‘Let’s go straight to violence’: New documentary film footage shows Roger Stone on pre-election day

Washington
CNN
—

On the eve of the 2020 election, Roger Stone, the longtime Republican operative and ally of former President Donald Trump, told a documentary film crew that he had no interest in waiting to tally the votes real before contesting the results of the elections.

« F**k the vote, let’s get straight to the violence, » Stone can be heard saying, according to footage provided by a Danish documentary film crew and obtained by CNN.

The clip is one of multiple footage obtained by CNN that the filmmakers also shared with the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The filmmakers told CNN they reached an agreement to share some clips with the panel after a subpoena for the footage was signed by panel chairman, Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and delivered. to the filmmakers in Copenhagen about two months ago.

The filmmakers, Christoffer Guldbrandsen and Frederik Marbell, followed Stone for around two years for their documentary film.

The footage shared with the committee could be incorporated into its next hearing this week. Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, suggested publicly over the weekend that the panel had more to reveal about Stone’s connection to domestic extremist groups, as well as efforts to keep Trump in power. power after the attack on the US Capitol and the lawsuit. threats to democracy.

« Stay tuned, » Raskin told the Texas Tribune festival when asked about Stone’s ties to the Capitol Riot.

« He’s someone who I think saw where things were going, » Raskin said.

In an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, the filmmakers said the committee seemed interested in footage focusing on Stone’s relationship with the White House, as well as his alleged ties to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The filmmakers said they were unable to establish a connection between Stone, these groups and the White House.

Members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys face multiple charges – including seditious conspiracy – for their actions during the Capitol Riot.

The trial of several Oath Keepers, including their leader Stewart Rhodes, will begin on Tuesday with jury selection.

When panel investigators traveled to Denmark to review documentary footage related to Stone, they agreed with the filmmakers to share 8 minutes of video that was of interest to the panel and as part of its investigation. Politico first reported the trip in August.

The film crew was also contacted by the FBI in March and did not share footage with federal investigators, the filmmakers said. The FBI did not issue a subpoena to the crew, they said.

In a second clip from the documentary, also obtained by CNN, Stone said Trump is expected to prematurely claim victory on election night 2020.

“I really suspect it will always be up in the air. When this happens, the main thing is to claim victory. Possession is nine tenths of the law, no we won,” Stone said Nov. 1, 2020, according to the footage.

In another clip, filmed a week after Jan. 6, Stone is seen criticizing the White House legal counsel’s office for what he described as their argument that Trump could not grant preventive pardons to Stone and others for their alleged involvement in efforts to annul the elections.

“I believe the president is for it. The obstacles are these – they are these lily-livered, weak-kneed bureaucrats in the White House Legal Counsel’s Office and now they have to be crushed because they told the President something that is not true “Stone says in the clip.

Stone disputed the authenticity of the images.

« I dispute the accuracy and authenticity of these videos and believe they have been manipulated and selectively edited. I also clarify that the filmmakers have no legal right to use them. How ironic that Kim Kardashian and I are both subjected to computer manipulated videos on the same day,” Stone said in a statement to CNN.

“The excerpts you provided below prove nothing, they certainly do not prove that I had anything to do with the events of January 6. That being said, it clearly shows that I argued for legal options of Congress and the judiciary,” he added.
This story is being updated