Former Trump adviser Roger Stone vowed during a dramatic press conference outside a federal courthouse in Florida on Friday afternoon to fight the charges of witness tampering, obstruction and false statements brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, calling the charges “politically motivated” while insisting he would not turn against President Trump.
“I will plead not guilty to these charges,” Stone told reporters, speaking over hecklers. “I will defeat them in court. This is a politically-motivated investigation.”
Stone, who once worked for former President Nixon and has a tattoo of the former president on his back, flashed the Nixon V-signs in front of cameras before he spoke.
“There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself,” said Stone, who will appear on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News Channel Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
The indictment unsealed Friday does not charge Stone with conspiring with WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that published emails of Democrats during the 2016 campaign, or with the Russian officers Mueller says hacked them. Instead, it accuses him of lying about his interactions related to WikiLeaks’ release during probes by Congress and Mueller’s team. – READ MORE