Trump takes no questions on Stone after White House remarks

President Trump took no questions Friday after announcing a deal to end the partial government shutdown, including those asked about the arrest earlier in the day of his longtime ally Roger Stone.

Trump quickly departed the Rose Garden on Friday afternoon after unveiling an agreement that will reopen the government for three weeks, without any funding for his wall on the southern border. Reporters yelled questions about Stone as Trump left the podium, but the president only waved and continued walking.

{mosads}Stone was arrested at his home in Florida and indicted on seven charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference. Those charges include counts of giving false statements, obstruction of an official proceeding and witness tampering.

Stone briefly worked as an informal adviser to the Trump campaign, but has been a longtime confidant of the president.

Trump had already lashed out over the arrest in a tweet earlier Friday, accusing the FBI of mistreating Stone and saying that “Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers are treated better.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said after Stone’s arrest that it “has nothing to do with the president and certainly nothing to do with the White House.”

And Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow also distanced the president from Stone, saying in a statement that the indictment “does not allege Russian collusion by Roger Stone or anyone else.”

A federal judge Friday ordered Stone’s release on a $250,000 signature bond.

Speaking after his federal court appearance, Stone said he would plead not guilty to the charges. He also said he will be arraigned on the charges in a D.C. court next week.

“There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president,” Stone said, “nor will I make up lies to ease the pressure on myself.”

Federal prosecutors allege that Stone made several false statements during his interview with the House Intelligence Committee on his interactions with “Organization 1,” which is believed to refer to WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks released damaging Democratic emails in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election. Mueller last year indicted Russian military officers for the hack of those emails.