Longtime Trump Associate Roger Stone Indicted In Mueller Investigation
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) -- Longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone, of Fort Lauderdale, has been granted $250,000 bond after appearing in federal court Friday morning on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Stone appeared in federal court in Fort Lauderdale around 11:00 a.m. dressed in a dark blue polo shirt and jeans. His hands and waist shackled.
Prosecutors and Stone's attorney agreed he would post a $250,000 personal assurance bond and will be released from custody. He will have travel restrictions that would only allow him to travel to court appearances in Florida, D.C. or New York.
He was asked to surrender his passport but told the court his passport is expired.
Leaving the courthouse, Stone addressed the media as some in the crowd boo'd while others shouted messages of support.
"After a two-year inquisition, the charges today relate in no way to Russian collusion, Wikileaks collaboration, or any other illegal act in with the 2016 (Trump) campaign. I am falsely accused of making false statements during my testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. That is incorrect. Any error I made in my testimony would be both immaterial and without intent," he said.
WATCH ROGER STONE ADDRESS MEDIA FOLLOWING ARREST AND BOND HEARING
"I find it disturbing that the special counsel's office released a press release prior to informing my attorneys that I would be charged today," he added.
Stone said the government didn't need to send 29 FBI agents in 17 vehicles to his home at the crack of dawn to arrest him. They could have just called his attorneys and he would have surrendered voluntarily.
Stone said he will enter a plea of not guilty.
Stone was arrested in an early morning raid at his Fort Lauderdale home by the FBI following an indictment by a federal grand jury on Jan. 24, 2019, as part of the investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Pounding on his door, one agent said, "FBI. Open the door."
Stone opened the door.
WATCH VIDEO OF THE ARREST IN THE PLAYER BELOW
Stone is indicted on seven counts, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering, according to the court documents.
Last month, he denied any wrongdoing.
"I sleep well at night knowing one thing, I've committed no crimes in connection with the 2016 election or anything else," he said on December 4, 2018.
CBS4's Jim DeFede has interviewed Stone on numerous occasions.
Watch His Thoughts On The Arrest In The Video Below
Part of the 24-page document says that during the summer of 2016, "Stone was contacted by senior Trump campaign officials to inquire about future releases by Organization 1," which appears to be WikiLeaks.
"After the July 22, 2016, release of stolen (Democratic National Committee) emails by Organization 1, 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. Stone thereafter told the Trump Campaign about potential future releases of damaging material by Organization 1," prosecutors wrote.
The indictment's wording does not say who on the campaign knew about Stone's quest, but makes clear it was multiple people. This is the first time prosecutors have alleged they know of additional people close to the President who worked with Stone as he sought out WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Jerome Corsi, an associate of Stone's, has alleged that Stone attempted to find out what information WikiLeaks had that could prove damaging to Hillary Clinton. WikiLeaks is not mentioned in the indictment of Stone.
The indictment also said Stone "made deliberately false and misleading statements to the House Intelligence Committee.
Stone has acknowledged exchanging messages during the 2016 campaign with Guccifer 2.0, a Twitter handle that U.S. intelligence officials say was used by Russians who conspired to hack Democratic emails.
(©2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)
