Special counsel Robert Mueller made his latest move in the investigation of alleged Russian collusion on Friday with the indictment of Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of President Donald Trump.
Following his arrest Friday morning, Stone appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to discuss the indictment and maintained his innocence. “I believe I will be vindicated,” Stone told host Tucker Carlson on Friday night.
Stone tells Carlson he’s innocent
Stone emphasized that the indictment, which did not include any charges related to collusion with Russia, was probably not what people were expecting. “The indictment is thin, indeed,” he said.
“So what is this about? It’s about silencing me. There is a war on alternative media. There is a war where they are trying to criminalize political expression. There is a war where they are trying to criminalize free speech,” he said.
Stone continued by saying that he intends “to plead not guilty” and that he believes he “will be vindicated.”
Watch the full interview below:
Stone on his indictment: This is about silencing me, criminalizing political expression
Former Trump aide Roger Stone is accused of false statements, obstruction, and witness tampering and speaks out about these charges and his arrest on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’
Stone arrested
Early Friday morning, a regiment consisting of 29 armed FBI agents and 17 vehicles descended upon Stone’s residence in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The dramatic raid, to arrest a man who said that he “would have been more than willing to surrender voluntarily,” was captured by CNN cameras.
According to court documents, the indictment accuses Stone of lying to Congress during his testimony about the WikiLeaks release of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The indictment alleges that Stone, on more than one occasion in 2016, discussed WikiLeaks with associates of Trump’s campaign. More specifically, it states that Stone had conversations about emails taken from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, in which he told a senior Trump campaign official that WikiLeaks obtained damaging documents on Hillary Clinton.
After the release of the emails, on July 22, 2016, Mueller further states that an unnamed senior Trump campaign official was told to contact Stone about releasing more damaging information obtained by WikiLeaks about Clinton.
All of this information is alleged by prosecutors to be in line with conversations that Stone had with New York radio host Randy Credico and conservative writer Jerome Corsi. And these conversations are said to contradict his testimony before Congress. Allegedly, Stone even went so far as to threaten Credico, telling him to lie before Congress.
Where is the collusion, Mr. Mueller?
For these allegations, Stone is being charged with five counts of making false statements to Congress, one count of witness tampering, and one count of obstructing a government proceeding.
The reader will, however, note that there is one thing missing: collusion. Once again, Mueller has arrested another individual, as the result of his investigation into Russia collusion, and yet no collusion charge has been brought.
No comments: