Roger Stone, the longtime Donald Trump ally charged Friday in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, is accusing law enforcement officials of engaging in “Gestapo tactics” to demonize him.
During a Sunday appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” Stone slammed the FBI for arresting him at his Florida home with a SWAT team.
“First of all, I was released on a surety bond on my own signature, which is evidence that I was not a flight risk,” Stone told host George Stephanopoulos. “And secondarily, I’ve been under investigation for two years. I have destroyed nothing. But if I were going to destroy evidence, wouldn’t I have done it a long time ago? They could have simply have called my lawyers and I would have turned myself in.”
The arrest, captured on camera by CNN, was shown on TV screens around the country. Stone argued the ordeal was overly theatrical.
“This was an expensive show of force to try to depict me as public enemy number one ... to attempt to poison the jury pool,” Stone said. “These are Gestapo tactics.”
Stone, who worked as an unofficial adviser on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, was hit with a seven-count indictment on charges of witness tampering, lying to Congress and obstructing an official proceeding. He’s accused of fishing for intel about stolen emails possessed by WikiLeaks at the behest of a senior Trump campaign official.
Stone called the idea that Trump directed him “baseless, irresponsible speculation.”
“I never discussed this matter with candidate Trump or President Trump ... and that remains the case,” he added.
Press secretary Sarah Sanders told the media the charges against Stone had nothing to do with Trump.