A former assistant to now-special counsel Robert Mueller during his time at the Justice Department's criminal division suggested Thursday that Trump ally Roger Stone's pleading of the Fifth Amendment smells sort of fishy.
"I have elected to invoke my Fifth Amendment rights when it comes to the witch-hunt being conducted by the Senate Intelligence and the Senate Judiciary committees," Stone said in a recorded statement earlier in the day. "Just for the record, I informed through my attorneys both of those committees that I would not be turning over three tractor-trailer loads of documents for them to root through, and I will not testify unless I am allowed to testify in public so the American people can hear every word."
Mueller's former assistant Michael Zeldin agreed with host Wolf Blitzer that Stone is striking a "defiant" stance -- but is confused as to why.
"He has been pretty defiant all along," Zeldin noted. "Of course, his defiance has been that he has done absolutely nothing wrong. So it's not easy to understand as to what he is asserting Fifth Amendment rights to."
Stone's gambit, the ex-DOJ official said, will stand "up until the time that Mueller decides whether or not to indict him or not indict him."
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