On January 25, 2019 Roger Stone was arrested at his home in a predawn raid. The arrest was carried out by 29 government agents, each wearing military garb, each carrying a handgun and most carrying automatic rifles. CNN's Alisyn Camerota claimed they were also wearing flap jackets. Seventeen SUVs and two armored vehicles arrived in front of his house with sirens blaring and lights flashing. In the canal were two amphibious units with frog men. Circling above was a helicopter equipped with long-range precision weaponry and high-powered spotlights. Four agents approached the front door of the house. Two held a battering ram, and two pointed their rifles at the door. One shouted and banged on the door until the owner appeared. He was greeted in the dark by two rifle barrels aimed at his head.
“I was told to come out with hands up, which I did. They brought my wife out, in her nightgown, also in bare feet, to stand next to me.” Stone claimed, “FBI agents walked me out in the middle of the street to make sure the CNN camera could get great footage of the whole thing. The street was sealed off, so how CNN had a camera right outside the door; that’s very hard to understand, because nobody else was allowed on the street.” Stone was not read his Miranda rights. He was later shackled, hand and foot.
When a defendant has been indicted for a nonviolent crime, has no criminal record and is not a flight risk or an imminent danger to society, prosecutors ordinarily inform the defense counsel of the indictment. They then request the indicted person turn himself in. The press is generally not notified. The arrest of Jeffrey Epstein is an example. According to The New York Times, prosecutors called Epstein's lawyers and asked him to turn himself in. Authorities tried to keep the whole affair out of the press. One prosecutor wrote to Epstein's attorney, Jay Lefkowitz, assuring him that to "avoid the press," she could, "file the charge in district court in Miami, which will hopefully cut the press coverage significantly."
On January 25, 2019 at 4:58 AM a CNN crew arrived across the street from Stone's home. CNN claims its coverage of the arrest was the result of exceptionally ingenious journalistic work. However, there is evidence that this is not true. Gateway Pundit received a letter from Roger Stone's lawyers suggesting that Robert Mueller’s lead investigator Andrew A. Weissmann sent a CNN reporter a head’s up in advance of the arrest. The CNN reporter, David Shortell, claims he had a “gut instinct” to show up before 6 A.M. at Stone’s house. Shortell was interviewed by Alisyn Camerota who commented, “You were there before sunrise. It came as a surprise to you. What's so fascinating is that we've talked to his attorney, the attorney didn't know this was coming. Clearly Roger Stone didn't know this was coming. You were staked out at his house, you didn't know that this was coming. Why were you there in position?” Shorttail responded, “Alisyn, it's a reporter's instinct.” Anderson Cooper added, "This should be beyond ridiculous. CNN has been very up front from the start about how we came to be there early that morning. Truth is we got the scoop through good old shoe leather reporting and a little luck. CNN producer and photojournalist were there because our ongoing reporting at the courthouse in Washington where the Mueller grand jury meets as well as his comings and goings led us to suspect that an arrest might be imminent. Armed with that our team was just staking out Stone’s house. They arrived about an hour before FBI agents went in. No tip off just hard work."
The Government went to great expense to arrest a 66-year-old man who had no criminal record. Judge Andrew Napolitano estimated the raid cost approximately half a million dollars and this was done during a government shutdown. Undoubtedly FBI Director Christopher Wray approved this raid, giving proof that he is a member of the Deep State and the Deep State is still in complete control of the FBI. The government used fewer men in their raids on Pablo Escobar or Osama bin Laden. What were they trying to accomplish?
Roger Stone claims “this was meant to do two things. One, to taint the jury pool, to paint a picture for the American people that I’m some sort of criminal, even though I’m charged with non-violent process crimes, and also to send a message to others.” The raid accomplished far more than tainting the jury pool and portraying Stone as a criminal. The raid was designed to instill terror in the hearts of Stone and anyone else who might picture themselves in his position. On MSNBC Maya Wiley, a former civil prosecutor and civil rights activist commented, "This was a textbook noneventful arrest." She did not make it clear if she was referring to a Gestapo or Soviet NKVD textbook.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described the benefits of the predawn raid. “The kind of night arrest described is, in fact, a favorite, because it has important advantages. Everyone living in the apartment is thrown into a state of terror by the first knock at the door. The arrested person is torn from the warmth of his bed. He is in a daze, half-asleep, helpless, and his judgment is befogged. In a night arrest the State Security men have a superiority in numbers; there are many of them, armed, against one person who hasn’t even finished buttoning his trousers. During the arrest and search it is highly improbable that a crowd of potential supporters will gather at the entrance…The science of arrest is an important segment of the course on general penology and has been propped up with a substantial body of social theory."
Continuing with the Soviet theme Judge Amy Berman Jackson following Soviet jurist Andrey Vyshinsky banned Stone from speaking publicly: “the defendant may not comment publicly about the case indirectly by having statements made publicly on his behalf by surrogates, family members, spokespersons, representatives, or volunteers.” In a March 12, 2019 article published in American Thinker I challenged Judge Jackson: "I am a volunteer making statements on behalf of Roger Stone. Judge Amy Berman Jackson is an apparatchik of the Deep State. She may believe that her black robe makes her some kind of high priestess. I do not write under a pseudonym and I am available if Judge Berman Jackson would like to speak to me." Jackson's order needed to be challenged. Roger Stone's supporters disturbed Judge Berman Jackson. She gave as one of her reasons for silencing Stone, "the size and vociferousness of the crowds that have already been attracted to these proceedings, and the risk that public pronouncements by the participants may inflame those gatherings."
There are so many questionable factors in this case that must see the light of day. Judge Jackson claims Stone's comments could prejudice the trial. She ordered Stone to "refrain from making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case." It was also done to "maintain the dignity and seriousness of the courthouse." Jackson's gag order matches word for word the gag order she put on former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort after his 2017 indictment. The Federal judiciary too often tramples on the First Amendment. U.S. Attorney for Idaho Wendy J. Olson, another Obama appointee intruded in a criminal case involving the rape of a child by "refugees." She claimed, “The spread of false information or inflammatory or threatening statements about the perpetrators or the crime itself reduces public safety and may violate federal law. We have seen time and again that the spread of falsehoods about refugees divides our communities.” Will the judge issue a similar gag order for the Deep State Media? Does media coverage "pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case"?
Maya Wiley commented on MSNBC, "First Amendment rights are extremely important. The judge made very clear that if she were gagging, it would be very narrowly and specifically to the case itself. And anything that would materially make the possibility of the trial to be unfair. Including for him, by the way, because it would gag both sides." Senator Lindsey Graham had essentially the same opinion, “It is important to give both the government and the accused a fair trial free from influence. I believe this has been accomplished in Mr. Stone’s case."
But were both sides "free from influence" and were both sides equally "gagged"? Wiley's appearance on MSNBC is proof that the trial was unfair. MSNBC pointed out that Stone was "kicked off of Twitter for violating their terms." Wiley remarked that Stone said Don Lemon, a CNN news anchor, "should be humiliated, mocked and punished." She continued, "He's saying this about a black man in America, by the way, at a time when hate crimes were also on the rise." Lemon said Americans need to “realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men.” Perhaps it was unfair for Stone to criticize him. Stone could not defend himself in the court of public opinion. Exposing some of the more blatant abuses of power could have impacted the court's decision.
The constant negative Deep State media reporting on Stone has had its effect. Stone complained that, “For two years, now, I’ve been unable to go out in public to a restaurant or through an airport without ugliness and people threatening to kill me and people saying, ‘You’re a Russian spy.'” Stone has been portrayed by the government and the media as a danger to the Republic, requiring a SWAT team to apprehend him. He claims, “The hatred, the death threats, the threats against my children, the threats to disfigure my wife. I’ve had people call the house and say, ‘We know where your children go to school,’ and hang up. The left is sick in this country. They are mentally ill.” In addition to the media's influence on the public it undoubtedly influenced the jury.
There are serious questions about the legitimacy of the Stone jury. This was highlighted by the jury foreman, Tomeka Hart, when she revealed her identity when she portested the resignation of the four Stone case prosecutors. It was extremely fortunate for Stone's opponents to have her selected for jury duty. Some have suggested that this was not an accident. Hart is a lawyer and a political activist. During jury selection she apparently omitted her accusations that Trump and his supporters were racist. She had admittedly mocked Stone's arrest prior to her selection for Jury duty. Hart was posting Politico links during the trial which may indicate that she was reading Politico during the trial. Jack Posobiec who attended the jury selection reported the Judge overruled numerous objections to jurors due to political bias. She denied a defense request to strike a potential juror who was Obama-era press official with admitted anti-Trump views -- and whose husband worked at the same Justice Department division that handled the probe leading to Stone's arrest.
The double standard evident in the Stone trial is glaringly obvious. Starting with his arrest and continuing through the trial Stone has been treated excessively. The prosecutor who cleared serial perjurer, Andrew McCabe, (he lied to the IG three times while under oath) is now in charge of the Stone case. It will be interesting if he can continue the persecution of Stone in light of his leniency toward McCabe. James A. Wolfe, the head of security for the Senate intelligence committee, leaked government secrets in exchange for sexual favors and lied to the FBI on three occasions. He was sentenced to two months in prison.
The Justice Department has made it clear: if you work for President Trump you may lose everything: career, money, your liberty and even your life. If you violate the law in an attempt to destroy the President you can look forward to a career as a consultant for CNN. The large group of Americans who are not interested in politics will see this blatant injustice and vote accordingly
