Mueller defends Russia probe, says Stone remains a felon

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former special counsel Robert Mueller sharply defended his investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, writing in a newspaper opinion piece Saturday that the probe was of “paramount importance” and asserting that a Trump ally, Roger Stone, “remains a convicted felon, and rightly so” despite the president’s decision to commute his prison sentence.

In his first public statement after the conclusion of his investigation, Mueller had said that he had hoped his report would speak for itself.

Those efforts, including his discussions with Trump campaign associates about them, cut to the heart of Mueller’s mandate to determine whether anyone tied to the campaign coordinated with Russia in the hacking or disclosure of the stolen Democratic emails.

Stone was particularly critical to the investigation, Mueller writes, because he claimed inside knowledge about WikiLeaks’ release of the stolen emails and because he communicated during the campaign with people known to be Russian intelligence officers.

He also communicated with members of the Trump campaign about the timing of the WikiLeaks releases, something that he denied.

“We did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government in its activities,” Mueller wrote.