Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, will testify next month before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its probe of Russia’s election interference and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
The July 24 hearing will be private, Politico reported Tuesday, citing Stone’s attorney, Robert Buschel.
Buschel told Politico that Stone had asked for a public hearing to describe his communications last year with Russia-linked hackers and WikiLeaks, which published personal emails stolen from Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.
On Tuesday, Podesta met privately with the House Intelligence Committee.
Stone told Politico in an email that he wants to testify to counter Podesta’s story.
“With John Podesta appearing before the committee I do feel it is essential that I have the opportunity to rebut his serial lies,” Stone said in an email. “I may not be able to sue a member of Congress but I sure as hell can sue the f—- out of Podesta. The claim that I had knowledge of the hacking of his email by WikiLeaks in advance is a demonstrable lie.”
Stone has long insisted he would be willing to talk with the FBI and has been cooperating with the House and Senate Intelligence committees, his attorney said. Special counsel Robert Mueller has not contacted Stone, Buschel said.
