Roger Stone in serious trouble as prosecutors play jury audio of him allegedly lying to Congress

On Thursday, one of the final loose ends from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation inched closer to being tied up as the criminal trial of former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone continued.

According to Dan Friedman of Mother Jones, prosecutors showed particularly damning evidence in the latest day of the trial: audio clips of Stone allegedly lying to Congress.

Among the tapes were Stone telling Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) he only communicated with his intermediary with WikiLeaks "Over the phone," and told Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) that "He's not an email guy."

"Prosecutors say Stone’s claim that [comedian Randy] Credico was his main backchannel to Assange was itself a lie," wrote Friedman. "In fact, Jerome Corsi — a right-wing conspiracy theorist who worked with Stone to help Trump in 2016 — provided Stone with what Corsi said was inside information on Assange’s plans weeks before Credico shared other information about WikiLeaks. Stone also had written communications with Corsi that he failed to turn over to the committee."

Ultimately, said prosecutors, Stone's "state of mind undermines any argument that he did this in a conscious, evil, purposeful way to mislead the committee."

"Prosecutors aren’t simply painting Stone as a liar. They also took time Thursday to portray him as a jerk," continued Friedman. "Much of the evidence they presented related to Stone’s interactions with Credico. In October 2017, Stone told the Intelligence Committee that Credico was his intermediary with WikiLeaks. This wasn’t really true. Starting in late August 2016, Stone asked Credico, who was friendly with a WikiLeaks’ lawyer, to confirm information Assange had announced publicly about his plans, and pushed Credico to seek other information. But Stone had earlier received seemingly more significant information from Corsi."

"On August 2, 2016, Corsi — who was in Italy at the time after traveling to London — emailed Stone: 'Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps. One shortly after I’m back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be very damaging,'" wrote Friedman. "Stone immediately began touting those messages. In other words, Corsi was Stone’s original and most important connection to WikiLeaks — information that Stone hid from the committee."

Additionally, said prosecutors, "Stone bombarded Credico with insults and what prosecutors say were threats aimed at discouraging Credico from cooperating with Mueller or other investigators. 'Prepare to die c**k sucker,' Stone messaged Credico on April 9, 2018."

Stone denies the charges, claiming that the records he did not turn over to Congress weren't relevant to the investigation, and also insists that his expletive-laced message to Credico wasn't a threat — it was simply a reference to Credico's terminal prostate cancer diagnosis.

"Stone’s defense must still present its case. But the trial has not started well for the famed dirty trickster," concluded Friedman.