Political strategist Roger Stone, a long-time ally of President Donald Trump, has been arrested in Florida on seven counts related to the Mueller investigation. The charges include obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness-tampering, linked to the alleged Russian hack of Democratic Party emails released by WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Stone appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale and was released on a $250,000 bond, with travel restricted to court appearances in Florida, Washington DC, and New York. Following his release, he spoke to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Infowars, declaring his innocence and stating, 'There's no circumstance under which I would plead guilty to these charges.' He also criticised the pre-dawn arrest by 29 FBI agents, claiming it terrorised his wife and dogs.
President Trump reacted on Twitter, calling the investigation the 'Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country!' The indictment does not accuse Stone of any criminal activity during the election, but alleges he lied to the House Intelligence Committee about his communications with WikiLeaks and attempted to obstruct the investigation into Russian meddling.
Stone has denied advance knowledge of the email hack and any knowing contact with Russian agents. He is expected to formally plead not guilty in a Washington DC court next week. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails were targeted, referenced Stone's cryptic tweet from before the leak, saying it was 'Roger's time in the barrel'.
