2 17

¶[Redacted: (b) (3)] wished to interview. Malloch recalled that Corsi also suggested that individuals in the "orbit" of U.K. politician Nigel Farage might be able to contact Assange and asked if Malloch knew them. Malloch told Corsi that he would think about the request but made no actual attempt to connect Corsi with Assange. 2 18

¶On August 2, 2016, Corsi sent Stone an email reading, in pali, "Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps. One sho1tly after I'm back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be ve1y damaging." Corsi added, "Time to let more than Podesta to be exposed as in bed w[ith] enemy if they are not ready to drop HRC [Hillaiy Rodham Clinton]. That appears to be the game hackers ai·e now about. Would not hurt to stait suggesting HRC old, memo1y bad, has stroke -- neith er he nor she well. I expect that much of next dump focus, setting stage for Foundation debacle." 219 At a public event held on August 8, 2016, Stone made his first of several public statements that he had been in contact with Assange-a claim that he later amended to indicate the communication was via a "mutual friend. " 220 present for all inte1views, and the inte1views beginning on September 21, 2018 were conducted pursuant to a proffer agreement that precluded affinnative use of his statements against him in limited circumstances.

¶Malloch stated to investigators that beginning in or about August 2016, he and Corsi had multiple FaceTime discussions about WikiLeaks an d Stone. On these calls, Corsi stated that Stone had made a connection to Assange an d that the hacked emails of John Podesta would be released prior to Election Day and would be helpful to the Tnnnp Campaign. In one conversation in or around August or September 2016, Corsi told Malloch that the release of the Podesta emails was coming, after which "we" were going to be in the driver 's seat.221

¶Beginning in August 2016, Stone began to collllllunicate with another associate, Randy Credico, about WikiLeaks. Credico, a New York radio show host, interviewed Assange on August 25 , 2016.²²²²²² Interview of Julian Assange by Randy Credico on WBAI, Posted 8/25/ 16, available at https ://www.weblinenews.com/julian-assange-hilla1y-clinton-donald-tnnnp/. Credico discussed the inte1view with Stone a few days before the inte1view. On August 19, 2016, Credico sent a text message to Stone that read in part, "I'm going to have Assange on my show next Thursday." On August 21 , 2016, Credico sent another text message to Stone, writing in prut "I have Assange on Thursday so I'm completely tied up on that day." 8/19-20/ 16 Text Messages, Credico to Stone.Show full note On August 26, 2016, Credico sent a text message to Stone that read "Julian Assange talk[ed] about you last night."²²³²²³ 8/26/ 16 Text Message, Credico to Stone. Stone asked what Assange said, to which Credico responded, "He didn't say anything bad we were talking about how the Press is hying to make it look like you and he are in cahoots."²²⁴²²⁴ 8/26/ 16, Text Message, Credico to Stone. The following day, Credico sent a text message stating, "Julian Assange has kiyptonite on Hillaiy."²²⁵²²⁵ 8/27/ 16, Text Message, Credico to Stone.

¶In September 2016, Stone asked Credico to pass along a request to Assange for any emails from the State Depaitment or candidate Clinton that pe1tained to an event in 2011 when Clinton was serving as Secretaiy of State.²²⁶²²⁶ 9/ 18-19/ 16 Text Messages, Stone & Credico); 9/ 18/16 Email, Stone to Credico. Credico agreed to pass along the request and sent the request to an attorney who had regulai· contact with WikiLeaks. He included Stone on the email as a blind copy.²²⁷²²⁷ 9/20/ 16 Email, Credico to Kunstler, bee: Stone. (In an interview with the Office, the attorney stated that she did not communicate the request to WikiLeaks.²²⁸²²⁸ Kunstler 10/3/ 18 302, at 1.)

¶In late September and early October 2016, Credico and Stone collllllunicated about possible upcoming WikiLeaks releases. On October 1, 2016, Credico sent Stone text messages that read, "big news Wednesday ... now pretend u don 't know me ... Hilla1y's campaign will die this week."²²⁹²²⁹ The day before, on September 30, 2016, Credico sent Stone a photograph of Credico standing outside tlle Ecuado1ian Embassy in London, where Assange was living. Credico visited London in September 2016 and stopped by the Ecuadorian Embassy to drop off a letter thanking Assange for After a planned WikiLeaks press conference on October 2, 2016 was postponed, Stone emailed Credico to ask about the delay. Credico responded, "head fake."²³⁰²³⁰ 10/2/ 16 Email, Credico to Stone. On October 3, 2016, Stone wrote Credico asking, "Did Assange back off." Credico initially responded, "I can't tal[k] about it," but later wrote, "I think its on for tomoITow." Credico added, "Off the Record Hillaiy and her people ai·e doing a full-comi press they keep Assange from making the next dump ... that's all I can tell you on this line .. . Please leave my name out of it."²³¹²³¹ 8/ 19/ 16 - 10/8/16 Text Messages, Credico & Stone. During an interview in December 2018, Credico told the Office that he had not heai·d that claim from anyone specific and did not recall why he wrote it to Stone.²³²²³² Credico 12/6/18 302, at 9.

¶Stone repeated Credico's October 2016 predictions about WikiLeaks to multiple people, including persons involved with the Tnnnp Campaign.²³³²³³ Stone also made one public statement that appears to have been spuned by his conversations with Credico. On October 2, 2016, Stone pa1ticipated in an InfoWai·s inte1view and said, "An inte1mediaiy met with him in London recently who is a friend of mine and a friend of his, a believer in freedom. And I am assured that th e motherlode is coming Wednesday." Trump Advisor Roger Stone Says He 's Been 'Assured ' Through an Assange Intermediary that 'The Mother Lode is Coming, Media Matters, Posted 10/3/ 16, available at https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2016/ l 0/03/tnunp-advisor-roger-stone-says-he s-been-assured-through-assange-intermediaiy-mother-lode-coming/213488.Show full note On October 3, 2016, Stone received an email from a repo1ier asking, " [Assange] - what's he got? Hope it's good." Stone responded, "It is. I'd tell Bannon but he doesn 't call me back."²³⁴²³⁴ 10/3/ 16 Email, Stone tc lffl;gjffl!fflr,1 On October 3, 2016, Stone emailed Erik Prince-a campaign donor and occasional infonnal advisor, see Volume I, Section IV.B.2.a-to say "Spoke to my friend in London last night. The payload is still coming."²³⁵²³⁵ 10/3/ 16 Email, Stone to P1ince. The following day, Prince emailed Stone to ask whether he had "heai·[d] anymore from London." Stone responded, "Yes - want to talk on a secure line - got Whatsapp."²³⁶²³⁶ 10/4/ 16 Email, Stone to Bannon. According to Prince, Stone and Prince did speak subsequently, and Stone said that WikiLeaks would release more materials that would be damaging to the Clinton Campaign. Stone also indicated to Prince that he had what Prince described as almost "insider stock trading" type infonnation about Assange.²³⁷²³⁷ Prince 5/3/ 18 302, at 7. On October 4, 2016, after Assange completed a press conference without announcing new releases, Bannon emailed Stone, "What was that this morning???" and asked ifAssange had "cut a deal w/ Clintons." Stone emailed Bannon back telling him Assange was afraid, but that there would be a dump coming once a week.²³⁸²³⁸ The communication followed a press conference by Assange in which he made no mention of releasing materials related to candidate Clinton. Stone answered that Assange had a " [s]edous secmity concern" but that WikiLeaks would release "a load every week going forward." 10/4/16 Email, Stone to Bannon; Bannon 2/14/18 302, at 33. pait icipating in the August 2016 radio inte1view. According to Credico, he never s oke with Assan e or " I - IU -' . - .. . 1 .. 1 .. - 1 I I

¶/ 18 302, at 8. UiilAliiUilUiilAljUlili [Redacted: (b) (3), (b) (7)(E)]

WikiLeaks's October 7, 2016 Release of Stolen Podesta Emails

¶On October 7, 2016, four days after the Assange press conference that Stone had discussed with Trump Campaign officials, the Washington Post published an Access Hollywood video that captured comments by candidate Trump some years earlier and that was expected to adversely affect the Campaign.²³⁹²³⁹ Candidate Trump can be heard off camera making graphic statements about women. Less than an hour after the video's publication, WikiLeaks released the first set of emails stolen by the GRU from the account of Clinton Campaign chairman John Podesta.

¶The Office investigated whether Roger Stone played any role in WikiLeaks's dissemination of the Podesta emails at that time. During his first September 2018 interview, Corsi stated that he had refused Stone's July 25, 2016 request to contact Assange, and that had been the last time they had talked about contacting Assange.²⁴⁰²⁴⁰ Corsi 9/6/18 302, at 5–6. Email and text communications between Stone and Corsi show that was false. During a later September 2018 interview, Corsi told the Office that one of his WikiLeaks-related communications with Stone had occurred on October 7, 2016, just prior to WikiLeaks's release.²⁴¹²⁴¹ Corsi 9/21/18 302, at 6. Corsi told the Office that he spoke with Stone before publication of the Access Hollywood video and that Stone knew about the tape's content and its imminent release, both of which he relayed to Corsi.²⁴²²⁴² Corsi 9/21/18 302, at 6.

¶Corsi gave conflicting accounts of what happened after Stone purportedly informed him about the video.²⁴³²⁴³ Corsi 9/21/18 302, at 6. Initially, Corsi told investigators that he had instructed Stone to have WikiLeaks release information to counteract the expected reaction to the video's release, and that Stone said that was a good idea and would get it done. Later during the same interview, Corsi stated that Stone had told Corsi to have WikiLeaks drop the Podesta emails immediately, and Corsi told Stone he would do it. Corsi said that, because he had no direct means of communicating with WikiLeaks, he told members of the news site WND—who were participating on a conference call with him that day—to reach Assange immediately.²⁴⁴²⁴⁴ In a later November 2018 interview, Corsi stated that he relayed Stone's information in a different conference call. Corsi initially stated that he believed Malloch was on the call but then focused on other individuals who were on the call-invitation, which Malloch was not. (Separate travel records show that at the time of the call, Malloch was aboard a transatlantic flight). Corsi at one point stated that after WikiLeaks's release of stolen emails on October 7, 2016, he concluded Malloch had gotten in contact with Assange. Corsi 11/1/18 302, at 6.Show full note Corsi claimed that the pressure was enormous and recalled telling the conference call the Access Hollywood tape was coming.²⁴⁵²⁴⁵ During the same interview, Corsi also suggested that he may have sent out public tweets because he knew Assange was reading his tweets. Our Office was unable to find evidence of any such tweets. Corsi stated that he was convinced that his efforts had caused WikiLeaks to release the emails when they did.²⁴⁶²⁴⁶ Corsi 9/21/18 302, at 6-7. In a later November 2018 interview, Corsi stated that he thought that he had told people on a WND conference call about the forthcoming tape and had sent out a tweet asking whether anyone could contact Assange, but then said that maybe he had done nothing.²⁴⁷²⁴⁷ Corsi 11/1/18 302, at 6.

¶The Office investigated Corsi's allegations about the events of October 7, 2016 but found little corroboration for his allegations about the day.²⁴⁸²⁴⁸ [Redacted: (b) (3)] that, after the election, Corsi boasted that he and Stone had played an important role in interacting with WikiLeaks during the Campaign, and they should be given credit for what they had done with respect to WikiLeaks during the Campaign. [Redacted: (b) (3)] In public statements, Stone has denied having advance knowledge of the Access Hollywood tape.²⁴⁹²⁴⁹ Chuck Ross, Jerome Corsi Testified That Roger Stone Sought WikiLeaks' Help To Rebut 'Access Hollywood' Tape, Daily Caller (Nov. 27, 2018) (quoting Stone as claiming that he did not have knowledge of the tape until its publication). Telephone records show that, on the morning of October 7, 2016, Stone had a conversation with a reporter from the Washington Post (the first media outlet to publish the Access Hollywood video).²⁵⁰²⁵⁰ Call Records of Roger Stone [Redacted: (b) (3)] (reflecting an 18-minute telephone call with a Washington Post number starting at approximately 11:53 a.m.). However, the phone records themselves do not indicate that the conversation was with any of the reporters who broke the Access Hollywood story, and the Office has not otherwise been able to identify the substance of the conversation. Telephone records show communication between Stone and Corsi on October 7, 2016, as well as Corsi's participation in two conference calls that day.²⁵¹²⁵¹ Call Records of Roger Stone [Redacted: (b) (3)] (showing a 17-minute telephone call with Jerome Corsi starting at approximately 1:42 p.m., followed by a second twenty-minute telephone call between the two starting at approximately 2:18 p.m.); Call Records of Jerome Corsi [Redacted: (b) (3)] [Redacted: (b) (3)] (showing a conference line for approximately fifteen minutes starting at approximately 2:00 p.m.).Show full note However, the Office has not identified any conference call participant, or anyone who spoke to Corsi that day, who says that they received non-public information about the tape from Corsi or acknowledged having contacted a member of WikiLeaks on October 7, 2016 after a conversation with Corsi.

Donald Trump Jr. Interaction with WikiLeaks

¶Donald Trump Jr. had direct electronic communications with WikiLeaks during the campaign period. On September 20, 2016, an individual named Jason Fishbein sent WikiLeaks the password for an unlaunched website focused on Trump's "unprecedented and dangerous" ties to Russia, PutinTrnmp.org.²⁵²²⁵² 9/20/ 16 Twitter DM, JasonFishbein to @WikiLeaks; see JF00587 (9/21/16 Messages, --- .....= - @jabber.c1yptoparty.is · · • @jabber.c1yptoparty.is); Fishbein 9/5/ 18 302, at 4. When mte1v1ewed by our Office, Fishbem pro uce what he claimed to be logs from a chatroom in which the part icipants discussed U.S. politics; one of the other pa1ticipants had posted the website and password that Fishbein sent to WikiLeaks.Show full note WikiLeaks publicly tweeted: " ' Let's bomb Iraq' Progress for America PAC to launch "PutinTrnmp.org' at 9:30am . Oops pw is 'putintnnnp ' putintn nnp.org ." Several hours later, WikiLeaks sent a Twitter direct message to Donald Trnmp Jr., "A PAC nm anti-Trnmp site putintn nnp.org is about to launch. The PAC is a recycled pro-Iraq war PAC. We have guessed the password. It is 'putintn nnp.' See 'About' for who is behind it. Any comments?"253

¶Several hours later, Trnmp Jr. emailed a variety of senior campaign staff:

Guys I got a weird Twitter DM from wikileaks. See below. I tried the password and it works and the about section they reference contains th e next pie in ten ns of who is behind it. Not sure if this is anything but it seems like it's really wikileaks asking me as I follow them an d it is a DM. Do you know the people mentioned and what the conspiracy they ar e looking for could be? These are just screen shots but it's a fully built out page claiming to be a PAC let me know your thoughts and if we want to look into it. 254

¶Tn nnp Jr. attached a screenshot of the "About" page for the unlaunched site PutinTnnnp.org. The next day (after the website had launched publicly), Trnmp Jr. sent a direct message to WikiLeaks: "Off the record, I don 't know who that is but I'll ask around. Thanks."²⁵⁵²⁵⁵ 9/21/ 16 Twitter DM, @DonaldJT111mpJr to @WikiLeaks.

¶On October 3, 2016, WikiLeaks sent another direct message to Tnnnp Jr., asking "you guys" to help disseminate a link alleging can didate Clinton had advocated using a drone to tar get Julian Assange. Tnnnp Jr. responded that he afready "had done so," an d asked, "what's behind this Wednesday leak I keep reading about?"²⁵⁶²⁵⁶ 10/3/ 16 Twitter DMs, @DonaldJT111mpJr & @WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks did not respond.

¶On October 12, 2016, WikiLeaks wrote again th at it was "great to see you and your dad talking about our publications. Strongly suggest yom dad tweets this link if he mentions us wlsearch.tk."²⁵⁷²⁵⁷ At the time, the link took users to a WikiLeaks ai·chive of stolen Clinton Campaign documents. WikiLeaks wrote that the link would help Tn nnp in "digging tlu-ough" leak ed emails and stated, "we just released Podesta emails Paii 4."²⁵⁸²⁵⁸ 10/ 12/ 16 Twitter DM, @WikiLeaks to @DonaldJT111mpJr. Two days later, Tnnnp Jr. publicly tweeted the wlseai·ch.tk link.259