The government’s request to show jurors the movie clip came in one of several pleadings made in rapid succession Friday as the government and Roger Stone prepare for trial. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images legal Coming to a trial near you: ‘The Godfather Part II’ Prosecutors want to show a short clip from the famous Mafia movie to help bolster their accusation that Stone tried to tamper with a witness.

Coming soon to Roger Stone’s upcoming trial: A scene from “The Godfather Part II”?

That’s a real possibility after federal prosecutors on Friday made the unusual request to show a clip from the famous Mafia movie to bolster their case that the longtime Donald Trump associate tried to tamper with a witness.


At issue is a four-plus-minute scene in which a character named Frank Pentangeli backtracks on blockbuster testimony he’s delivering to Congress about the Corleone crime family. Stone referenced the movie scene in text messages to Randy Credico, a witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. Credico was questioned about his communications with Stone and WikiLeaks, the online platform that published stolen Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.

According to the indictment against Stone, he threatened Credico and his pet dog, Bianca, in an April 2018 text message, telling him he would “take that dog away from you.” Stone also urged Credico to “do a Frank Pentangeli” — a reference to the character who lies under oath to Congress under pressure from the Corleone family.

“The relevant scene is important context for understanding Stone’s references — including what Stone intended to communicate to the witness and how Stone would have understood the witness’s likely understanding of those messages,” the federal prosecutors wrote regarding the 1974 film.

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Stone has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include lying to Congress and obstruction of justice. In an interview with CNN after his indictment in January, Stone said the messages to Credico were “light hearted" "not serious.”

The government’s request to show jurors the movie clip came in one of several pleadings made in rapid succession Friday as the government and Stone prepare for the trial, which is scheduled to start Nov. 5 in Washington.

Stone’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to allow them to present evidence at the trial that WikiLeaks didn’t receive the tranches of stolen Democratic emails from Russia during the 2016 campaign. Their argument centers on the idea that the entire House investigation that required Stone’s testimony, in which he's he accused of lying, “was premised on the assumption that the Russian state transferred the stolen data to WikiLeaks.”

The prosecutors took a different tact on the same topic. They asked Jackson to block Stone's lawyers from introducing any evidence on the subject, discussing Russia's role in the Democratic hacks with the jury, or raising the allegations that Russia coordinated with people tied to Trump campaign.

“Stone is charged with obstructing a congressional investigation, making numerous false statements to Congress, and witness tampering. Stone is not charged with participating in Russia’s hacking activities or otherwise conspiring with the Russian government,” the federal prosecutors wrote in their motion.

“Evidence and argument about these issues should be excluded from trial because it is irrelevant to the charges at issue in this case and also presents a serious risk of jury confusion, prejudice, and delay,” they added.

Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, banned Stone last week from using any form of social media after ruling he had defied a court-imposed gag order not to comment on anything related to his case.