Roger Stone’s lawyers accuse Mueller team of ‘leaking’ indictment to CNN

Make sure to let us know what you think... we now have comments turned ON below the article!

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

  1. I think this is one of the most vital information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things, The website style is ideal, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers

  2. The subsequent time I learn a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I imply, I know it was my choice to learn, however I really thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you would fix in case you werent too busy searching for attention.

  3. Thanks for discussing your ideas here. The other issue is that each time a problem appears with a personal computer motherboard, individuals should not have some risk of repairing the item themselves for if it is not done right it can lead to permanent damage to the complete laptop. In most cases, it is safe just to approach the dealer of that laptop for any repair of that motherboard. They have got technicians who may have an expertise in dealing with laptop computer motherboard issues and can get the right diagnosis and conduct repairs.

  4. My partner and I stumbled over here by a different website and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to going over your web page for a second time.

  5. obviously like your web site however you need to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the reality nevertheless I will surely come again again.

  6. you are actually a excellent webmaster. The site loading speed is amazing. It kind of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve performed a wonderful job in this matter!

  7. I got what you mean , thanks for posting .Woh I am thankful to find this website through google. “Since the Exodus, freedom has always spoken with a Hebrew accent.” by Heinrich Heine.

  8. What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It positively useful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & aid other users like its aided me. Good job.

Leave a Reply to Temperature Screening Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Popular