Special Counsel Robert Mueller has indicted Roger Stone, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, on seven charges, which include witness tampering, making false statements, and obstruction of justice. It’s important to note that he “is not accused of taking part in collusion with the Russian government or of taking part in the theft of emails stolen from Democrats.”
The FBI raided Stone’s home in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, early Friday morning and arrested him. It looks like someone tipped off CNN because the network had cameras at the scene.
Stone spoke after he posted $250K bond:
He told reporters and protesters that he will not testify against the president:
Speaking outside a federal courthouse on Friday as protesters jeered, Stone accused the FBI of terrorizing his wife and dogs during his early morning arrest, and said he expected to be “fully and completely vindicated.” He said he would not turn against the president as some of Trump’s other former aides have, saying there is “no circumstances whatsoever under which i will bear false witness against the president.” Stone appeared briefly in federal court in Florida on Friday morning and was released on $250,000 bond. A handful of protesters gathered outside; one blared the Beatles song “Back in the USSR” from a speaker.
From Fox News:
The 24-page indictment alleges that Stone worked to obstruct the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election by making false statements to the committee, denying he had records sought by the committee and persuading a witness to provide false testimony.The indictment does not charge Stone with conspiring with WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that published the emails, or with the Russian officers Mueller says hacked them. Instead, it accuses him of witness tampering, obstruction and false statements about his interactions related to WikiLeaks’ release.The indictment says Stone spoke to Trump campaign officials during the summer of 2016 about WikiLeaks and information the organization had that might be damaging to the Clinton campaign. It also says Stone was contacted by “senior Trump campaign officials” to inquire about future WikiLeaks releases of hacked Democratic emails.
Reporter Yashar Ali tweeted that a source confirmed to him that the FBI raided Stone’s apartment in Manhattan.
A source told Bloomberg that the “high-ranking” official in the indictment is former advisor Steve Bannon. From The Wall Street Journal:
According to the indictment, on Oct. 3, 2016, Mr. Stone sent an email to a “supporter involved with the Trump Campaign” that read: “Spoke to my friend in London last night. The payload is still coming.”That same day, a reporter at Breitbart, whose chairman was also Trump campaign chief executive Steve Bannon, emailed Mr. Stone to ask about Mr. Assange’s plans. The reporter asked, “What’s he got? Hope it’s good.” Breitbart isn’t identified by name in the indictment, but a person familiar with the emails confirmed the exchange.Mr. Stone replied, “It is. I’d tell [Mr. Bannon] but he doesn’t call me back.” In the indictment, Mr. Bannon is referred to as a “high-ranking Trump Campaign official.” A person familiar with the emails confirmed his involvement in the exchange. Mr. Bannon’s lawyer declined to comment.The next day, according to the indictment, Mr. Stone responded to an email from Mr. Bannon and told him that WikiLeaks would release “a load every week going forward.”On Oct. 7, when WikiLeaks released the first set of emails on the same day that the Washington Post published the “Access Hollywood” tape recording of Mr. Trump making lewd comments about women—an associate of Mr. Bannon texted Mr. Stone: “Well done,” according to the indictment.
Zoe Tillman at BuzzFeed tweeted that prosecutors filed a motion to seal the indictment:
Other reporters have tweeted out statements from Press Secretary Sarah Sanders:
Here is CNN with its “exclusive” coverage:
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