Feds to show Godfather clip in Roger Stone Case

With his avant garde outfits and tattoo of Richard Nixon’s face, Roger Stone has long been considered one of America’s preeminent political characters. 

Stone is going to face trial on charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering. Former special counsel Robert Mueller brought the charges earlier this year before wrapping up the investigation and closing his office.

The Federal prosecutors in his criminal case took that notion to new heights on Friday when they filed a motion with the court requesting that the government be permitted to show the jury a four-minute clip from the classic 1974 mob film, “The Godfather Part II,” as part of their case against the former advisor to President Donald Trump.

As per the new court filings, the excerpt the government intends to show the jury involves the character Frank Pentangeli, a member of the mafia who during the film lies to a Senate committee tasked with investigating organized crime.

Investigators allege that Stone, who is facing charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering, lied when he testified before the House Intelligence Committee regarding his communications with Wikileaks and radio host Randy Credico. In order to make sure their stories aligned, Stone is then alleged encouraged Credico to repeat the same false testimony prior to Credico’s testimony before the Committee. Stone’s encouragement came through several mediums, one of which was a text message that read, “Start practicing your Pantagele [sic],” a reference to the character from the film.

According to the motion, the scene is relevant to the government’s case because it would provide “important context for understanding Stone’s references—including what Stone intended to communicate to the witness and how Stone would have understood the witness’s likely understanding of those messages.”