Trump ally and former campaign adviser Roger Stone has been arrested on seven charges in the Mueller probe, the US special counsel’s office said today.
Stone was arrested in his Florida home by FBI agents at around 5:00 am on Friday, January 25, 2019, on charges of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements,
In a
“The indictment, which was unsealed upon arrest, contains seven counts: one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering,” Mueller’s office said in a statement.
Stone, a veteran political consultant and long-time adviser to Trump, has repeatedly said he is innocent and that Mueller is conducting a vendetta against him.
The indictment revolves around Stone’s alleged contacts with WikiLeaks, the organization that released thousands of emails about Democrats during the 2016 election in an effort to damage Trump opponent Hillary Clinton.
“During the summer of 2016, STONE spoke to senior Trump Campaign officials about Organization 1 and information it might have had that would be damaging to the Clinton Campaign,” the indictment said. “STONE was contacted by senior Trump Campaign officials to inquire about future releases by Organization 1.”
Organization 1 is a reference to WikiLeaks.
The indictment also accuses Stone of lying to investigators about his contacts with WikiLeaks, including dealings with website founder Julian Assange, as well as Stone’s dealings with the Trump campaign about stolen emails.
Mueller, who has obtained indictments against Russians in connection with the plot to interfere in the 2016 election, made his first public indictment of an American.
It is assumed that the FBI arrest warrants include a search warrant too and Roger Stone was
Special Counsel is investigating alleged collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
Stone is scheduled to make a court appearance later on Friday.
He has been under scrutiny for months but has maintained his innocence.
