Stone can't win. Jurors don't like it when you threaten a guy's dog.

I don't have time to write much, although I've read many live tweets from the courtroom, such as this thread. My quick take: Scholars will debate for years how Roger Stone knew what he knew, and what sort of communications he really had with Wikileaks, Trump and others. But his own text messages establish one thing beyond all rational debate: Roger Stone tried to intimidate Randy Credico into offering false testimony.

They've spent several minutes having Taylor read the many, many angry messages exchanged btw Stone and Credico about Credico's testimony. "You want me to cover you for perjury now," Credico complained. (There are a zillion others, too many to type quickly)

Summing up: Taylor says that around this time, Stone told Credico to plead the 5th seven times, mentioned Pentangeli twice, and told Credico not to speak to federal law enforcement 3 times.

They're now reading from this article from Stone's website, where he trashed Credico for taking the Fifth before Congress (something Stone had repeatedly told him to do)

Also here...

“Hey don’t worry about it. Trump will give you a pardon," Stone texted Randy Credico on 12/1/17

“You’ve opened up to perjury charges like an idiot....you have 5 different versions...maybe you need to get into rehab and get that memory straight.” Credico “You are so full of shit. You got nothing.” Stone

“I know you are a dumb shit but...I have a Constitutional right to call you a lightweight cocksucker drunk asshole piece of shit and I just did.” “I am going to take that dog away from you and there’s nothing you can do about it."

And here:

Credico on 4/7/18: "You did it all for attention and my 200 emails and screenshots of my text messages with you will prove it so you were not involved on any level except for lying..." Stone replies, "Why does your breath smell of Ari Melber’s co--?”

Stone to Credico on 4/9/18: “When I wipe my ass what's on the toilet paper is worth more than you are. You're an alcoholic drug addicted out of work piece of shit.”

Another Stone reply to Credico from 4/9/18: “I am so ready. Let's get it on. Prepare to die cocksucker."

Here's Mother Jones' take, written by Dan Friedman:

After naming Credico in a letter to the committee, Stone began a campaign, via emails and text messages, to get Credico to go along with his story. Stone emailed Credico what he said were portions of that letter, as an apparent courtesy. But prosecutors revealed on Thursday that Stone had drastically altered the excerpts he sent Credico, adding elaborate praise for Credico.

In 2018, as Credico began contradicting Stone in appearances on television and in interviews with Mother Jones, 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 cock sucker,” Stone messaged Credico on April 9, 2018.

Stone told Mother Jones in a text message last year that he was not threatening Credico and that he wrote those words because Credico “told me he had terminal prostate cancer.” Credico said he didn’t have prostate cancer and that Stone’s message “was a threat.”

Look, I always bet on the bad guy, but even my pessimism has limits. No matter what kind of defense his lawyer mounts, Stone can't win. He screwed himself over by taking his hyper-macho pseudo-gangster bullshit act way too far.

Jurors don't like it when you threaten a guy's dog.