Robert Mueller speaks out on Roger Stone commutation

Former special counsel Robert Mueller responded to claims from President Trump and his allies that Roger Stone was a "victim" in the Justice Department's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, writing in a Washington Post op-ed published Saturday: "He remains a convicted felon, and rightly so."

Why it matters: The rare public comments by Mueller come on the heels of President Trump's move to commute the sentence of his longtime associate, who was sentenced in February to 40 months in prison for crimes stemming from the Russia investigation. The controversial decision brought an abrupt end to the possibility of Stone spending time behind bars.

What he's saying: Stone became a "central figure" in the Russia investigation for "two key reasons," Mueller writes: "He communicated in 2016 with individuals known to us to be Russian intelligence officers, and he claimed advance knowledge of WikiLeaks’ release of emails stolen by those Russian intelligence officers."

• "The special counsel’s office identified two principal operations directed at our election: hacking and dumping Clinton campaign emails, and an online social media campaign to disparage the Democratic candidate. We also identified numerous links between the Russian government and Trump campaign personnel — Stone among them."
• "Congress also investigated and sought information from Stone. A jury later determined he lied repeatedly to members of Congress. He lied about the identity of his intermediary to WikiLeaks. He lied about the existence of written communications with his intermediary. He lied by denying he had communicated with the Trump campaign about the timing of WikiLeaks’ releases. He in fact updated senior campaign officials repeatedly about WikiLeaks. And he tampered with a witness, imploring him to stonewall Congress."
• "The jury ultimately convicted Stone of obstruction of a congressional investigation, five counts of making false statements to Congress and tampering with a witness. Because his sentence has been commuted, he will not go to prison. But his conviction stands."

The bottom line: "When a subject lies to investigators, it strikes at the core of the government’s efforts to find the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable," Mueller writes. "It may ultimately impede those efforts ... The women and men who conducted these investigations and prosecutions acted with the highest integrity. Claims to the contrary are false."

The big picture: Mueller's decision to speak out comes as Trump and his allies ramp up their years-long campaign to discredit the Russia investigation. Two GOP-led Senate committees are conducting investigations into the origins of the FBI probe, while veteran prosecutor John Durham is conducting a criminal investigation that is expected to conclude before the November election.