Ex-Trump Adviser Stone Arrested in Mueller Probe - Special Counsel's Office

The arrest follows a decision by the House Intelligence Committee last month to hand over transcripts of Stone's congressional testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller.

Political consultant and long-time Trump ally Roger Stone has been arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and indicted on seven charges, including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and five counts of making false statements, Mueller's office has announced.

The indictment includes claims that Stone made multiple false statements to the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 regarding the WikiLeaks leak of hacked Democratic National Committee emails. The charges do not mention any alleged 'collusion' between Stone and the Russian government, the key charge being investigated by Mueller and his team.

Later Friday, White House spokeswoman Sara Sanders told reporters that Stone's indictment had "nothing to do with" President Trump, adding that "the president did nothing wrong."

Stone, under investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office in connection with the 'Russiagate' case against President Trump, has repeatedly denied claims that he knew the source or content of the DNC emails released by WikiLeaks ahead of the 2016 election, amid claims that he collaborated with WikiLeaks whisteblower Julian Assange to derail Hillary Clinton's campaign. During the campaign, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta accused Stone of having prior knowledge on the WikiLeaks leak.

The ex-Trump adviser, who has previously indicated that wouldn't be surprised if he was indicted in the Mueller probe, is expected to make a court appearance on Friday.

In December, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said Mueller's focus on Stone's alleged communications with WikiLeaks was evidence that the probe has gone off course. Also last month, conspiracy theorist and Stone associate Jerome Corsi filed a lawsuit against Mueller's office and the FBI, the CIA and the NSA, accusing investigators of illegally leaking confidential information, and engaging in illegal surveillance. Corsi accused Mueller's office of threatening him with jail time if he didn't agree to give false testimony about being the liaison between Assange and Stone.

The Special Counsel Investigation, formed in 2017 to probe claims of Russian attempts to meddle in the 2016 election, has issued subpoenas and indictments against multiple Trump associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal lawyer.

Russia has denied interfering in the election, characterising the meddling claims as an absurd attempt to explain away Hillary Clinton's unexpected defeat to Trump, and a bid to deflect from actual cases of electoral fraud and corruption. Trump himself has characterised the Mueller probe as a "witch hunt."