South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Fresh off indictment, Stone revels in exposure
Former campaign advisor released on bond, claims innocence
Roger Stone has been on a seemingly nonstop TV blitz after he was indicted and arrested on obstruction and witness-tampering charges from special counsel Robert Mueller.
It’s not just TV.
On Saturday, he posted an image on his Instagram page depicting Muller as a waiter holding a “nothingburger.” “Here’s what Mueller has on me #nothingburger,” Stone wrote.
The seven-count indictment against Stone, a self-proclaimed “dirty trickster,” charges him with lying to Congress and obstructing the investigation. He was released Friday on $250,000 bond.
Appearing outside the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale after his first court appearance on Friday, he proclaimed he was innocent, defended his pal President Donald Trump, and claimed he’s the victim of politics.
Cable news loved the images — especially of Stone spreading his arms wide and spreading fingers on both hands to make a V for victory gesture — similar to the displays from another president to whom Stone was devoted, Richard Nixon.
On Friday evening, Stone was back on cable, with appearances on Fox News and CNN. He was also happy to talk to reporters from television stations in South Florida outside his Fort Lauderdale home. Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale following a Friday hearing on charges brought against him by the special counsel investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.
On Saturday morning, despite the stormy weather, local television reporters equipped with umbrellas stationed themselves outside Stone’s home to deliver frequent updates.
Stone clearly doesn’t mind the attention.
WTVJ-Ch. 6 reported that he arranged for a $73.58 delivery of Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee for reporters outside his home Saturday morning.
“Please deliver to the group of reporters in front of my house,” the Uber Eats order reads, WTVJ reported.
On Friday, Stone complained about the nature of his arrest in a predawn raid.
“This morning, at the crack of
dawn, 29 FBI agents arrived at my home with 17 vehicles, with their lights flashing, when they could simply have contacted my attorneys and I would have been more than willing to surrender voluntarily,” Stone said at the courthouse.
He elaborated outside his home Friday night. “When I came to the door, they had assault weapons pointed at me,” WPLG-Ch. 10 reported.
He said the raid left his wife, who is deaf, and dogs “traumatized.”
On Saturday, WTVJ said, “one of my dogs is still traumatized.”
On Sunday, he’s scheduled to continue the TV blitz with an appearance on the ABC “This
Week” program. It’s scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on WPLG-Ch. 10 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale market and WPBF-Ch. 25 in West Palm Beach market.
Trump and Pelosi react
Also on Saturday, Trump reacted to Stone’s indictment by arguing that former FBI and CIA officials who were involved in the early days of the investigation into Russian election meddling in the 2016 election should also be charged with crimes.
“If Roger Stone was indicted for lying to Congress, what about the lying done by Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Lisa Page & lover, Baker and soooo many others?” the president wrote on Twitter. “What about Hillary to FBI and her 33,000 deleted Emails? What about Lisa & Peter’s deleted texts & Wiener’s laptop? Much more!”
Trump didn’t cite evidence of crimes by any of those former officials.
On Friday night — shortly after Trump signed spending legislation to end the partial government shutdown and hours after Stone was indicted — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded.
“Roger Stone’s indictment makes clear there was a deliberate, coordinated effort by top Trump campaign officials to subvert the will of the American people during the 2016 Election. #FollowTheFacts,” the California Democrat wrote on Twitter.