Social media consultant Jason Sullivan, hired by Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, reportedly received two subpoena related to the Russia probe last week. (Photo: @JasonSullivan_/Twitter)
May 16, 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued two grand jury subpoenas for a social media consultant hired by Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, before the 2016 election, Reuters revealed Wednesday.
While Mueller's office declined to comment, a lawyer for Jason Sullivan, the consultant,confirmed the subpoenas were delivered to his legal team last week. Sullivan heads the social media firm Cyphoon.com, and Stone supposedly hired him to help with strategy for a pro-Trump political action committee established by Stone.
The development gives some indication of the direction of Mueller's probe into allegations that Russians attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election and that members of the Trump campaign may have known about or even been involved with those efforts.
The subpoenas, Reuters notes, "suggest that Mueller is focusing in part on Stone and whether he might have had advance knowledge of material allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence and sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who published it."
Stone appeared before the House Intelligence Committee in September and denied allegations of collusion with Russians during the election, but as The Hill points out, "Stone has made contradicting statements about whether he knew in advance that WikiLeaks was going to publish a trove of hacked Democratic National Committee emails."
Citing sources familiar with Mueller's investigation,Reuters reportsthe special counsel "has been probing whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign may have helped Assange or the Russians time or target the release of hacked emails and other social media promoting Trump or critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton," which suggests there could be more subpoenas in the pipeline.
The subpoenas issued to Sullivan reportedly require the social media consultant to appear before a grand jury on May 18 in Washington, D.C., and to "bring documents, objects, and electronically stored information," the details of which were not publicly disclosed.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued two grand jury subpoenas for a social media consultant hired by Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, before the 2016 election, Reuters revealed Wednesday.
While Mueller's office declined to comment, a lawyer for Jason Sullivan, the consultant,confirmed the subpoenas were delivered to his legal team last week. Sullivan heads the social media firm Cyphoon.com, and Stone supposedly hired him to help with strategy for a pro-Trump political action committee established by Stone.
The development gives some indication of the direction of Mueller's probe into allegations that Russians attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election and that members of the Trump campaign may have known about or even been involved with those efforts.
The subpoenas, Reuters notes, "suggest that Mueller is focusing in part on Stone and whether he might have had advance knowledge of material allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence and sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who published it."
Stone appeared before the House Intelligence Committee in September and denied allegations of collusion with Russians during the election, but as The Hill points out, "Stone has made contradicting statements about whether he knew in advance that WikiLeaks was going to publish a trove of hacked Democratic National Committee emails."
Citing sources familiar with Mueller's investigation,Reuters reportsthe special counsel "has been probing whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign may have helped Assange or the Russians time or target the release of hacked emails and other social media promoting Trump or critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton," which suggests there could be more subpoenas in the pipeline.
The subpoenas issued to Sullivan reportedly require the social media consultant to appear before a grand jury on May 18 in Washington, D.C., and to "bring documents, objects, and electronically stored information," the details of which were not publicly disclosed.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued two grand jury subpoenas for a social media consultant hired by Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to President Donald Trump, before the 2016 election, Reuters revealed Wednesday.
While Mueller's office declined to comment, a lawyer for Jason Sullivan, the consultant,confirmed the subpoenas were delivered to his legal team last week. Sullivan heads the social media firm Cyphoon.com, and Stone supposedly hired him to help with strategy for a pro-Trump political action committee established by Stone.
The development gives some indication of the direction of Mueller's probe into allegations that Russians attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election and that members of the Trump campaign may have known about or even been involved with those efforts.
The subpoenas, Reuters notes, "suggest that Mueller is focusing in part on Stone and whether he might have had advance knowledge of material allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence and sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who published it."
Stone appeared before the House Intelligence Committee in September and denied allegations of collusion with Russians during the election, but as The Hill points out, "Stone has made contradicting statements about whether he knew in advance that WikiLeaks was going to publish a trove of hacked Democratic National Committee emails."
Citing sources familiar with Mueller's investigation,Reuters reportsthe special counsel "has been probing whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign may have helped Assange or the Russians time or target the release of hacked emails and other social media promoting Trump or critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton," which suggests there could be more subpoenas in the pipeline.
The subpoenas issued to Sullivan reportedly require the social media consultant to appear before a grand jury on May 18 in Washington, D.C., and to "bring documents, objects, and electronically stored information," the details of which were not publicly disclosed.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.