[Cabrera:] Big developments in the Russia probe. An associate of the president's friend and a longtime adviser, Roger Stone, is in, quote, "plea negotiations" with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Jerome Corsi is his name. He's a well-known conspiracy theorist. And his role in this investigation revolves around the possibility he may have been an intermediary between Stone and WikiLeaks, the site that released the hacked e-mails of the DNC and Clinton campaign chairman, John Podesta, in the leadup to the 2016 election. During a radio interview, Roger Stone was on the defense and he said there's no way he could be incriminated as a result of this deal with Corsi.
[Roger Stone, Political Operative & Trump Advisor:] This idea that Jerry Corsi could implicate me, there's simply no evidence whatsoever that would show that I knew about the source or the continent of any allegedly stolen e-mails or any allegedly hacked e- mails that were published by WikiLeaks. Just not so.
[Cabrera:] Stone also said Corsi is under a tremendous amount of pressure and he is being asked over and over to say things he does not actually believe occurred. Meantime, disgraced former Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, is learning the hard way Robert Mueller is keeping an eye on his Twitter feed. In two days, on Monday, Papadopoulos is set to begin serving a 14-day prison sentence as part of his plea deal that he struck after lying to the FBI in connection with the Russia probe. His lawyers want that sentence postponed but the special counsel is saying, no way, noting in court documents that Papadopoulos' initial statement of remorse doesn't line up with what he is saying publicly, including a tweet in which Papadopoulos declares the FBI investigation is, quote, "the biggest case of entrapment," and another tweet in which he says he was considering withdrawing his guilty plea because he believed he was framed. Joining us now to discuss, defense attorney, Randy Zelin. Randy, if Mueller is reading Papadopoulos' tweets, he must be reading the president's? What message does that send?
[Randy Zelin, Defense Attorney:] Where to begin? These people have such a curious relationship to the truth. You have Mr. Papadopoulos saying, I lied, now I lied about lying, so do they cancel each other out? That means I told the truth. You have Dr. Corsi who basically is more or less admitting he lied when he met with the special counsel and testified to the grand jury.
[Cabrera:] Because he was expecting an indictment
[Zelin:] Exactly. Now you have Mr. Stone, who doth protests too much and, by the way, he's under a tremendous amount of pressure, so he must be lying that he lied. It really it's fascinating.
[Cabrera:] Like you said, where do you begin? Let's talk about those tweets for a moment. Do you think the president should be worried if he's seeing what's happening in the Papadopoulos situation?
[Zelin:] I don't know that the president is necessarily capable of worrying. Right now, if I were Mr. Papadopoulos, I don't think he understands that just because he's been sentenced that he is insulated and can only be looking at 14 days. Because based upon those tweets, he has admitted to having committed perjury. Because when he went before the judge and entered a plea of guilty, he was sworn under oath, and the judge, I can assure you said, Mr. Papadopoulos, think carefully, because anything you say from this point forward, if you're lying, you will go to jail for perjury. Those tweets are an admission that he lied to the judge when he admitted lying to the
[Fbi. Cabrera:] So you're saying he could actually be in deeper trouble than he was to begin with?
[Zelin:] He could be in a whole world of hurt. And if I were him right now, I would make a motion for a stay of my surrender date because he's got one argument, which is, wait for Andrew Miller to go to all the courts to say that the special counsel has no business being there. It's unconstitutional. Therefore, my investigation, my prosecution was unconstitutional and let me go home.
[Cabrera:] Right. That's another case. I don't want our viewers to be confused. Andrew Miller is another person who's been subpoenaed to testify who is now fighting that because he says that he believes Robert Mueller's appointment was unconstitutional or his investigation.
[Zelin:] It should all go out the window.
[Cabrera:] Let me talk about Corsi, a Roger Stone associate, who now talking about having a plea deal or in negotiations. If he's in negotiations right now, does that mean he's kind of already given up the goods to them or that he's willing to give up the goods as long as he gets a good deal?
[Zelin:] The federal government works like this. You want to rent a car. The government walks in and says, I'm going to drive your car, I'm going to put a few thousand miles on it, and if I like it, I'll pay you. That's the way that it works. So, no, you don't dictate to the government. What happens is you come in, you come in to the government, you sit in a conference room with your lawyer and the prosecutors and the agents. You get a piece of paper that says that you will not get in trouble for the words that come out of your mouth so long as you tell us the truth. And the government tests you. And you audition for the government. That's what we call a proffer. And that hopefully will lead you to a cooperation agreement. But the government makes no commitments until they're satisfied that they're happy with what you have to say. So Dr. Corsi, if he's looking for a cooperation agreement and why he wants a better sentence.
[Cabrera:] Right.
[Zelin:] He wants the government to go to the judge and say don't worry about
[Cabrera:] The government has to think he has thing beneficial to the
[Zelin:] Before that happens. Yes.
[Cabrera:] investigation, right?
[Zelin:] The key is substantial assistance. And before the government determines if you can provide substantial assistance, they want to hear everything you have to say, not only about other people, but they want to know they can trust you, so you have to implicate yourself, which means your own case is over.
[Cabrera:] Oh my goodness. This investigation gets more complicated with more characters all the time. That's why we keep on hitting it week after week, because we want to keep you with each step. Thank you, Randy Zelin. Good to have your expertise as always.
[Zelin:] Thank you.
[Cabrera:] Just ahead, the chilling last words from the American who was killed on a remote island by one of the most isolated tribes in the world. What his diary reveals, next.