Federal judge orders Stone released on $250K bond

A federal magistrate judge on Friday ruled that longtime GOP operative and President Trump associate Roger Stone is not a flight risk and can be released on a $250,000 signature bond.

NBC News reported that the judge determined during Stone’s first appearance in federal court after his arrest Friday morning that he could be released.

CNN reported that Stone told the judge that he does not have a current passport, as his is expired. He will also not have to pay any money as part of the bond, as long as he appears during all upcoming court proceedings.

{mosads}Stone will appear shortly before the media gathered in front of the federal courthouse.

Stone was arrested Friday after a grand jury on Thursday indicted him on seven charges as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The FBI also raided his residences in Florida and New York, a departure from the treatment of other persons indicted as part of Mueller’s probe.

Federal prosecutors have charged Stone with obstructing probes into Russian election interference by making false statements related to claims he made suggesting prior knowledge of WikiLeaks’s release of damaging Democratic emails ahead of the 2016 election.