When Roger Stone was arrested by the FBI in a pre-dawn raid to serve an indictment issued by special counsel Robert Mueller, CNN happened to have a camera crew on location at just the right moment.
Stone’s lawyers are now accusing the Mueller team of “leaking” the indictment to CNN before it was unsealed. They filed a court motion Wednesday requesting the judge to make the Mueller team explain why it should not be held in contempt for the alleged leak, Politico reported.
Stone accuses Mueller of violating seal
During a press conference in Boca Raton on Wednesday, Stone told reporters, “My lawyers filed a motion to show cause because we now know that the special council’s office released my indictment two and a half hours before it was unsealed by a federal magistrate.”
Stone also disputes CNN’s explanation for their perfectly-timed presence. “CNN also says they have been staking out my house every Friday for months. The security cameras show no such thing and, in fact, the CNN reporter called me the day before and asked me for my home address,” he said.
“I think it’s abundantly clear from the video camera, which I sent to the Senate and House Judiciary Committee, that CNN showed up 15 minutes before the FBI, that they set up their camera 10 minutes before the FBI arrived,” Stone said. “That would have to be the shortest stakeout in American history.”
Did Mueller tip off CNN?
Stone’s legal team says that moments after the raid, a CNN reporter forwarded a draft copy of the indictment to Stone’s attorney. The document lacked the typical time stamps and other official markings of an official indictment filed in the PACER court records database.
The lack of PACER stampings on CNN’s copy of the indictment suggests that it was a “draft” copy, given to them prior to the actual unsealing of the indictment and entry into the public system, which would explain how the CNN crew knew to camp outside Stone’s home about an hour before the raid commenced.
“A person with privileged access to a ‘draft’ of Roger Stone’s Indictment, identical to that which had been filed under seal … had — in violation of the Court’s Order — publicly distributed the Indictment prior to its release from the sealing ordered by the Court,” said Stone’s attorneys in the filing.
Politico reported that Mueller’s team claims that a public notice was sent out just prior to the arrest which included a link to the draft copy, and officially filed the indictment in the PACER system and updated the link later in the day. However, that doesn’t explain why only CNN got a copy of the unmarked draft of the indictment.
CNN claims guesswork and intuition
CNN argues that they weren’t tipped off and relied on journalistic intuition. To support that argument, the network noted that Mueller’s team had largely blocked off the day of the arrest, Jan. 25, on schedules, and that Stone’s eventual indictment had been widely viewed as an impending inevitability.
Of course, questions remain, and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee chair Lindsey Graham has requested a briefing with FBI Director Christopher Wray about the details and force used in the Stone arrest, while acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said, “It was deeply concerning to me as to how CNN found out about that.”
Meanwhile, Judge Amy Berman Jackson is considering imposing a gag order on all parties involved in the case, a move that many view as an attempt to silence Stone and prevent him from publicly mounting a defense.
296 Responses
420701 544663I completely agree! I came over from google and am searching to subscribe. Exactly where is your RSS feed? 228801
869853 529724I surely did not realize that. Learnt some thing new these days! Thanks for that. 526714
269718 436852This internet page is known as a stroll-by for all the info you wished about this and didnt know who to ask. Glimpse correct here, and you will positively discover it. 919717
623919 626260Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading? Im trying to uncover out if its a issue on my finish or if its the weblog. Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated. 922818
820074 416671Also, weblog often and with intriguing material to maintain individuals interested in coming back and checking for updates. 876887
I simply want to say I’m newbie to weblog and certainly loved your web site. Probably I’m want to bookmark your blog . You actually come with good article content. Thank you for sharing with us your blog site.
I simply want to mention I am newbie to blogs and actually loved you’re web page. Almost certainly I’m planning to bookmark your site . You amazingly come with excellent stories. Appreciate it for sharing with us your blog.
981556 312216This web website is my breathing in, quite great layout and perfect content material material . 249831
Shop; Unique Functions. Simple Product Layouts. Post with review. Advanced Product Layout. Best conversion pages. Frontend Search · Listing example …
There’s definately a lot to know about this issue. I like all the points you have made.
921627 2006Oh my goodness! a fantastic post dude. Thanks Nonetheless My business is experiencing issue with ur rss . Do not know why Struggling to join it. Is there anybody acquiring identical rss concern? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thnkx 529053
Natural Releaf CBD | New York CBD Store with locations in Murray Hill, NY | Upper East Side, NY | White Plains, NY Serving New York City, NY and Westchester, NY High Quality CBD Products With Lab Test
Best view i have ever seen !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Love watching sunset !
Temperature Reading
Aw, this was a very nice post. In concept I wish to put in writing like this moreover taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article but what can I say I procrastinate alot and not at all seem to get one thing done.
Interesting article. It is rather unfortunate that over the last one decade, the travel industry has already been able to to handle terrorism, SARS, tsunamis, flu virus, swine flu, and also the first ever real global economic depression. Through it the industry has proven to be sturdy, resilient and dynamic, acquiring new methods to deal with adversity. There are often fresh complications and the possiblility to which the market must yet again adapt and respond.
whoah this blog is magnificent i really like studying your posts. Keep up the good paintings! You recognize, lots of people are hunting around for this information, you could help them greatly.
I’m impressed, I must say. Really hardly ever do I encounter a weblog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you could have hit the nail on the head. Your concept is outstanding; the issue is one thing that not sufficient individuals are speaking intelligently about. I am very comfortable that I stumbled across this in my search for one thing referring to this.
Whats Taking place i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It positively useful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to give a contribution & aid different customers like its helped me. Good job.
416040 229508I love what you guys are up too. Such clever work and exposure! Keep up the quite very good works guys Ive incorporated you guys to my own blogroll. 882582
vedonlyöntibonukset
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after reading through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!
Great – I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs as well as related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, website theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Nice task.
My husband and i got thrilled Jordan could round up his reports via the ideas he acquired from your weblog. It is now and again perplexing to just find yourself giving for free tactics which usually most people could have been trying to sell. So we know we’ve got the writer to give thanks to because of that. The type of illustrations you made, the straightforward web site navigation, the friendships your site make it easier to engender – it is many astounding, and it’s making our son and the family understand that article is entertaining, and that is seriously pressing. Many thanks for everything!
I’ve been browsing on-line greater than three hours as of late, but I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s lovely value enough for me. In my opinion, if all website owners and bloggers made excellent content as you did, the net shall be much more helpful than ever before.
I reckon something really special in this internet site.
Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring¡K I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a little bit out of track! come on!
It’s really a nice and useful piece of info. I am satisfied that you just shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely feel this site needs much more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the info!
My brother recommended I might like this web site. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
I am curious to find out what blog platform you’re utilizing? I’m having some small security problems with my latest website and I would like to find something more risk-free. Do you have any recommendations?
Shopify gadget store
Hey! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
It is truly a great and helpful piece of info. I am glad that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
It’s going to be end of mine day, but before end I am reading this enormous article to improve my knowledge.
New born girl clothes