Trump confidant Stone loses bid to get evidence thrown out

WASHINGTON – A judge has denied Trump confidant Roger Stone’s efforts to suppress evidence in the case against him.

Stone is one of a half dozen Trump aides and advisers charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. He is accused of lying to Congress, among other charges.

Stone had asked a judge to throw out the evidence seized from 18 FBI search warrants. Those warrants were based on the intelligence community’s assessment that Russia had hacked Democratic email networks and distributed stolen communications to WikiLeaks.

Stone has challenged the accuracy of those conclusions and states that the warrants were therefore invalid.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected his arguments, meaning evidence collected under the search warrants can be used in the upcoming trial.