Roger Stone leaves door open to cooperation with special counsel
Roger Stone, the former Trump adviser indicted for allegedly lying to Congress, continued to insist he's innocent Sunday. He's the sixth associate of President Trump to be charged in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, and is set to appear in federal court Tuesday.
Stone spoke to CBS News justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and left open the possibility he might be willing to cooperate with Mueller's investigators.
"I'm going to tell the truth no matter what," Stone said. "I have no intention of not telling truth. I have never not told the truth. Claims that I was less than truthful before the House Intelligence Committee will be disproven."
According to the indictment handed down by a grand jury in Washington and unsealed on Friday, Stone spoke to "senior Trump campaign officials" about WikiLeaks' "future releases" of information stolen from Democratic Party computer systems by Russian-backed hackers in the months before the 2016 election.
Stone, who has been friends with Mr. Trump for decades, has denied he ever shared information about WikiLeaks with then-candidate Trump in 2016.
In a tweet Saturday night, Mr. Trump mentioned Stone's indictment and the so-called "dossier," which he called a "total phony con job."
The dossier, which was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, was just one of several pieces of information that led the FBI to launch the Russia investigation in 2016. The special counsel is seeking to determine if there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign.
Stone faces seven counts of lying, obstruction and witness tampering.
"Adding up the charges, the counts, that's 45 years behind bars," Pegues said. "Would you serve 45 years behind bars if you're found guilty?
"I don't answer hypothetical questions. I am going to be acquitted and I will be vindicated," Stone said.
Stone said he has been the target of death threats for months.
"It's very dangerous to be me at this moment," Stone said. "I'm not dangerous, but there are threats against my family, threats to disfigure my wife, threats to kill my grandchildren, threats to kill dogs. Yes, there are lots of demented people out there."
"What do you expect in federal court on Tuesday?" Pegues asked.
"Just an arraignment," Stone said.
The indictment also alleged that Stone communicated with someone identified as "Person 1" about WikiLeaks. Conservative author and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi says he is "Person 1" and that he is willing to testify against Stone, who is preparing to leave his home in Florida to travel to Washington.
Watch more of Stone's interview with CBS News in the video below:
