Last week, people were shocked to learn Donald Trump had invited a documentary crew to film him as he tried to overturn the 2020 election. Who was the most shocked? Some Trump insiders, who said they had no idea it existed and were worried about what the cameras captured. (It’s coming to television later this summer.) But they weren’t the only non-fiction filmmakers recording potentially damning acts.
In March, it was revealed that Roger Stone — the longtime Republican fixer, who allegedly played a key role in the failed Jan. 6 insurrection — also invited documentarians to follow him around in the wake of the election Trump lost. Now, as per The Washington Post, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot want to see it, just as they did the doc about Trump. But that might not be so easy.
The documentary, which is still being assembled, was made by Danish filmmakers Christoffer Guldbrandsen and Frederik Marbell, who shot 170 hours of footage of Stone, who has a tattoo of Richard Nixon on his back. Among the reported gets are Stone communicating with leaders of far-right groups over an encrypted messaging app, as well as being in contact with Trump as the Capitol was stormed.
But the filmmakers have refused to relinquish their footage, despite several requests by the committee. (They have yet to subpoena them.) Their reason? They maintain their need for journalistic independence. “These are legitimate and important investigations, not only for Americans but for anyone in a democracy,” Guldbrandsen said in an interview, “but our independence from government and law enforcement is impossible to compromise.”
Stone has denied any involvement with the Jan. 6 riot. But given that there’s not one but two documentaries following alleged attempted insurrectionists, it sure seems like these guys crave attention even more than they crave power. It’s not even the first time Stone has asked documentarians to film his dodgy shenanigans.
(Via The Post)