Former Trump confidant Roger Stone on Sunday condemned the raid by heavily armed FBI agents of his Florida home after a grand jury approved charges against him as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal Russia investigation.
“First of all, I was released on a surety bond with my own signature, which is evidence that I was not a flight risk. And secondarily, I’ve been under investigation for two years. I have destroyed nothing. But if I were going to destroy evidence, wouldn’t I have done it a long time ago? They could have simply called my lawyers and I would have turned myself in,” Stone told ABC News’ “This Week.” “It was an expensive show of force to try to depict me as public enemy number one, the OG; it’s an attempt to poison the jury pool. These are gestapo tactics.”
The grand jury last week indicted Stone on seven counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstructing a congressional inquiry. He was arrested early Friday morning.
The charges stem from Stone’s September 2017 interview with the House Intelligence Committee, which was examining Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 election and the response by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The interview focused, in part, on WikiLeaks and its release of hacked material from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta during the 2016 campaign.
According to Mueller’s indictment, Stone also threatened radio host Randy Credico’s dog as he pressured the host to back up the false testimony he gave to Congress.
Stone reiterated to ABC News on Sunday statements made by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders that the counts have “nothing to do” with Russian collusion or Trump. But the former Nixon-era political operative and self-described political trickster also repeated his willingness to cooperate with Mueller’s probe.
“That’s a question I would have to determine after my attorneys have some discussion. If there’s wrongdoing by other people in the campaign that I know about — which I know of none — but if there is, I would certainly testify honestly. I would also testify honestly about any other matter, including any communications with the president,” he said.
