Roger Stone expands legal team, takes polygraphs covering issues of interest to Mueller

Longtime GOP strategist Roger Stone has hired an additional lawyer and taken a pair of polygraph tests in preparation for a potential showdown with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, he confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

Stone, a longtime ally of President Trump, confirmed to The Hill that he hired Florida attorney Bruce Rogow as his lead lawyer on matters related to Mueller’s investigation. Rogow previously represented Trump in civil matters related his Florida golf club. 

ABC News first reported the hire Tuesday and reported that Rogow suggested Stone take a polygraph related to questions potentially of interest to the special counsel.

{mosads}”I suggested a polygraph in order to pin down the veracity of Roger’s positions on the investigation by the special counsel with regard to Julian Assange and Wikileaks,” Rogow said. “I have great confidence in the polygraph examiner, to whom I sent Mr. Stone.”

ABC reported that Stone responded “no” to polygraph questions about whether he communicated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during the 2016 presidential election, and whether he ever discussed any stolen information from WikiLeaks with Trump during the same timeframe.

The news outlet noted that it was not able to verify the accuracy of the results.

Stone told The Hill he was “found to be truthful in both tests evaluated by two respected experts.” The Hill is not able to independently verify the test results.

While the Justice Department does not have specific rules on the use of polygraph tests in a trial, the practice has been found inadmissible in numerous cases.

Speculation has grown in recent months that Mueller has narrowed his focus on Stone as a possible criminal target.

The special counsel has in recent weeks sought testimony from a growing number of individuals linked to the former informal Trump campaign adviser.

The longtime Republican strategist told The Hill earlier Tuesday that he had not yet heard from the special counsel’s office.

Stone has long been the subject of public scrutiny because of his connections to WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, the hacking persona that Mueller’s team now alleges was a front for Russian intelligence officers.

The special counsel has obtained guilty pleas from a number of former Trump associates, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign adviser Richard Gates.

Each individual has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel as part of their respective plea deals.

Stone said in August that he may be willing to work with Mueller’s team, but ruled out the possibility of testifying against Trump.

– Jacqueline Thomsen contributed reporting

Updated: 5:10 p.m.