Roger Stone emerged from his Florida home defiant on Saturday after being indicted on several charges related to Robert Mueller's prob...
Roger Stone emerged from his Florida home defiant on Saturday after being indicted on several charges related to Robert Mueller's probe into Russian meddling during the 2016 Presidential election.
The self-proclaimed 'dirty trickster' was arrested by the FBI in a raid before dawn Friday at his home in Fort Lauderdale.
A one time confidant of Donald Trump, Stone, 66, was charged with lying about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's 2016 election bid.
On Saturday, Stone sought to make light of the charges leveled against him and appeared at his home wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: 'ROGER STONE DID NOTHING WRONG!' on the front.
Roger Stone emerged from his Florida home defiant on Saturday after his sensation arrest on Friday. He was charged with lying about his pursuit of Russian-hacked emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's 2016 election bid
Clad in a beret and jeans, Stone wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: 'If I weren't effective you wouldn't hate me,' as he was spotted outside his Fort Lauderdale home
Stone came to the door to answer as a fan arrived to lend his support following his arrest
Stone told Dailymail.com on Saturday that he believed the FBI had treated him like the notorious drug lord ‘El Chapo’ in the way they arrested him at dawn
Stone also said he 'was not intimidated' by the FBI or Robert Mueller's investigation team
Wearing a beret and jeans, Stone also gave the double 'V-for-Victory' sign in a nod to his political idol, former President Richard Nixon.
His t-shirt also contained a head shot of Nixon, with Stone previously admitting he has an image of Nixon's face tattooed on his back.
Since his arrest, he has proclaimed his innocence and said he is ready to fight the charges against him. And reflecting that defiant sentiment, the back of his t-shirt read: 'IF I WEREN'T EFFECTIVE, YOU WOULDN'T HATE ME. STONE COLD SINCE 1968.'
He later appeared in a playful mood as he went to shake hands with supporters and neighbors gathered outside his home.
The t-shirt contained a link to the website aiming to raise funds to a newly-created website to meet Stone's legal costs.
The website, rogerstonelegaldefensefund.com, contains an option to donate with no limit on the amount of money which can be donated.
Stone later emerged to pick up newspapers, channeling his political mentor and idol Richard Nixon by giving the double 'V for Victory' pose
The defiant double V-for victory was a nod to his first political mentor, Richard Nixon
The silver-haired strategist was later seen around his home picking up his newspapers and again waved his arms in the air giving Nixon's trademark victory sign to awaiting paparazzi.
He told Dailymail.com on Saturday that he believed the FBI had treated him like the notorious drug lord ‘El Chapo’ because of the way armed police swooped on his home at 6am while his wife and dogs were upstairs.
He claimed: ‘I don’t believe I have a valid passport, I don’t own a gun and I’m charged with non-violent crimes and I have no prior record.
'This is an egregious overreach by Mr Muller. The FBI director who had to have approved this raid should in my opinion be fired over it because it’s unwarranted.
'I guess it’s an effort to intimidate me but I am not intimidated. I am concerned for my wife. One of my dogs is still traumatized and will not come out from under the bed...won’t stop shaking.
Stone's wife Nydia (pictured) watches stoically from her front door as her husband gives an interview in the rain to a TV crew on Saturday afternoon
Stone displayed the front page of a newspaper which undoubtedly contained commentary and coverage relating to his own arrest
At certain times, he appeared in good spirits and managed to raise a smile for awaiting photographers and journalists
He also shook hands with supporters and neighbors amid a large media presence which descended on his home following his early-morning arrest on Friday
He claimed Mueller’s teams had already gone through his emails and text messages prior to 2016, adding 'there is no evidence to find because I am innocent.'
He claimed 'thug-tactics' were used against him and his family when he was arrested and said he would have gone to the police station voluntarily.
He said he intends to raise the financial resources needed to mount his legal challenge, insisting: ‘Fundraising yesterday was brisk because many Americans are outraged at the way my family and I were treated. I’m not a drug dealer, I’m not a gangster.’
Evoking the words of Nixon, Stone claimed: 'I admire Richard Nixon for his resilience, a man is not finished when he is defeated, he’s only finished when he quits and I have no intention of quitting.’
Donald Trump defended his Presidential election strategist, and the man who was seen as pivotal in him winning the 2016 race, by claiming his arrest was the 'Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country!'
Stone, whose political pedigree dates back to the Nixon administration, is accused of feeding information from WikiLeaks about an email hack to the Trump campaign during the 2016 election
Trump again defended his Presidential election strategist, and the man who was seen as pivotal in him winning the election, on Saturday and accused a slew of other high-profile figures of lying
On Saturday, he again tweeted his support for Stone, this time saying: 'If Roger Stone was indicted for lying to Congress, what about the lying done by Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Lisa Page & lover, Baker and soooo many others?
'What about Hillary to FBI and her 33,000 deleted Emails? What about Lisa & Peter’s deleted texts & Wiener’s laptop? Much more!'
Stone faces charges of tampering with witnesses and obstructing a House intelligence committee probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the election.
Last month it was reported that Stone had to give up health insurance because he couldn't afford it as the Russia probe has dried up his consulting business.
In numerous interviews he has mentioned the fundraising website as it is thought that his legal costs could be substantial.
Stone has decried the Mueller indictment against him as 'thin' and 'fabricated' and said he's gearing up for a fierce legal battle as he hit the talk show circuit hours after his high-profile arrest.
Speaking to Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Friday night, the former confidant to President Donald Trump declared: 'I intend to plead not guilty. I believe I will be vindicated.
'The indictment is thin, indeed. So what is this about? It's about silencing me.'
Stone continued: '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.'
FBI agents clad in bulletproof vests arrived at Stone's Fort Lauderdale mansion with guns drawn on Friday morning after Special Counsel Robert Mueller unsealed a seven-count indictment from a grand jury impaneled in his sprawling probe of Russian election meddling.
Mueller asked a judge Thursday to keep Stone's indictment sealed until his arrest, aguing that 'law enforcement believes that publicity resulting from disclosure will increase the risk of the defendant fleeing and destroying (or tampering with) evidence.'
The indictment does not charge him with crimes directly related to Russia or with conspiracy to skew the 2016 election, but with what legal experts call 'process crimes'.
Scroll down for video
Stone recounted how he was awoken by 29 FBI agents clad in bulletproof vests on Friday morning after the Mueller indictment was unsealed, remarking that the manner of his arrest was unnecessary
Roger Stone decried the Mueller indictment against him as 'thin' and 'fabricated' and said he's gearing up for a fierce legal battle as he hit the talk show circuit hours after being arrested at his Florida home. Speaking to Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Friday night, the former confidant to President Donald Trump declared: 'I intend to plead not guilty. I believe I will be vindicated'
Stone is accused of making 'multiple false statements' to Congress about his contacts with Wikileaks, and wrongly denying having records of those conversations. He is also accused of trying to persuade a witness 'to provide false testimony to and withhold pertinent information from the investigations'. The 66-year-old is pictured leaving court on Friday
He also claimed the heavily-armed manner of the arrest was unnecessary given that he doesn't own a firearm, doesn't have a valid passport and doesn't have a criminal history.
'Frankly, they just could have contacted my attorney and I would have voluntarily turned myself in,' Stone told Carlson. 'The proof of this is that only hours later the judge granted me a $250,000 surety bond because I'm not a flight risk.
'And as far as the government's contention that they were concerned that I would destroy evidence, they have been in my email and my text messages and my phone calls for two years - probably longer because the New York Times reported on January 20th, 2017, that I was among three people in the Trump campaign under active surveillance.
'Hopefully we will learn something about that in discovery of this case.'
During his interview with Carlson, Stone noted that it was strange that CNN was present at the time of his arrest, saying: 'It's disconcerting that CNN was aware that I would be arrested before my lawyers were informed'
Addressing the allegation that he lied to Congress about his communications with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Stone said: 'It's really simple. I did forget that I had text messages from an old cell phone that were entirely exculpatory, which proved everything I had said about [friend Randy] Credico being my source regarding the significance and the October release date of the Wikileaks material was accurate.'
He is referring to the leak of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's emails prior to the 2016 election. Text messages showed correspondence between Stone and Credico about the emails days before they came out.
I'm in for the fight of my life. I will not quit. I will not fold. I will not bend. I will not bear false witness against the president.
- Roger Stone
Stone has maintained that the only information he had about Wikileaks came through Credico. On Friday, he said: 'I believe [Credico] lied to the grand jury about that. That's been reported. But he appears not to be being prosecuted for perjury. But, I forgot exculpatory information and, therefore, I will.'
Stone continued: 'Look, Tucker, I think we both know the game here. Wear Stone down financially, make sure he is broke so he has to plead guilty to these charges, even though he didn't commit them. And then try to flip me against the president.
He added: 'I'm in for the fight of my life. I will not quit. I will not fold. I will not bend. I will not bear false witness against the president. I intend to fight because this indictment is fabricated.
'This indictment is thin as can be. My attorneys are highly confident that they can win an acquittal. If I can get a fair trial in the district of Columbia.'
Courtroom sketches from Friday morning show Roger Stone in handcuffs as he was led in, and then standing behind a podium next to his lawyer
Just as he had on Fox, Stone closed the interview by reminding that he could use financial help in fighting his upcoming legal battle.
Stone emerged from the federal court building flashing a V-for victory with both hands raised, Richard Nixon-style, after appearing in front of a judge Friday afternoon.
He addressed scores of reporters outside the court to say: 'I am falsely accused' while protesters around him shouted 'lock him up' and supporters chanted 'Roger! Roger!'
'I will plead not guilty to the charges,' Stone said, shouting over the protests. 'I will defeat them in court. I believe this is a politically motivated investigation.'
He added: 'There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself. I look forward to being fully and completely vindicated.'
The FBI also raided Stone's Manhattan apartment, seizing hard drives and other materials.
Stone must have been tipped off on this "arrest" for him to have all those nifty T shirts printed up so quickly. duh!!!
ReplyDelete