Ex Trump campaign adviser released on 250,000-USD bond after indictment

A federal judge in U.S. state of Florida released Roger Stone Friday on a 250,000-U.S.-dollar bond, hours after the former campaign adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump was arrested and charged as part of the ongoing Russia probe.

On Friday noon, Stone appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow ordered restrictions on his travel until his next court date and told him not to contact any witnesses.

Speaking outside the courthouse after his bail release, Stone told reporters that he believes he's being "persecuted" because of his ties with Trump but providing no details to support his claim.

He also said he's innocent, vowing to plead not guilty and fight to clear his name "against these politically motivated charges."

According to an indictment unsealed Friday, Stone has been indicted on seven counts in connection with the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering,

The indictment relates to Stone's communications with Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, a group that leaked information in the weeks ahead of the 2016 presidential election, which damaged the campaign of Hillary Clinton, then Democratic candidate for presidency.

The charge sheet alleges that Stone, when appearing before investigators, lied about his knowledge of the incident and that he attempted to get others to change their testimony.

The indictment also states that a senior Trump campaign official was "directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information (WikiLeaks) had regarding the Clinton Campaign."

Stone's lawyer, Grant Smith, said in a statement Friday that his client is "vindicated" by the indictment as "they found no Russian collusion or they would have charged him with it."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Stone's arrest "has nothing to do with the president, and certainly nothing to do with the White House."

A 66-year-old veteran political operative, Stone left Trump's campaign in 2015, but continued to back Trump for the presidency. He was arrested by the FBI in a predawn raid at his Florida home.

Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017, is looking into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed any collusion between his campaign and Moscow while slamming the Russia probe as a "hoax" or "witch hunt."

"Greatest Witch Hunt in the History of our Country! NO COLLUSION!" Trump tweeted Friday.