Roger Stone reflects on FBI raid: 'They essentially went through every square inch of my house'

By SCOTT THUMAN, Sinclair Broadcast Group

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CIRCA via SBG) — With heavy guns drawn and approaching before sunrise, a swarm of FBI agents swiftly advanced at the home of Roger Stone in late January.

In exclusive video obtained by Circa partner WPEC, we take a look at surveillance video from inside the FBI raid and arrest of Stone, a former presidential adviser and longtime friend of President Donald Trump.

The predawn raid happened Jan. 25, at Stone's home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Footage from Stone's view shows the moments federal agents showed up, and eventually took him out in handcuffs.

After several knocks at the door, Stone appeared.

"I opened the door and in my front yard, I was staring down (the) barrel of two assault weapons and I saw a dozen other FBI agents in the background, all wearing night goggles, full SWAT gear, sidearms, and so on," Stone told Sinclair Broadcast Group Chief Political Correspondent Scott Thuman in an earlier interview. "On the ground was a large metal device used to break down a door, which was unnecessary."

Behind the house, more agents arrived by boat.

Stone identified himself. Agents informed him there was a warrant for his arrest. He was then handcuffed.

"I was wearing a 'Roger Stone did nothing wrong' T-shirt, a pair of cutoff sweatpants and bare feet. They took me out to stand in the, in the middle of the street," Stone said.

The longtime political operative is accused of lying to cover up alleged efforts by the Trump campaign to coordinate the release of stolen emails damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign, via the website Wikileaks.

"They essentially went through every square inch of my house, literally every square inch," he said. "They removed all of my electronics, my computer, my laptop, my iPad, a lot of computer disks, none of which have evidence of Russian collusion or Wikileaks collaboration or any other crime."

Multiple law enforcement sources say they used such force because it's not uncommon to do so for someone who may be a flight risk, a danger, or someone who could potentially destroy crucial evidence. These are risks law enforcement has to consider.

In an earlier interview with Thuman, Stone said there was a different reason for the show of force.

"I guess the point of this is to make me look guilty in public, to poison the jury pool, and make me look like 'El Chapo' or some kind of drug kingpin," he said.

Some Republican lawmakers, like Stone, have complained about the raid and asked to be briefed by the FBI director.

Sinclair has reached out to the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, which has declined to comment.

Stone faces federal charges of witness tampering, obstruction, and lying to Congress in the special counsel's Russia investigation.

Stone, who pleaded not guilty in federal court, vows to fight the charges.

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