As the Russia probe into the Trump administration moves forward, things took an odd turn when comedian and satirist Randy Credico suddenly found himself in the middle of it. At issue is Credico's relationship with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who leaked hacked emails during the 2016 presidential campaign that many believe harmed Democrat Hillary Clinton's chances of winning. Our Zack Fink has the story.



Self-described prankster Randy Credico recently received a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee requiring him to appear before the committee late next week.

"It's very bizarre. It's Kafkaesque," Credico said.

Credico, who used to host a weekly radio show, frequently had WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on as a guest. The two have since become friends, and Credico has gone to visit Assange in London, where he is holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid arrest.

Investigations are now probing whether the Trump campaign or associates fed hacked information to WikiLeaks, which then published that information at the height of the 2016 campaign.

"I'm in the middle of this quagmire that features people like Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, 'Papa-lop-o-lous' or however you pronounce his name, and others," Credico said. "So my name is now out there with those names."

Enter Roger Stone. The longtime Republican dirty trickster told the House Intelligence Committee in September that Credico was his link to Assange.

Stone and Credico have been friends for nearly 20 years. But it remains unclear what, if anything, Stone may have passed on to WikiLeaks.

Credico: Did I ever introduce them? No. I can say that. I think my lawyers can tell you that I never introduced them to anybody.

Fink: Is it possible he used your name as an entre?

Credico: I don't know!

Some have compared Credico to Zelig, the Woody Allen character who has a knack for showing up everywhere. For his part, Credico insists he is not going to Washington without his pet Bianca, who he considers a "therapy dog" who receives frequent grooming treatments.

Credico is scheduled to testify before the committee in Washington on Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. He and his legal team haven't decided yet whether they will answer questions or plead the Fifth Amendment in order to protect Stone, Assange, and others whom Credico considers sources.