President Donald Trump tweeted praise of his longtime adviser Roger Stone on Monday, after Stone had declared that he would never testify against the president.
The rest of the internet ― and especially George Conway ― groaned.
Over the weekend, Stone said on ABC’s “This Week” that there was “no circumstance” under which he would testify in the special counsel’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, “because I’d have to bear false witness” against Trump.
On Monday morning, Trump sang Stone’s praises for making such a declaration: “Nice to know that some people still have ‘guts!’”
George Conway, husband of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, soon suggested that Trump’s tweet might be considered witness tampering. He pointed to a statute in the U.S. Code that defines witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
Conway, a longtime Trump critic despite the fact that his wife works for the president, also retweeted other pundits and journalists who quipped about Trump’s buttering up of Stone:
Trump’s post was part of his latest morning tirade against special counsel Robert Mueller and those involved in that investigation. Earlier, he fired at his former personal attorney Michael Cohen for taking a plea deal in the case.