Washington Post: “In recent weeks, a grand jury in Washington has listened to more than a dozen hours of testimony and FBI technicians have pored over gigabytes of electronic messages as part of the special counsel’s quest to solve one burning mystery: Did longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone — or any other associate of the president — have advance knowledge of WikiLeaks’ plans to release hacked Democratic emails in 2016?”

“While outwardly quiet for the last month, Robert Mueller’s investigators have been aggressively pursuing leads behind the scenes about whether Stone was in communication with the online group, whose disclosures of emails believed to have been hacked by Russian operatives disrupted the 2016 presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the special counsel probe.”

“One apparent line of inquiry: whether Stone lied to Congress about his alleged contacts with WikiLeaks during the presidential race.”

“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is scrutinizing how a collection of activists and pundits intersected with WikiLeaks, the website that U.S. officials say was the primary conduit for publishing materials stolen by Russia,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Mr. Mueller’s team has recently questioned witnesses about the activities of longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone, including his contacts with WikiLeaks, and has obtained telephone records.”

“Days after he predicted the president’s eldest son would soon be indicted, longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone is appealing for contributions to a legal defense fund, saying he expects to be charged with a crime,” NBC News reports.

Stone said in a letter to supporters that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is “examining every aspect of my personal, private, family, social, business and political life” with the goal to “frame me for some nonexistent crime to silence me and pressure me to testify against the president. … I am not going to do it.”

Roger Stone used an Instagram video to deny a forthcoming story in the New Yorker by Ronan Farrow which apparently says he told President Trump that WikiLeaks was going to release Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Stone also says The New York Times and The Washington Post have been pursuing the claim.

Mother Jones: “As special counsel Robert Mueller zeroes in on Roger Stone, prosecutors are looking into seemingly threatening emails the longtime Trump adviser sent to a former radio host.”

”A lawyer for Randy Credico, the radio host, confirmed Friday that he received a subpoena from Mueller’s office requesting that Credico testify before a grand jury in Washington on September 7. The attorney, Martin Stolar, said he believes prosecutors want to ask Credico about his contacts with Stone and also potentially about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.”

“Kristin Davis, the woman famously known as the ‘Manhattan Madam,’ met with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team for a voluntary interview on Wednesday,” CNN reports.

“Investigators appear to be interested in her ties to longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone, whom she has known for a decade. Sources said investigators expressed interest in having Davis testify before a grand jury — the latest indication that prosecutors are still aiming to build a case against Stone.”

“The man Roger Stone claimed was his back-channel to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 campaign declined an interview request from the special counsel and said he expects to be subpoenaed,” CNN reports.

“Randy Credico, the chatty radio host and comedian, told CNN that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team reached out in early June and requested a voluntary interview. After consulting with his lawyers — who, according to Credico, are well-aware of ‘my wayward lips’ — he declined the request.”