Longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone was greeted by protesters holding Russian flags and shouts of 'traitor' as he made his way into federal court in Washington Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering.
Stone strode into a federal court annex to chants of 'Lock him up!' as he came for a scheduled arraignment on a the seven-charge indictment brought by Robert Mueller's special counsel probe.
Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson ordered Stone to return to court on Friday for a status hearing with Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case, and also is handling the case of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, Stone's business partner in the 1980s.
Stone, 66, wore a sober blue suit, cutaway collar shirt and woven tie for his appearance. His attorney, Robert Buschel, entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.
Prosecutors did not ask for a change in his bail conditions. He is currently out on $250,000 bond and banned from traveling except to Florida, New York and Washington D.C.
The longtime political dirty trickster who compared his treatment during his Friday arrest to that of drug kingpin El Chapo was brief when asked questions by judge Robinson.
'Yes, your honor,' he responded, saying he would honor the terms of his bail.
The calm inside the courtroom was in stark contrast to the scene on its steps both when Stone arrived and when he left - flashing his trademark double handed V-for victory sign aloft before getting into a waiting SUV.
One sign called him a 'Dirty Traitor,' a reference to his alleged outreach to WikiLeaks during the campaign outlined in his indictment sprinkled with email communications.
Roger Stone departs Federal Court, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Washington. Stone, a longtime adviser and confidant of President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges in the Russia investigation after a publicity-filled few days spent torching the probe as politically motivated
Trademark Nixon salute: Stone flashed a double V-for victory sign inspired by Richard Nixon as he left court - but did not say anything to reporters
Longtime Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone arrives in federal court to face protesters and supporters before he was set to appear before a federal judge
Scene: Roger Stone arrived in court to plead not guilty with a large police escort, reflecting the large crowd gathered outside the annex to the federal court in Washington D.C.
Divided: Supporters and opponents of Roger Stone were both outside as he arrived in court
Spelling out a message: One group of protesters had a firm take on Trump's one-time political aide, that he was guilty of treason - which is not on the charge sheet
Russian flags: Stone was greeted by protesters defending him and those calling him a 'traitor'
Dressed for court: Stone, a dandyish dresser, was in a sober blue suit, woven tie and cutaway collar shirt to appear in front of U.S. Judge Amy Berman Jackson
Not guilty: Stone appeared relaxed as he walked into the courtroom for his arraignment
Supporters held up their own printed signs of Stone in one of his victory poses.
The signs said: 'Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong!' One gave the website where supporters can donate to his cause.
Stone didn't pause to speak to reporters as he entered the building, after spending the days since his indictment on seven criminal charges on a national media blitz.
Despite a bank of TV microphones and swarm of media awaiting comment from him after the proceeding, Stone was whisked away by an SUV when his hearing was completed.
It is unclear if he will continue to be able to speak freely.
Berman Jackson previously placed a 'gag order' on parties to Manafort case, stopping them from speaking to the media.
If she did the same, the public might not be hearing more from Stone, a veteran Trump gadfly, for some time.
Stone has said he hasn't ruled out cooperating with Mueller, although he also accused the FBI of using 'Gestapo tactics' during his arrest, leaving in doubt whether prosecutors will even seek to get his cooperation.
Another clue to Stone's fate comes from his former employee Andrew Miller, who has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury.
Miller's attorney, said he learned Monday that prosecutors still want his client to testify. He said the move makes it clear to him prosecutors will seek an additional indictment of Stone, CNN reported.
Former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone arrives at Federal Court, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Washington
Stone faced an arraignment with Judge Amy Berman Jackson
Stone has called the Mueller probe a 'witch hunt' and says he doesn't have damaging information about President Trump
One protesters held a sign calling Stone a 'dirty traitor.' He is accused of lying about his efforts to contact WikiLeaks about Clinton email dumps
The indictment prosecutors filed on Friday charges Stone with lying to Congress, obstruction of of a congressional investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, and witness tampering.
After a publicity-filled weekend spent asserting his innocence and slamming investigators, Stone on Tuesday morning appears before a federal judge who may look to muzzle him as the case moves forward.
He has said he will plead not guilty.
Though most defendants facing charges tend to stay quiet for fear of inflaming prosecutors or a judge, Stone has opted for a different tack since his pre-dawn arrest Friday in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Stone staged an impromptu news conference outside a Florida courthouse, made the rounds on weekend television and repeatedly mocked the probe on an Instagram account, including with a cartoonish-image of Mueller as a bowtie-wearing butler holding a tray with a hamburger roll - but no meat in between.
A self-described dirty trickster and longtime confidant of the president, Stone is the sixth Trump aide charged in Mueller's investigation. The indictment does not accuse Stone of coordinating with Russia or with WikiLeaks on the release of hacked Democratic emails.
First appearance: U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson will oversee Stone's case
But it does allege that he misled lawmakers about his pursuit of those communications and interest in them.
The anti-secrecy website published emails in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election that the U.S. says were stolen from Democrats by Russian operatives.
Stone, who has alleged without evidence that the FBI used 'Gestapo tactics' in arresting him, said he did nothing more than exercise his First Amendment rights to drum up interest with voters about the WikiLeaks disclosures. He said he never discussed the issue with Trump.
'That's what I engaged in. It's called politics and they haven't criminalized it, at least not yet,' Stone said Sunday on ABC's 'This Week.'
'All I did was take publicly available information and try to hype it to get it as much attention as possible, because I had a tip, the information was politically significant and that it would come in October,' he added.
Tuesday's arraignment could inspire the same circus-like atmosphere that surrounded his Friday court appearance in Florida, where Stone emerged from the building in a blue polo shirt, flashed a Richard Nixon victory sign, predicted his vindication and vowed that he would not 'bear false witness against the president, nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself.'
All the while, jeering spectators shouted 'Lock Him Up!' while others in the crowd cheered him on.
It's unclear whether Mueller's prosecutors will look to have Stone locked up pending trial or whether they will simply recommend conditions that would allow him to remain free on bond. It's also possible that U.S. Magistrate Deborah Robinson might impose a gag order to prevent Stone from discussing the case.
ROBERT MUELLER'S PROBE SO FAR: EIGHT CONVICTIONS - INCLUDING THREE TOP TRUMP AIDES, A JAILED ATTORNEY AND 25 RUSSIANS ACCUSED
GUILTY: MICHAEL FLYNN
Pleaded guilty to making false statements in December 2017. Awaiting sentence
Flynn was President Trump's former National Security Advisor and Robert Mueller's most senior scalp to date. He previously served when he was a three star general as President Obama's director of the Defense Intelligence Agency but was fired.
He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his conversations with a Russian ambassador in December 2016. He has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel investigation.
GUILTY: MICHAEL COHEN
Pleaded guilty to eight counts including fraud and two campaign finance violations in August 2018. Pleaded guilty to further count of lying to Congress in November 2018. Sentenced to three years in prison and $2 million in fines and forfeitures in December 2018
Cohen was Trump's longtime personal attorney, starting working for him and the Trump Organization in 2007. He is the longest-serving member of Trump's inner circle to be implicated by Mueller. Cohen professed unswerving devotion to Trump - and organized payments to silence two women who alleged they had sex with the-then candidate: porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. He admitted that payments to both women were felony campaign finance violations - and admitted that he acted at the 'direction' of 'Candidate-1': Donald Trump.
He also admitted tax fraud by lying about his income from loans he made, money from taxi medallions he owned, and other sources of income, at a cost to the Treasury of $1.3 million.
And he admitted lying to Congress in a rare use of the offense. The judge in his case let him report for prison on March 6 and recommended he serve it in a medium-security facility close to New York City.
GUILTY: PAUL MANAFORT
Found guilty of eight charges of bank and tax fraud in August 2018. Pleaded guilty to two further charges. Awaiting sentence
Manafort worked for Trump's campaign from March 2016 and chaired it from June to August 2016, overseeing Trump being adopted as Republican candidate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He is the most senior campaign official to be implicated by Mueller. Manafort was one of Washington D.C.'s longest-term and most influential lobbyists but in 2015, his money dried up and the next year he turned to Trump for help, offering to be his campaign chairman for free - in the hope of making more money afterwards. But Mueller unwound his previous finances and discovered years of tax and bank fraud as he coined in cash from pro-Russia political parties and oligarchs in Ukraine.
Manafort pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of tax and bank fraud but was convicted of eight counts. The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges. A second trial on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent is due in September.
GUILTY: RICK GATES
Pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements in February 2018. Awaiting sentence
Gates was Manafort's former deputy at political consulting firm DMP International. He admitted to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government on financial activity, and to lying to investigators about a meeting Manafort had with a member of congress in 2013. As a result of his guilty plea and promise of cooperation, prosecutors vacated charges against Gates on bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, failure to disclose foreign bank accounts, filing false tax returns, helping prepare false tax filings, and falsely amending tax returns.
GUILTY AND JAILED: GEORGE PAPADOPOLOUS
Pleaded guilty to making false statements in October 2017. Sentenced to 14 days in September 2018, and reported to prison in November. Served 12 days and released on December 7, 2018
Papadopoulos was a member of Donald Trump's campaign foreign policy advisory committee. He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his contacts with London professor Josef Mifsud and Ivan Timofeev, the director of a Russian government-funded think tank.
He has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel investigation.
GUILTY AND JAILED: RICHARD PINEDO
Pleaded guilty to identity fraud in February 2018. Sentenced to a year in prison
Pinedo is a 28-year-old computer specialist from Santa Paula, California. He admitted to selling bank account numbers to Russian nationals over the internet that he had obtained using stolen identities.
He has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel investigation.
GUILTY AND JAILED: ALEX VAN DER ZWAAN
Pleaded guilty to making false statements in February 2018. He served a 30-day prison sentence earlier this year and was deported to the Netherlands on his release
Van der Zwaan is a Dutch attorney for Skadden Arps who worked on a Ukrainian political analysis report for Paul Manafort in 2012.
He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about when he last spoke with Rick Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik.
GUILTY: W. SAMUEL PATTEN
Pleaded guilty in August 2018 to failing to register as a lobbyist while doing work for a Ukrainian political party. Awaiting sentence
Patten, a long-time D.C. lobbyist was a business partner of Paul Manafort. He pleaded guilty to admitting to arranging an illegal $50,000 donation to Trump's inauguration.
He arranged for an American 'straw donor' to pay $50,000 to the inaugural committee, knowing that it was actually for a Ukrainian businessman.
Neither the American or the Ukrainian have been named.
CHARGED: KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK
Indicted for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. At large, probably in Russia
Kilimnik is a former employee of Manafort's political consulting firm and helped him with lobbying work in Ukraine. He is accused of witness tampering, after he allegedly contacted individuals who had worked with Manafort to remind them that Manafort only performed lobbying work for them outside of the U.S.
He has been linked to Russian intelligence and is currently thought to be in Russia - effectively beyond the reach of extradition by Mueller's team.
INDICTED: THE RUSSIANS
Twenty-five Russian nationals and three Russian entities have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States. They remain at large in Russia
Two of these Russian nationals were also indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 11 were indicted for conspiracy to launder money. Fifteen of them were also indicted for identity fraud.
Vladimir Putin has ridiculed the charges. Russia effectively bars extradition of its nationals. The only prospect Mueller has of bringing any in front of a U.S. jury is if Interpol has their names on an international stop list - which is not made public - and they set foot in a territory which extradites to the U.S.
INDICTED: MICHAEL FLYNN'S BUSINESS PARTNERS
Bijan Kian (left), number two in now disgraced former national security adviser Mike Flynn's lobbying company, and the two's business partner Ekim Alptekin (right) were indicted for conspiracy to lobby illegally. Kian is awaiting trial, Alptekin is still to appear in court
Kian, an Iranian-American was arrested and appeared in court charged with a conspiracy to illegally lobby the U.S government without registering as a foreign agent. Their co-conspirator was Flynn, who is called 'Person A' in the indictment and is not charged, offering some insight into what charges he escaped with his plea deal.
Kian, vice-president of Flynn's former lobbying firm, is alleged to have plotted with Alptekin to try to change U.S. policy on an exiled Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and who is accused by Turkey's strongman president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of trying to depose him.
Erdogan's government wanted him extradited from the U.S. and paid Flynn's firm through Alptekin for lobbying, including an op-ed in The Hill calling for Gulen to be ejected. Flynn and Kian both lied that the op-ed was not paid for by the Turkish government.
The indictment is a sign of how Mueller is taking an interest in more than just Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
INDICTED: ROGER STONE
Roger Stone, a former Trump campaign official and longtime informal advisor to Trump, was incited on seven counts including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and lying to Congress about his communications with WikiLeaks.
Stone was a person of interest to Mueller's investigators long before his January indictment, thanks in part due to his public pronouncements as well as internal emails about his contacts with WikiLeks.
In campaign texts and emails, many of which had already been publicly revealed before showing up in Mueller's indictment, Stone communicated with associates about WikiLeaks following reports the organization had obtained a cache of Clinton-related emails.
Stone, a former Nixon campaign adviser who has the disgraced former president's face permanently tattooed on his back, has long been portrayed as a central figure in the election interference scandal, but as recently as January 4 told Dailymail.com that he doesn't expect to be indicted.
'They got nothing,' he said of the special counsel's investigation.
According to the federal indictment, Stone gave 'false and misleading' testimony about his requests for information from WikiLeaks. He then pressured a witness, comedian Randy Credico, to take the Fifth Amendment rather than testify, and pressured him in a series of emails. Following a prolonged dispute over testimony, he called him a 'rat' and threatened to 'take that dog away from you', in reference to Credico's pet, Bianca. Stone warned him: 'Let's get it on. Prepare to die.'
Link hienalouca.com This is interesting We are looking for an investor for a project to grow dinosaurs from chicken eggs and relict plants. Necessary amount of investments from 400 000 to 900 000 dollars. For all interested parties, e-mail angocman@gmail.com. This will be very interesting.
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/29/roger-stone-circus-comes-to-d-c-as-trump-gadfly-faces-federal-judge-to-plead-not-guilty/
Main photo article Longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone was greeted by protesters holding Russian flags and shouts of ‘traitor’ as he made his way into federal court in Washington Tuesday where he pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to Congress and witness tampering.
Stone strode into a federal court...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/29/17/9140184-6642953-image-a-19_1548783092875.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий