Thoughts on the Roger Stone indictment

The latest Russia collusion, get Donald Trump news is about the indictment of Roger Stone. There are the usual attempts to show how this is horrible for Donald Trump. Yet what is really in the indictment?

Reading the indictment, it basically says that Roger Stone lied to congressional committees about having advance knowledge of Wikileaks hacked email releases, having contact with Wikileaks, and having told people involved with the Trump Campaign that hacked emails might be released (5 counts of false statements). He apparently told an associate to lie or use the 5th amendment to avoid contradicting Stone's testimony (witness tampering), and in doing all this obstructed justice (obstruction count).

In terms of actual actions by Mr. Stone, the indictment says that Roger Stone was in contact with Wikileaks, either directly or indirectly, and might have known in advance when hacked emails would be released. These actions are not the subject of any criminal complaint. Apparently the actual contact with Wikileaks was not a crime. As in so many cases in the past, the crime was covering up the contact.

As to the Russians, the indictment doesn't state that Roger Stone had any direct contact with Russians, just contacts with Wikileaks. Any Russian connection is most likely true but I'm not sure it's been definitively proven. The indictment doesn't make any allegation against Donald Trump name anybody high up in the campaign actively colluded with Russians. Instead it says that the Trump campaign was interested in dirty on Hillary Clinton and might have actively solicited it. If that's a crime then most political campaigns are committing crimes.

This indictment still leaves us asking "where's the beef?" There will be claims that Mueller can now "turn" Roger Stone to get closer to Trump, but it seems more likely that all the Mueller probe will produce is more allegations of false statements of obstruction.