UPDATE – Roger Stone has pledged never to testify against President Trump:
JUST IN: Roger Stone says he will plead not guilty to charges brought by the special counsel and that he will never testify against Trumphttps://t.co/hQTi1nrMma
— Axios (@axios) January 25, 2019
Original article:
President Donald Trump suggested over Twitter that CNN was tipped off to the FBI’s arrest of his former campaign advisor Roger Stone early this morning.
Why was CNN there?
Footage of Stone’s arrest spread across the airwaves and internet this morning, as CNN happened to have cameramen on hand when the FBI took Stone into custody. (RELATED: Roger Stone Arrested by the FBI.) Or, at the very least, CNN was able to obtain footage from someone who happened to be present at the time. (RELATED: CNN Obtains Footage Of The FBI Raiding Former Trump Adviser Roger Stone’s House.)
You can watch the CNN footage below:
“FBI. Open the door.”
Watch exclusive CNN footage of the FBI arresting longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. https://t.co/IWQToxEDhG pic.twitter.com/qXDtpL8pjN
— New Day (@NewDay) January 25, 2019
It’s still unclear how CNN had someone available to film the arrest. CNN’s Oliver Darcy tried to clear up how it happened over Twitter:
What an irresponsible thing to tweet with no evidence. The reporter who was there, @davidgshortell, said on CNN that the crew was staked out at Stone’s house this morning after CNN reporters noticed unusual grand jury activity in DC on Thursday & thought something could happen. https://t.co/E7KtkUjY1R
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 25, 2019
Trump weighs in
President Trump isn’t buying that the whole thing was a product of CNN’s gumshoe investigative work. He tweeted out the question on everyone’s mind:
Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2019
Darcy again attempted to explain how CNN sniffed out the scoop while other news outlets failed to do so.
For those wondering how CNN connected the dots, here’s @ShimonPro last night — before the arrest of Roger Stone — explaining the unusual grand jury activity taking place in DC on Thursday and why it might indicate new indictments coming. https://t.co/WOhner329K
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 25, 2019
Some aren’t buying the explanation:
So the FBI and/or Mueller coordinated with CNN to create a PR spectacle out of an early-morning arrest. Extremely dubious and manipulative law enforcement tactic, but few will raise an eyebrow because they’re so excited about Roger Stone getting pinched https://t.co/UuGuBDNblA
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 25, 2019
Unfortunately, unless Trump himself orders an investigation into the matter, we’ll probably never learn why CNN just happened to have a man with a camera ready at the time the FBI arrested Roger Stone.
