President Trump on Friday questioned who tipped off CNN to be at the pre-dawn arrest of his former adviser Roger Stone.
“Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there?” Trump tweeted referencing the indictment of Stone on charges related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia collusion probe.
Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION! Border Coyotes, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better. Who alerted CNN to be there?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2019
CNN cameras were set up at the house where Stone was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, capturing “exclusive” footage.
A producer for the network denied they were tipped off, instead attributing their presence to a “reporter’s instinct” and “unusual grand jury activity in Washington D.C.” on Thursday.
CNN's @davidgshortell was on the ground when Roger Stone was arrested in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., this morning. He says he was monitoring the situation because of "unusual grand jury activity in Washington D.C. yesterday." https://t.co/Ljjyb8zTVN pic.twitter.com/O5rSFqbOcZ
— New Day (@NewDay) January 25, 2019
But a lot of people are questioning that explanation.
Nobody, not even CNN, believes that CNN sent a full camera crew to a single house in South Florida before dawn because it noticed "unusual grand jury activity" (which by law is secret) in...Washington, D.C. It was tipped by someone in law enforcement, and everybody knows it.
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 25, 2019
It's really weird that CNN got the video of Roger Stone's arrest considering how tight lipped the investigation has been.
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) January 25, 2019
So who tipped off CNN?pic.twitter.com/L1rzXIeRPu
The @FBI arrest of Roger Stone at dawn, with dozens of helmeted agents, brandishing weapons, was totally unnecessary. Treated him like El Chapo. Political motives clear w/ @CNN tip-off.
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) January 25, 2019
Stone’s attorney, Grant Smith, released a statement about his indictment saying "no Russian collusion" was found "or they would have charged him with it."