Trump ally Roger Stone pleads the Fifth in deposition with Jan. 6 committee

(CNN) — Roger Stone, a staunch state of erstwhile President Donald Trump, met concisely Friday with the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot and asserted his Fifth Amendment rights to each question asked, helium said.

Stone emerged from the deposition aft lone an hour-and-a-half and told reporters helium invoked the Fifth Amendment, which offers extortion against self-incrimination, “not due to the fact that I person done thing wrong, but due to the fact that I americium afloat alert of the House Democrats’ agelong past of fabricating perjury charges.”

“I question the legitimacy of this inquiry,” Stone said, “based connected the information that Speaker Pelosi rejected the assignment of Republicans to this committee and seated 2 anti-Trump Republicans. This is witch hunt 3.0.”

“I accent yet again that I was not connected the ellipse. I did not march to the Capitol. I was not astatine the Capitol and immoderate claim, assertion oregon adjacent accusation that I knew astir oregon was progressive successful immoderate mode whatsoever with the amerciable and politically counter-productive activities of January 6, is categorically false,” helium added.

Stone said that helium is disturbed by investigations into his enactment connected Jan. 5, telling reporters Friday that it was constitutionally protected escaped code and the close to escaped assembly.

The long-time Republican operative utilized the hours earlier his deposition to rise wealth for his ineligible defence money connected his societal media accounts and to importune helium hasn’t done thing wrong.

Two different high-profile witnesses besides person indicated they would plead the Fifth: John Eastman, the lawyer who helped trade a questionable ineligible mentation that erstwhile Vice President Mike Pence had the authorization to interrupt the certification of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination results, and Jeffrey Clark, a erstwhile apical Justice Department authoritative during the Trump administration.

Stone not lone promoted his quality astatine a January 6 “Stop the Steal” lawsuit but solicited donations for it and stated his intent astatine the rally was to “lead a march to the Capitol,” according to the panel’s subpoena missive to him.

The committee added that, according to media reports, Stone utilized members of the Oath Keepers arsenic idiosyncratic information guards, respective of whom stormed the Capitol and astatine slightest 1 who has been indicted, portion helium was successful Washington.

Following the past large House enquiry into predetermination integrity, aft the 2016 election, Stone was convicted successful national tribunal of obstructing Congress by lying astir his efforts to interaction WikiLeaks connected behalf of the Trump campaign.

At his transgression trial, which occurred earlier the extremity of the Trump administration, the Justice Department successfully argued Stone lied to Congress to support Trump. Trump aboriginal pardoned him.