THE TIGHTENING NOOSE:

[M]ueller emphasized that the Stone did case did arise from a common search warrant, which was contested by Stone's lawyers as "not likely."

"In the course of investigating that activity, the government obtained and executed dozens of search warrants on various accounts used to facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release, as well as to discuss the timing and promotion of their release. Several of those search warrants were executed on accounts that contained Stone's communications with Guccifer 2.0 and with Organization 1," Mueller continued. "Evidence obtained from those search warrants resulted in the allegations that the Netyksho defendants hacked and stole documents for release through intermediaries, including Organization 1, and that Stone lied to a congressional committee investigating, among other things, the activities of Organization 1 regarding those stolen documents."

"This case is properly related to Netyksho for the additional reason that the cases "arise[] from . . . activities which are a part of the same alleged criminal event or transaction," he added.

Notice as well that Mueller said Stone case is part of the "same criminal event or transaction," which was another thing Stone's lawyers disputed.

At one point, the special counsel put this even simpler:

In other words, the criminal conduct alleged in Netyksho was a central focus of the congressional investigation that the defendant is alleged to have obstructed, and therefore the activities underlying the crimes charged in that case are part of the same activities underlying the crimes charged in this case. The defendant's false statements did not arise in a vacuum: they were made in the course of an investigation into possible links between Russian individuals (including the Netyksho defendants), individuals associated with the dumping of materials (including Organization 1 [WikiLeaks]), and U.S. persons (including the defendant).

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