Roger Stone, former advisor to President Donald Trump, leaves the United States Courthouse E. Barrett Prettyman on March 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. in connection with accusations against him to lie to Congress. (Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images)

In a burst of legal deposits, Roger Stone's defense team argues that he and his defense team should benefit from an exclusive look at the Mueller report.

They also say that since Attorney General Robert Barr said that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, there was "no way out" there. regarding the charges against Stone.

Finally, his defense asserts that the entire Special Council inquiry was not constitutionally funded because the Congress did not specifically allocate the funds to its offices and did not explicitly provide for the special counsel can investigate a president or his presidential campaign.

"If the Justice Department of the executive branch can not investigate his presidential campaign, then Roger Stone's investigation, a direct result of this poisoned tree, must fall," according to a dossier.

The documents were filed Friday before the District Court of the District of Columbia, which will oversee his case.

Automatic reading

Thumbnails poster

Show captions

Last slide next

Stone, 66, was arrested in January and pleaded not guilty under a charge of obstructing the official proceedings, five counts of false statements and a head of tampering with witnesses.

In particular, he is accused of lying to the Congress about his activities related to information obtained through Russian hacking of e-mails from the Democratic Party and their dissemination via WikiLeaks. He will be tried on November 5 in Washington, D.C.

Special advocate Robert Mueller spent nearly two years investigating Russia's participation in the 2016 US elections, notably to determine whether there had been any collusion between the Russians and the Donald Trump campaign.

Stone, a self-proclaimed "political cheater" politician, is a longtime friend and Trump's political advisor.

While the political world is largely waiting for the Mueller report to be read, Stone's team claims that he is the only one to be able to see it convincingly.

"The report of the special council may be of political interest to many," said the defense in a motion to dismiss the case. This may be of commercial interest to others. This can be of public interest for some. But for Roger Stone, the report of the special advisor concerns the protection of his freedom. Only by full disclosure to himself will he be able to determine whether the report contains material that might be essential to his defense. "

In a separate case, the defense assures the court that Stone, a political gadfly for half a century, would keep it silent.

"To be clear, Stone does not ask that the report be disclosed to the world – but only to his lawyer so that it can help him prepare his defense," says the document.

Regarding the rejection of his case, Stone and his defense team note that Barr, in a letter referring to Mueller's unpublished report, stated that he found no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

"Now that the Justice Ministry has concluded that there is no conspiracy between Russian agents and a US citizen, including Roger Stone, this" link "is unfounded," says Stone's defense.

"Apart from an allegation that the Russians and Stone would have independently had any contact with WikiLeaks via Twitter, there is none," argues Stone in a motion for reconsideration.

On another level, the team claims that the special council office itself was organized unconstitutionally and that Congress did not explicitly provide that the special council could investigate a president or his campaign. presidential.

"Nothing could further encroach on the president's duty to ensure that laws are faithfully executed, unless a special attorney keeps looking over his shoulder, threatening him as well as members of his executive power of potential prosecution for every act committed, "said Stone's defense. the team wrote ..

Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/13/roger-stone-tells-court-he-alone-entitled-see-mueller-report/3456745002/