Judge rejects Stone's claim CNN was tipped off about his arrest

The federal judge presiding over Roger Stone's criminal case in Washington, D.C., rejected the longtime Trump associate's claim that someone in the special counsel's office tipped off CNN before his arrest last month.

District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said Wednesday night there is nothing in the record to substantiate Stone's claim that a news crew knew the time and place of the arrest and was provided with an unfiled, draft copy of the indictment the court had sealed.

Stone had asked Jackson to order Robert Mueller to prove his office didn't give CNN a heads up in violation of the court-ordered seal, but she refused.

Stone argued that Mueller's office had provided a CNN reporter with a draft copy of the indictment before he was arrested in a dramatic, pre-dawn FBI raid of his Florida home at 6:06 a.m on Jan. 25.

Stone's claim was also one President Trump asserted after CNN captured the raid on camera, but the station has said publicly it had no prior knowledge. CNN said good instincts and key clues from watching the D.C. courthouse and the special counsel's office led to the scoop.

https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/431940-judge-rejects-stones-claim-cnn-was-tipped-off-about-his-arrest