Roger Stone, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, briefly met Friday with the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. During the meeting, Stone invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to every question he was asked, he said after finishing the statement.
Stone exited the subpoena after just an hour and a half and told reporters that he invoked the Fifth Amendment, which protects against self-incrimination. “Not because I have done something wrong, but because I am fully aware of the long history that House Democrats have of fabricating charges of perjury,” he said.
“I question this investigation”
“I question the legitimacy of this investigation,” Stone added, “based on the fact that President Pelosi rejected the nomination of Republicans on this committee and seated two anti-Trump Republicans. This is a 3.0 witch hunt.”
“I insist once again that I was not on the ellipse. I did not march to the Capitol. I was not on the Capitol. And any claim, assertion or even implication that I knew of or was in any way involved with the illegal and politically counterproductive activities of the January 6 is categorically false,” he said.
Stone said he is concerned about investigations into his activity on January 5. In that sense, he pointed out to journalists this Friday that he was constitutionally protected under freedom of expression and the right to free assembly.
The longtime Republican used the hours leading up to his statement to raise money for his legal defense fund on his social media accounts. Also in insisting that he has done nothing wrong.
Two other high-profile witnesses also indicated that they would file for the Fifth Amendment. This is John Eastman, the attorney who helped craft a questionable legal theory that former Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to interrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. And also Jeffrey Clark, a former senior Justice Department official during the Trump administration.
What the commission says about Roger Stone
Stone not only promoted their participation in the “Stop the Steal” event on January 6, but also solicited donations for it. And he stated that his purpose at the rally was “to lead a march to the Capitol,” according to the subpoena letter sent to him by the panel.
The commission added that according to media reports, Stone used members of the Oath Keepers as personal security guards, several of whom stormed the Capitol and at least one was charged while in Washington City.
Following the last major House investigation into election integrity, after the 2016 election, Stone was convicted in federal court of obstruction of Congress by lying about his efforts to contact WikiLeaks on behalf of the Trump campaign.
In his criminal trial, which occurred before the end of the Trump administration, the Justice Department successfully argued that Stone lied to Congress to protect Trump. Trump later commuted his sentence.