Donald Trump attacked the media and Hillary Clinton following the arrest of his former adviser Roger Stone, accusing the 2016 Democratic candidate of paying for the infamous dossier alleging ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The
president sent out a series of angry tweets attempting to distance
himself from his campaign ally and divert attention towards Ms Clinton
late on Saturday.
The FBI arrested Mr Stone on seven charges in connection with Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, including giving false statements and witness tampering.
“CBS
reports that in the Roger Stone indictment, data was ‘released during
the 2016 Election to damage Hillary Clinton,’” Mr Trump tweeted. “Oh
really! What about the Fake and Unverified ‘Dossier,’ a total phony
conjob, that was paid for by Crooked Hillary to damage me and the Trump
Campaign? What…”
The Russia dossier, also known as the Steele dossier,
refers to a private report compiled by former MI6 officer Christer
Steele on behalf of Fusion GPS which came to the attention of US
intelligence services, setting out allegations of conspiracy between the
Trump campaign and Moscow.
In
his following tweet, Mr Trump went on to accuse the “fake media” and
“crooked Hillary” of being in cahoots in alleged attempts to damage him
during the 2016 race.
“…about all of the one sided Fake Media coverage (collusion with Crooked H?) that I had to endure during my very successful presidential campaign,” he added on Twitter. “What about the now revealed bias by Facebook and many others. Roger Stone didn’t even work for me anywhere near the Election!”
Mr
Stone’s arrest could have serious implications for the president. The
charges reveal the special counsel’s intertest in how exactly the Trump
campaign might have sought information about hacked emails related to Ms
Clinton and the Democrats during the 2016 presidential election.
But Mr Stone told Fox News
he plans on pleading not guilty, claiming several aspects of his
indictment “are simply not true.” He also told CNN he has never
contacted Mr Trump about a potential pardon.
He
is the sixth former Trump associate implicated in Mr Mueller’s
investigation into his campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia in the
2016 election.
After
leaving the courthouse on Friday, Mr Stone – who has a tattoo of
Richard Nixon on his back – raised his arms in Mr Nixon’s infamous
double “V” pose.
The
Nixon Foundation attempted to distance itself from Mr Stone following
his arrest, pointing out he was only “a junior scheduler on the Nixon
re-election committee”.
[Yahoo News]
