The Latest: Video shows pre-dawn FBI raid at Stone's house
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on ex-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone’s arrest in the special counsel’s Russia probe (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone will be arraigned in Washington, D.C., next week.
He was arrested Friday at his home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Stone has been charged with witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
Prosecutors say he lied about his pursuit of hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The U.S. says the emails were hacked by Russian intelligence officers.
Stone appeared before a judge in Florida on Friday and was released on bond. His case will now be transferred to Washington. His arraignment is set for Tuesday morning.
Stone has maintained his innocence and has said he’ll plead not guilty.
He’s the sixth Trump associate charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign and possible coordination with Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election.
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12:40 p.m.
Former Trump adviser Roger Stone says he believes his arrest in the special counsel’s Russia probe was “politically motivated” and he’s vowing to plead not guilty and fight the charges.
Stone spoke to reporters after he was released from a Florida courthouse on Friday. He’s been charged with witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress.
Stone said he is “falsely accused” of making false statements to the House intelligence committee. He says any error he made in his testimony wasn’t intentional.
FBI agents arrested Stone during a pre-dawn raid at his Fort Lauderdale home. Stone says he would have voluntarily surrendered to federal officials.
He was released on a $250,000 personal surety in Fort Lauderdale. His case will be transferred to Washington, D.C.
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12:30 p.m.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says his committee will investigate after President Donald Trump’s longtime associate Roger Stone was arrested as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Stone was indicted on charges that he lied to the House intelligence panel about conversations he had about the website WikiLeaks and that he obstructed Mueller’s probe.
The indictment says Trump campaign associates sought disclosure of emails the U.S. says were hacked by Russia. It says Stone told campaign officials he had information indicating WikiLeaks had obtained documents damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Schiff says the most significant allegation is that a senior campaign official “was directed” in July 2016 to contact Stone about additional WikiLeaks releases. He says his committee will be eager to learn who directed the official.
Stone has denied any wrongdoing. Trump calls the Russia investigation a “witch hunt.”
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12:25 p.m.
Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone says he believes he’s being “persecuted” because of his friendship with President Donald Trump.
Stone spoke to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his InfoWars radio show after his arrest on Friday. He didn’t provide any details to support his accusation that he is being persecuted.
He says he’s “going to continue to fight.” Stone said he’s innocent and intends to fight to “clear my name against these politically motivated charges.”
Stone has been charged with witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
Stone appeared before a judge in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday. A judge agreed to release him on a $250,000 personal surety bond.
A handful of protesters have gathered outside of the courthouse.
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11:55 a.m.
An attorney for Roger Stone says the former Trump campaign adviser is expected to be released from custody shortly.
Defense lawyer Robert Buschel says Stone will be released from a Florida courthouse on a $250,000 personal surety bond.
Stone was arrested early Friday at his Fort Lauderdale home. He’s been charged with witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress in the special counsel’s Russia investigation but has long maintained he’s innocent.
Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow told Stone he couldn’t contact any witnesses in the case. His travel is also restricted to South Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
A handful of protesters gathered outside the courthouse as Stone faced a judge. They held signs that read “Traitor” and “Lock him up.”
They are playing the Beatles’ “Back in the USSR” on a loudspeaker as they await Stone’s emergence.
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11:35 a.m.
President Donald Trump is responding to the arrest in Florida of longtime associate Roger Stone, tweeting that the special counsel’s Russia probe is the “Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION!”
Trump also tweets that “Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better.”
He complains “who alerted CNN to be there?” in an apparent reference to the network’s footage of Stone’s pre-dawn arrest at his Fort Lauderdale home.
Stone is a former Trump campaign adviser. He’s the sixth Trump associate charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign and possible coordination with Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election.
Stone has long denied wrongdoing. The charges against him do not accuse him of participating in any conspiracy with Russia.
The Mueller investigation has produced charges against dozens of people.
CNN says it captured Stone’s arrest “as the result of determined reporting and interpreting clues revealed in the course of events.”
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11:30 a.m.
A judge has set a $250,000 bond for former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone.
Stone appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday. He did not enter a plea.
Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow told Stone he could not travel outside of South Florida, Washington, D.C. and New York City. Stone was also told he could not have any contact with any witnesses.
Prosecutors also asked that Stone undergo a drug test and his attorney did not object.
He was arrested in an early morning raid at his Florida home on charges of witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress.
Stone is the sixth Trump associate to be charged in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
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11:05 a.m.
Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump, has arrived at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he faces charges filed in the Russia investigation.
Stone was dressed Friday in a dark blue polo shirt and jeans and was shackled. He was arrested in an early morning raid at his Florida home on charges of witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress.
He is the sixth Trump associate charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign and possible coordination with Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election.
Stone has previously denied wrongdoing. The charges against him do not accuse him of participating in any conspiracy with Russia.
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10:50 a.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House “will have to get to the truth” about election interference after Roger Stone was arrested as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, was indicted on charges that he lied to a House committee and obstructed Mueller’s investigation. Pelosi said Friday it’s “very interesting to see the kinds of people” Trump has associated with.
The indictment says Stone had conversations during the 2016 presidential campaign involving WikiLeaks, a website that published stolen Democratic emails. Mueller’s office has said the emails were hacked by Russian intelligence officers.
Pelosi said “this connection to the integrity of our elections is obviously something we have to get the truth about.”
The indictment against Stone does not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing.
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10:45 a.m.
A lawyer for President Donald Trump says the indictment against Roger Stone “does not allege Russian collusion by Roger Stone or anyone else.”
Jay Sekulow says in a statement Friday that the indictment focuses on “alleged false statements” that Stone, a Trump confidant, made to Congress.
The seven-count indictment announced Friday charges Stone with lying to Congress, obstruction and with witness tampering. It provides detail about how Trump campaign associates in the summer of 2016 were actively seeking to politically benefit from the release of hacked material damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
It alleges that unnamed senior Trump campaign officials contacted Stone to ask when stolen emails relating to Clinton might be disclosed.
The indictment does not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing.
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9:15 a.m.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says the arrest of former Donald Trump campaign adviser Roget Stone in the special counsel’s Russia probe has nothing to do with the president.
Sanders’ comments came hours after Stone was arrested Friday during a pre-dawn raid at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home.
Stone was charged in a seven-count indictment that includes witness tampering, obstruction and false-statements charges but has long maintained his innocence.
The indictment provides the most detail to date about how Trump campaign associates were aware in the summer of 2016 that emails had been stolen from Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Court documents say a senior Trump campaign official “was directed” to contact Stone about additional releases and “what other damaging information” WikiLeaks had “regarding the Clinton campaign.”
On CNN, Sanders wouldn’t directly answer a question about which campaign official directed Stone to obtain information about the WikiLeaks disclosures.
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8 a.m.
A video of the pre-dawn FBI raid at Roger Stone’s house in Florida shows agents in combat gear using night-vision equipment and running up to Stone’s home and banging repeatedly on the door. On the video, aired on CNN, one agent shouts “FBI open the door! FBI, warrant!”
Stone is an associate of President Donald Trump. Stone is charged with witness tampering, obstruction and false statements stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. The indictment does not accuse Stone of coordinating with Russia’s election interference in 2016. But it lays out Stone’s conversations about stolen Democratic emails posted by WikiLeaks in the weeks before Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The arrest scene included about a half-dozen police vehicles, a dozen officers and agents in tactical vests and large weapons. Stone appeared in his doorway in sleepwear, with his glasses on. An agent asked him, “are you Roger Stone?” and he said “yes.”
Stone was then led away.
Stone is scheduled to make a court appearance later Friday. He has maintained his innocence.
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6:30 a.m.
Roger Stone, an associate of President Donald Trump, has been arrested in Florida.
That’s according to special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which says Stone faces charges including witness tampering, obstruction and false statements. The indictment does not accuse Stone of coordinating with the Russian government’s election interference in 2016, the key matter under investigation in Mueller’s probe.
But the indictment lays out in detail Stone’s conversations about stolen Democratic emails posted by WikiLeaks in the weeks before Trump defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Mueller’s office has said those emails, belonging to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, were hacked by Russian intelligence officers.
Stone is scheduled to make a court appearance later Friday.
He has been under scrutiny for months but has maintained his innocence.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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