--- title: Comey Testimony: FBI Chief Declines Comment on Roger Stone description: Rep. Adam Schiff pressed the FBI Director about Roger Stone, who has admitted to contact with Guccifer 2.0. canonical: https://time.com/4706985/comey-hearing-roger-stone/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-20T18:28:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:21:26.505Z article:section: Politics og:title: FBI Director James Comey Declines to Answer Questions About Roger Stone og:description: But he said people shouldn't read too much into that. og:url: https://time.com/4706985/comey-hearing-roger-stone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dea13ed1c6ade83/6988bf1b196cf4e67d03f4d0/comey-testimony-congress-stone.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5472 og:image:height: 3078 og:image:alt: FBI Director Comey Testifies At Hearing On Alleged Russian Election Meddling og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FBI Director James Comey Declines to Answer Questions About Roger Stone twitter:description: But he said people shouldn't read too much into that. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3dea13ed1c6ade83/6988bf1b196cf4e67d03f4d0/comey-testimony-congress-stone.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # FBI Director James Comey Declines to Answer Questions About Roger Stone > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=384e19d4-2da7-490f-a214-47ff4bcd00f6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: FBI Director James Comey Declines to Answer Questions About Roger Stone [Watch (HLS stream): FBI Director James Comey Declines to Answer Questions About Roger Stone](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/5E5g0oKB.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2017-03-20. FBI Director James Comey refused to answer questions from Congress about a longtime President Trump associate Monday, but he argued that people shouldn't "draw any conclusions" from that._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 20, 2017 6:28 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 20, 2017 6:28 PM UTC FBI Director James Comey [refused to answer questions](http://time.com/4706720/james-comey-donald-trump-barack-obama-wiretap/) from Congress about a longtime [President Trump](http://time.com/4706832/donald-trump-louisville-kentucky-rally-livestream/) associate Monday, but he argued that people shouldn’t “draw any conclusions” from that. Speaking at a hearing of a House intelligence committee, Comey said that because it is an [ongoing investigation](http://time.com/4706646/fbi-russia-james-comey-testimony/) on a counterintelligence matter, there were certain topics he simply could not address. “Please don’t draw any conclusions from the fact that I may not be able to comment on certain topics,” he said. “I know speculating is part of human nature, but it really isn’t fair to draw conclusions simply because I say that I can’t comment.” Still, Comey’s refusal to answer questions about [Trump associate Roger Stone](http://time.com/4664986/roger-stone-9-questions-trump/), who informally advised Trump during the campaign and has been a longtime confidant, drew attention online. Stone [told the Washington _Times_ ](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/10/roger-stone-trump-confidant-acknowledges-innocuous/)earlier this month that he had a “completely innocuous” private Twitter exchange with “Guccifer 2.0,” the hacker tied to the email leaks. Pressed by ranking Democratic member Rep. Adam Schiff about Stone, Comey repeatedly said “That’s not something I can comment on.” “Mr. Schiff, I’m worried we’re going to a place I don’t want to go, which is commenting on any particular person,” he said. “And so I don’t think I should comment. I’m aware of public accounts but I don’t want to talk more than that.” While the hearing was still going on, Stone tweeted that he should be allowed to respond. > [](https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/843847938828881923) Watch the full exchange above. ## Transcript Director Comey let me ask you a few questions you may or may not be able to answer. Do you know who Roger Stone is ? >> Generally, yes . >> Are you aware that he was a partner of Paul Maniford? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Mr. Schiff I'm worried we're going to a place that I don't want to go which is commenting on any particular person. And so I don't think I should comment. I'm aware of public accounts, but I don't wanna talk more than that. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Are you aware that he has publicly acknowledged having directly communicated with Gustav [ UNKNOWN ], someone that the intelligence community has assessed was a persona of Russian intelligence? I've read media accounts to that effect, and I don't wanna hurt anyone's feeling in the media. I don't know whether that's accurate or not. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] If Mr. Stone acknowledged Mr. Podesta's time in the barrel was coming in August of 2016. Would that have been prior to the public release of stolen emails of Mr. Podesta? I believe that's the correct chronology. Do you know how Mr. Stone would have known that Mr. Podesta's emails were going to be released? That's not something I can comment on. Do know that Mr. Podesta has said that at the time, he was not even aware of whether his Emails have been stolen would be published? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] It's not something I can comment on. 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