This is Spectator Radio and you're listening to The Americano podcast with Freddie Gray.

Hello and welcome to the Americano podcast, a series of discussions about American politics and the Trump presidency for the new Spectator USA website.

I'm joined today by the BBC's Paul Wood, who has been following the Mueller inquiry

closer than anyone. And we're going to be talking about Roger Stone, who has just been

arrested this morning in connection with the inquiry into Trump-Russia collusion. So Paul, can you tell us a little bit about

the counts in which he's been indicted and what it says about the Mueller inquiry and what it

says about the possibility of Trump-Russia collusion? Well, Stone himself expected this along with

everybody else. And these are charges which are about procedure, giving false statements, encouraging somebody

to lie to Congress, allegedly witness tampering, telling Randy Credico, his rather unlikely ally

during the campaign that he was a stoolie and he was going to be ripped apart by Stone's

lawyers.

None of this, as your question implies, goes to collusion.

The prosecutor's statement in the indictment paints a picture of Stone coordinating with WikiLeaks,

anticipating what they will do, prompting them to release dirt on Hillary. He would say,

and has said to me and other reporters, so what? That's politics. It's opposition research.

Getting dirt on your opponent is what we do in campaigns. But the allegation, of course, is that this

was coordinated with the Russians. You get a sense of that alleged coordination,

but with WikiLeaks in the indictment. You don't get any of it, any of the allegation about

coordination with the Russians. And I think Mueller is not showing his hand. He is building up a case

piece by piece, and there is a lot more to come, and possibly even more indictments for Roger Stone,

if there was indeed

Russia collusion.

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