Donald Trump ally Roger Stone appears before Capitol attack panel but refuses to answer questions
- The ex-president’s long-time confidant said he had asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination
- Stone is not the only Trump ally refusing to answer: others include Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows, who have been held in contempt of Congress
Long-time Trump confidant Roger Stone says he has asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in an interview with the House panel investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Stone – who was convicted in 2019 of lying to Congress, but subsequently pardoned by Trump – told reporters as he left the deposition Friday that “I did my civic duty and I responded as required by law” but that he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to every question.
The committee subpoenaed Stone last month, noting that he spoke at rallies on the day before the insurrection and used members of a far-right extremist group, the Oath Keepers, as personal security guards while he was in Washington.
Several members of that militia group broke into the Capitol on January 6, along with hundreds of other supporters of former president Donald Trump, and have been charged with conspiring to block the certification of the vote.
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Stone is one of several in Trump’s inner circle who have refused to answer questions from the committee.