Roger Stone, President Trump’s recently indicted former campaign adviser, claimed complete innocence Thursday on the eve of appearing in D.C. federal court for the second time since being arrested and charged last week as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 elections.
“Everything I’ve done is legal,” Mr. Stone, 66, insisted during an interview with The Washington Times.
Discussing his case following a press conference held at a D.C. hotel, Mr. Stone said he regrets previously claiming to be in touch with Julian Assange, the publisher of the WikiLeaks website that released stolen Democratic Party material during the 2016 race, and that he believes investigators will fail to find any incriminating criminal evidence within the terabytes of his personal data prosecutors disclosed seizing Thursday.
“I think I’m being persecuted for political reasons,” Mr. Stone told The Times.
A longtime Republican strategist who cut his teeth on former President Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign, Mr. Stone made the remarks amid a media blitz that followed his arrest last Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when he was taken into custody during a pre-dawn raid conducted in connection with federal prosecutors unsealing a criminal indictment charging him with seven counts of lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction. He was subsequently released on $250,000 bond, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment earlier this week in D.C., and was ordered to reappear for a status hearing scheduled for Friday morning.
Federal prosecutors led by Mr. Mueller, a former FBI director, allege that Mr. Stone lied to members of Congress when he testified in front of lawmakers also investigating Mr. Trump’s election. Mr. Stone said repeatedly during the race that he was in contact with Mr. Assange, and he later told the House Intelligence Committee that Randy Credico, a radio host and activist, had served as a “go-between” between himself and the WikiLeaks publisher. Mr. Credico has denied being his conduit, however, and prosecutors allege that Mr. Stone tried to reach Mr. Assange earlier in the race through Jerome Corsi, a right-wing conspiracy theorist.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump: I never talked to Roger Stone about WikiLeaks
“I regret misspeaking,” Mr. Stone told The Times about claiming a direct connection to Mr. Assange. “Yes, people say things wrong. And when they correct them on the record, they should be addressed. So what did I say? I said I communicated with them through an intermediary. I identified that intermediary for the House committee. He denied it.”
Mr. Credico, 64, declined to comment, citing the advice of his attorneys.
“Roger Stone is a spin master,” a representative for WikiLeaks said. “It is his job to misspeak. The same cannot be said for the useless journalists that credulously reported his claims for the last 2.5 years.”
WikiLeaks released emails during the 2016 election belonging to both the Democratic National Committee and the chairman of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, John Podesta, providing fodder for Mr. Trump’s rival campaign in the race’s final months. The U.S. intelligence community has since determined that those messages were initially obtained by Russian state-sponsored hackers, and Mr. Mueller’s office is investigating those disclosures and the circumstances surrounding them as part of an investigation into Russian election meddling and related matters being conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice.
“There is no evidence, anywhere, that I conspired with the Russians; that I colluded with the Russians; that I collaborated with WikiLeaks; that I received stolen material,” Mr. Stone told The Times.
Mr. Stone also said that it was “categorically untrue” that he discussed the imminent publication of Mr. Podesta’s stolen emails during a telephone call with Mr. Corsi that took place hours before their release, disputing a claim Mr. Corsi made during a televised interview this week.
“We did speak that day, but not about that,” said Mr. Stone.
Mr. Corsi, 72, has said that he deduced that WikiLeaks would release emails damaging to the Clinton campaign, explaining: “I bet that’s what Assange is going to do because it’s what I would have done.” Mr. Corsi shared his predictions with Mr. Stone, who in turn echoed them publicly repeatedly them prior to WikiLeaks publishing Mr. Podesta’s correspondence. He referred to his recent book about the matter, “Silent No More,” when reached for comment.
Mr. Stone discussed his case with The Times the same day Mr. Mueller’s office filed a document that said that prosecutors had obtained “several terabytes” of information relevant to their investigation, including data from Apple iCloud accounts, email addresses and bank and financial records containing information dating back several years. Mr. Stone downplayed the special counsel’s announcement, however, and indicated that he believed that the data had already been collected through other means.
“I think it’s all the same material they’ve already had,” Mr. Stone told The Times.
Mr. Stone is the 34th person charged as a result of Mr. Mueller’s probe. Four other former members of Mr. Trump’s election campaign — George Papadopoulos, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and Michael Flynn — have previously pleaded guilty to charges brought by Mr. Mueller’s team, and Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, has pleaded guilty to charges referred by the special counsel’s office to prosecutors in Manhattan.
“I think in American life, when you’re falsely accused of something and you don’t respond, you either have no comment or you’re not available. Then people say, ’Oh, that guy’s guilty.’ So I think it’s important to get out there and say you’re not,” Mr. Stone said.
He is scheduled back in court Friday before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee.
Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the special counsel’s office, declined to comment on Mr. Stone’s remarks.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.