proclaiming innocence roger stone denies knowledge of any trump russia collusion

Proclaiming innocence, Roger Stone denies knowledge of any Trump-Russia collusion

Politics USA

Roger Stone reiterated his innocence on Thursday, telling a group of reporters he’s not accused of Russian collusion in any capacity and has no knowledge that the president was involved in such activity.

Speaking at a news conference in Washington, D.C., for the first time since his arrest last week, Stone addressed the charges against him and what counts he’s specifically facing.

“I have plead not guilty to the charges against me. I stress that these are all after-the-fact process crimes and I am not accused of Russian collusion.”

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He continued: “I’m not accused of collaboration with WikiLeaks. I am not accused of conspiracy. There is no evidence or accusation that I knew in advance of the source or content of the WikiLeaks materials, be that allegedly hacked material or allegedly stolen material.”

Stone’s indictment does not include any charges of coordinating with Russia or WikiLeaks to target the Democratic National Committee server, but it does accuse him of misleading lawmakers about his pursuit of those communications and interest in them.

He has chalked the alleged activity up to an “honest mistake,” lacking any malice.

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“The allegation that I was less than truthful to the House Intelligence Committee to cover up what underlying crime? There is no underlying crime and therefore any honest mistake I made in memory would be both immaterial and lacking intent.”

Stone also pointed to other government officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennon and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who he said all told “consequential” and “material” lies but have not captured the interest of Special Coiunsel Robert Mueller.

When asked if he plans to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, Stone deferred to his lawyers, adding that “I will tell the truth” and that he will not fabricate stories about the president colluding with Russia.

“I don’t possess any knowledge of any wrongdoing by the president of the United States, including Russian collusion.”

Stone also thanked Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who sent a letter on Wednesday to FBI Directory Christopher Wray, questioning the bureau’s tactics in arresting him last week at his Florida home.

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“I have no prior criminal record. I’m accused of nonviolent process crimes. I do not own a gun, There’s no guns in the house,” he told reporters.

Stone claims he was not read his Miranda rights and that he and his wife were brought outside the home improperly dressed. He also claims that his legal team was notified about the arrest via the morning’s news cycle.

“It remains an absolute fact that my attorneys learned that I had been arrested from CNN before they had been contacted by the government.”

Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.