Republican operative Roger Stone distanced himself from the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the Capitol insurrection last year and efforts to subvert the presidential election results, The Daily Beast reported.
“Any claim assertion or implication that I was involved in or knew about or condoned illegal actions at the capital[sic] on January 6 is baseless and categorically false,” he said over text message. “Those who stormed the capital destroyed a perfectly legal effort to delay certification or the electoral college for 11 days so that irregularities and anomalies in voting Airzona Michigan Wisconsin Pennsylvania and Nevada could be more thoroughly examined.”
New documentary video footage seen by The Washington Post showed the former confidante of Donald Trump actively tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and his involvement in rallies that culminated in the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
The Post reviewed 20 hours of video footage from a Danish camera crew that was filming for a documentary called “A Storm Foretold,” which will be released later this year. The footage and reporting for The Post found that Mr Stone texted far-right leaders involved with the raid on the Capitol.
Footage showed that as the riot was underway, Mr Stone packed his bags and left his hotel in Washington, saying the riot was “really bad” for the president’s movement. At the same time, before the riot, he seemed to relish conflict.
“Once there’s no more election, there’s no reason why we can’t mix it up. These people are going to get what they’ve been asking for,” he was filmed telling an aide.
Similarly, Mr Stone helped mobilize the protest that preceded the riot and brought throngs of supporters to Washington on the day the election was to be certified. Mr Stone also used encrypted messaging to communicate with Stewart Rhodes, the leader of Oath Keepers, who is charged with conspiracy, and the head of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio.
But Mr Stone did not allow the Danish filmmakers to shoot him during 90 minutes at the peak of the insurrection. After he left Washington, though he lobbied Mr Trump to give blanket pardons to himself, allies of the president and members of Congress from prosecution for attempting to overturn the election.
But White House Counsel Pat Cipollone reportedly struck down the plan, Mr Stone said.
Mr Stone pushed back on The Post’s questions about its reporting, saying “typical of the Washington Post’s coverage over the last two years in which your newspaper insisted that I was a Russian Intelligence asset in league with Wikileaks to aide the Trump campaign — a lie.”
