President Donald Trump on Friday slammed the arrest of long-time ally and informal adviser Roger Stone, questioning who alerted CNN to be outside his house filming the FBI raid.
Stone was arrested at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Friday morning, and CNN reporters were there to record it. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Office said Stone is facing one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of making false statements and one count of witness tampering, but Trump accused the investigation of being a "witch hunt."
"Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there?" Trump tweeted.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1088832908494888961
The FBI arrested Stone before dawn, and Stone emerged from the courthouse later in the day to tell gathered reporters and spectators that he was completely innocent.
CNN touted their exclusive footage of Stone's arrest on Twitter shortly after the raid.
'FBI. Open the door."
Watch exclusive CNN footage of the FBI arresting longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. https://t.co/5QHKDB2mfA pic.twitter.com/UeKo7CmXWo
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2019
Grant Smith, Stone's lawyer, dismissed the charges by calling them "ridiculous," adding, "this is all about a minor charge about lying to Congress about something that was apparently found later," the New York Times reported:
According to the indictment, between June and July of 2016, Mr. Stone told "senior Trump campaign officials" about the stolen emails in WikiLeaks’ possession that could be damaging to Mrs. Clinton. On July 22, WikiLeaks released its first batch of Democratic emails. After that, according to the indictment, the Trump campaign sought more.
"A senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information Organization 1 had regarding the Clinton campaign," the indictment said, referring to WikiLeaks. The indictment did not make clear who the senior Trump campaign official was and who directed the senior campaign official to reach out to Mr. Stone, though it left open the possibility that it was Mr. Trump.
A federal magistrate judge ruled that Stone is not a flight risk after he reportedly told the judge that his passport expired. The judge ruled that he can be released on a $250,000 signature bond.