(CNN) President Donald Trump said he has not thought about pardoning his longtime ally and adviser Roger Stone and sought to distance Stone from his 2016 presidential campaign.

When asked by CBS's Margaret Brennan if he was considering a pardon for Stone, Trump replied, "I have not thought about it. It looks like he's defending himself very well. But you have to get rid of the Russia witch hunt because it is indeed."

Trump tried to downplay his connections to Stone, saying that Stone "didn't work on the campaign, except way, way at the beginning," according to a CBS interview transcript released Sunday.

But the President said that Stone is "somebody that I've always liked," and later called him a "character."

Stone was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury on charges of obstruction, false statements and witness tampering. The indictment alleged that Stone sought stolen emails from WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign and coordinated his outreach with top Trump campaign officials. Stone pleaded not guilty to the charges last week.

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