Wikileaks Lawyer: Roger Stone Arrest ‘Wholly Unnecessary’ And ‘Intimidation’
Tom Pappert
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After the pre-dawn raid on Roger Stone’s home and arrest for process crimes regarding his statements to Congress, Wikileaks released a statement condemning the arrest as “wholly unnecessary” and “intimidation.”
Stone, the long time political consultant and ally of President Donald J. Trump and other prominent Republicans, was defended by Wikileaks’ lawyer for the United States, who also maintained that Stone had no connections to Julian Assange or Wikileaks.
“The charges against Mr. Stone do not allege that Mr. Stone lied about his [lack of] contacts with Julian Assange, but rather about his contacts with others and about documents reflecting those communications.” (2/3)
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 25, 2019
The statement described the raid as a “dawn military-style arrest,” and said it was done solely for intimidation purposes. The statement also notes that the charges against Stone do not suggest he had any contact with Wikileaks or Assange, but instead that he may have had information relating to Wikileaks’ release of Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s leaked emails.
Specifically, the statement read that “the charges against Mr. Stone do not allege that Mr. Stone lied about his [lack of] contact with Julian Assange”. Wikileaks has always maintained that it had no contact with Stone or Infowars during the 2016 election.
Amid boos and yelling from protesters and activists, Stone delivered a brief statement after being released on a $250,000 bond this morning.
Stone was formally indicted for one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was released on $250,000 bond.
“As I have always said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about,” Stone told reporters amidst booing from protestors. “The charges today relate in no way to Russian collusion, Wikileaks collaboration, or any other illegal act in connection with the 2016 campaign.”
“I am falsely accused of making false statements during my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee,” he continued. “That is incorrect. Any error I made in my testimony would be both immaterial, and without intent. I find it disturbing that the Special Counsel’s office would release a press release prior to informing me that I would be charged today.
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