Roger Stone: ‘Never Had Any Discussion’ Of A Pardon
Following his indictment on Friday in the special counsel investigation, Roger Stone appeared on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time, The Hill reports. Included in the discussion was the question of whether Stone thought he could expect a pardon from the president should he end up facing a conviction.
“I have never had any discussion with him or communication with him regarding that. I have no idea what he might do,” Stone said. He went on to dismiss the question as a hypothetical as he says he does not expect to be convicted.
The seven-count indictment includes charges of lying to Congress, obstructing an investigation, and witness tampering. Stone is the sixth individual associated with Trump to be charged in the ongoing special counsel investigation into possible Russian election meddling.
Stone’s long-time association with the president and his self-described identity as a political trickster have generally made him a person of interest when it comes to the Mueller investigation. After making a number of public statement around the time of the WikiLeaks releases of hacked information damaging to Hillary Clinton, Stone was suspected by many as having some coordination with the group. He has consistently denied the allegation.
WikiLeaks published a large volume of Democratic Party emails that were believed to be obtained by Russian hackers for the benefit of Donald Trump. Whether the Trump campaign participated in the coordination of these efforts has not been established.
“I am falsely accused of making false statements,” Stone said Friday in response to the allegations, also indicating that he looks forward to being vindicated.
Stone is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Tuesday at 11 a.m. following his arrest by the FBI early Friday. He is committed to fighting all charges, claiming that the arrest and indictment are politically motivated.
Among the other charges, prosecutors contend that Stone lied about his association with WikiLeaks in front of the House Intelligence Committee, who interviewed him behind closed doors in connection with a separate investigation into Russian interference.
Stone made deliberately misleading statements to the committee related to, among other things, his association with so-called Organization One and his communication with the Trump campaign regarding Organization One. For the purposes of these investigations, “Organization One” is widely believed to be WikiLeaks.
He is also accused of obstructing congressional investigations into Russian interference and attempting to influence other individuals with respect to their own congressional testimonies.
Stone will be arraigned before Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson, per court records.
