Jordan and Meadows Request Information and Investigation into Roger Stone Arrest

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), Ranking Member of the Government Operations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray requesting a briefing about the tactics used to arrest Roger Stone. In addition to the tactics used to apprehend Mr. Stone, Jordan and Meadows also raise concerns about CNN’s apparent advanced knowledge of the raid.

Jordan and Meadows forwarded the letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking him to examine the Department’s actions to determine if a full investigation is warranted.

Excerpts from the letter:

“We have questions about the tactics used to apprehend Roger Stone last week. Early on the morning of January 25, 2019, a FBI tactical assault team arrested Roger Stone at his home in South Florida. Numerous FBI agents with automatic rifles and full tactical assault gear conducted the arrest. Stone had suspected his indictment was looming, and made no effort to elude authorities-in fact, Stone has said he would have voluntarily surrendered. These raids are dangerous, and they pose serious risks to the officers, the arrestee and his family, and the community.”

“Given Stone’s advanced age and the nature of charges against him, as well as his statement that he would have surrendered voluntarily, it is unsettling that the Justice Department chose to use agents in full tactical assault gear to arrest Stone. In addition, the presence and proximity of television news cameras during Stone’s arrest raise questions about whether any Justice Department or FBI personnel alerted the media about Stone’s imminent arrest. The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General has been reviewing a series of unauthorized disclosures to news organizations from the Comey era.”

Full text of the letter to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray can be viewed here.

Full text of the letter to Inspector General Horowitz can be found here.