FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, said on Friday he was falsely accused of lying to the House Intelligence Committee and will plead innocent to the charges filed against him by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

“I will plead not guilty to these charges. I will defeat them in court,” Stone told reporters outside a federal courthouse after he was released on bail. “There is no circumstance whatsoever under which I will bear false witness against the president.”