Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) sent a letter on Wednesday calling on FBI leaders to explain the very aggressive way in which Roger Stone was arrested.
President Donald Trump has been at the center of a federal investigation by a special prosecutor; Stone became a person of interest, having previously served as a political adviser for the president.
He was arrested last week on charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Stone and others were quick to denounce the way in which law enforcement arrested him. Stone said police stormed his house in an unnecessarily aggressive show of force that terrorized his wife and his dogs.
Graham is now hoping to get an explanation.
“I have supported special counsel Mueller’s ability to conduct his investigation without interference,” Graham wrote in his letter. “I am leery that a subject of the special counsel’s investigation, who had retained counsel, had publicly stated that he believed that he would at some point be indicted, and was apparently willing to surrender voluntarily, was arrested in a pre-dawn raid at his home.”
Related: Roger Stone Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court
Stone claimed after his arrest that authorities made no attempt to contact him or his lawyer beforehand and that he would have voluntarily turned himself in if they did.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Tuesday. He also said he does not plan to accept any plea deals to cooperate with the special counsel.
“The American public has had enough of the media circus that surrounds the special counsel’s investigation,” Graham wrote. “Yet, the manner of this arrest appears to have only added to the spectacle. Accordingly, I write to seek justification for the tactics used and the timing of the arrest of Mr. Stone.”
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been leading the special counsel investigation; his team is looking into whether or not the president or his associates colluded with Russian interests to influence the presidential election of 2016.
The special counsel investigation has long focused on Stone as well as other former associates of the president.
Related: Roger Stone Doesn’t Plan to Cooperate with Robert Mueller
The special counsel team has taken down a handful of former associates since launching its investigation in May 2017.
But it has yet to connect the president himself to any collusion allegations.
Some of the former associates have been cooperating with investigators as part of their own plea deals.
Stone had previously worked with the president as a casino business lobbyist.
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