Roger Stone
[3] He is most well known for the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation, and his alleged involvement with[4] and connections to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as a political consultant for the 2016 campaign of 45th U.S. president Donald Trump.[5] Since the 1970s, Stone has worked on the campaigns of Republican politicians, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole,[6] George W. Bush,[7] and Trump.[21][22][23] On January 25, 2019, Stone was arrested at his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home in connection with Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation and charged in an indictment with witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements.[16] In 1977, at age 24, Stone won the presidency of the Young Republicans in a campaign managed by his friend Paul Manafort; they had compiled a dossier on each of the 800 delegates that gathered, which they called "whip books"."[6] In 1980, after their key roles in the Reagan campaign, Stone and Manafort decided to go into business together, with partner Charlie Black, creating a political consulting and lobbying firm to cash in on their relationships within the new administration.Because of BMS's willingness to represent brutal third-world dictators like Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, the firm was branded "The Torturers' Lobby".[62] In April 1992, Time alleged that Stone was involved with the controversial Willie Horton advertisements to aid George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign, which were targeted against Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis.The name referenced the protesters' corporate attire; described by Paul Gigot in an editorial for The Wall Street Journal as "50-year-old white lawyers with cell phones and Hermès ties", differentiating them from local citizens concerned about vote counting.[citation needed] During the 2004 general election, Stone was accused by then-DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe of forging the Killian memos that led CBS News to report that President Bush had not fulfilled his service obligations while enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard.[78] In February 2010, Stone became campaign manager for Kristin Davis, a madam linked with the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, in her bid for the Libertarian Party nomination for governor of New York in the 2010 election.[87] In June 2012, Stone said that he was running a super PAC in support of former New Mexico governor and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, whom he had met at a Reason magazine Christmas party two years earlier.[113] On September 10, 2020, Stone told InfoWars' Alex Jones that, if Trump appeared to lose the 2020 United States presidential election, he should consider declaring martial law via the Insurrection Act and confiscate ballots, particularly in Nevada, where they were "completely corrupted" and so "should be seized by federal marshals.[116][115][117] As numerous false and unsubstantiated allegations of voting fraud spread after the 2020 presidential election, Stone asserted he had "learned of absolute incontrovertible evidence of North Korean boats delivering ballots through a harbor in Maine."[120] Stone supported Russia during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, claiming that Vladimir Putin was "acting defensively" in order to halt a purported U.S.-funded biological weapons program, which, in fact, did not exist.[123] During the 2024 presidential campaign, Stone responded to a tweet by former Republican congressional candidate Mike Crispi with "SeeYouNextTuesday", an apparent reference to Casey DeSantis using slang phrasing to spell out “cunt”.[125][126][127] After his arraignment at the Miami federal courthouse in January 2019, they joined him on its steps holding signs that read, "Roger Stone is innocent," and promoting right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars website.The Washington Post annotated Stone's statement by noting his affiliations with InfoWars, Breitbart, and Jerome Corsi, a promulgator of Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories.[18] The other source, who spoke on anonymity, stated that the conversation occurred before it was publicly known that hackers had obtained the emails of Podesta and of the Democratic National Committee, documents that WikiLeaks released in July and October 2016.[159][160] On July 3, 2018, U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle dismissed a lawsuit brought by political activist group Protect Democracy, alleging that Trump's campaign and Stone conspired with Russia and WikiLeaks to publish hacked Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential election race.[171][172] On February 18, 2019, Stone posted on Instagram a photo of the federal judge overseeing his case, Amy Berman Jackson, with what resembled rifle scope crosshairs next to her head.[189] Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General requesting a probe into the reduced sentencing recommendation, over fears of potential improper political interference in the process."[198] Zelinsky also testified that acting U.S. Attorney Timothy Shea made the request for a lighter sentence for Stone after coming under "heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice" and out of fear of Trump.[198] Zelinsky testified that in his career as a prosecutor, United States v. Roger Stone was the sole occasion in which he witnessed "political influence play any role in prosecutorial decision making,"[199] and that he opted to resign from the case and his temporary appointment in the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. "rather than be associated with the Department of Justice's actions at sentencing."[200] Channing D. Phillips, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for D.C., said that the events were "deeply troubling" and that the withdrawal of all four line prosecutors suggested "undue meddling by higher ups at DOJ or elsewhere.[209] On April 30, ABC News reported that they had learned through sources that the Federal Bureau of Prisons planned to delay Stone's surrender date by at least 30 days due to concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.[212] On June 27, Judge Jackson rescheduled Stone's surrender date as July 14,[213][214][215] but also ordered him to immediately begin serving time in home confinement before reporting to prison.[197] Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn B. Maloney, who chair two House committees, said that "No other president has exercised the clemency power for such a patently personal and self-serving purpose" and said that they would investigate whether Stone's commutation was a reward for protecting Trump."[234][235] The Washington Post reported that video footage showed Stone meeting with the Oath Keepers, a militia group indicted for seditious conspiracy for their role in the storming of the Capitol, on the day of the attack.In the weeks afterwards he pressured the Trump administration for a pardon of all Members of Congress who supported overturning the 2020 election, including Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Jim Jordan, and Matt Gaetz.[241] On December 23, 2021, Stone urged a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by eight Capitol Police officers, alleging that he is responsible for inciting a crowd of former President Donald Trump's supporters to riot on January 6, 2021.
Roger Stone (councillor)RogerstoneNorwalk, ConnecticutGeorge Washington UniversityRepublicanLibertarianOntario PartyWitness tamperingObstructing an official proceedingMaking false statements to CongressRobert Mueller special counsel investigationRussian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential electioncampaignDonald TrumpRichard NixonRonald ReaganJack KempBob DoleGeorge W. BushPaul ManafortCharles R. Black Jr.Peter G. KellyBlack, Manafort, Stone and Kellylobbyists for American companiesmodus operandiRoy Cohncasino businessJulian AssangeThe Washington PostFacebookFort Lauderdale, FloridaRobert MuellerfelonyLewisboro, New Yorkmiddle-classblue-collar1960 presidential electionJohn F. Kennedypresidential campaignJohn Jay High SchoolWestchester County, New YorkBarry GoldwaterThe Conscience of a ConservativeconservatismGoldwater's 1964 campaignJeb Stuart MagruderYoung Republicans ClubCommittee to Re-elect the PresidentYoung Socialist AllianceManchester Union-LeaderHerbert Porter1972 Democratic Party presidential primariesEdmund MuskieHubert HumphreyWatergate scandalRichard Nixon Foundation1972 presidential electionOffice of Economic OpportunityJack AndersonNational Conservative Political Action CommitteeNew Rightindependent expenditure1976 Republican Party presidential primariescampaign for U.S. PresidentYoung Republicans1980 Reagan campaignFred TrumpNancy ReaganThomas KeanGovernor of New Jerseyreelection campaign in 1985John Davis LodgeJohn SearsRonald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaignNortheastJohn B. AndersonLiberal Party of New YorkReagan carried the statestatute of limitationsbriberyCharlie Blackpolitical consultinglobbying firmRonald Reagan's 1984 campaignLee AtwaterMobutu Sese SekoFerdinand MarcosPhilippinesRupert MurdochNews CorporationThe Tobacco InstituteGeorge H. W. BushWillie HortonGeorge H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaignDemocraticMichael DukakisRepublicans for ChoiceArlen Specter1996 Republican Party presidential primariesGeorge Pataki1996 presidential campaignThe National Enquirerswingers'Good Morning AmericaThe New Yorker2000 presidential electionDonald Trump's aborted campaign for President2000 Reform Party presidential primariesWayne BarrettPat BuchananReform PartyRecountJames BakerFlorida recountBrooks Brothers riot2002 New York gubernatorial electionThomas Golisano2004 presidential campaignAl SharptonDemocratic primariesBill ClintonDick MorrisSpecterTerry McAuliffeKillian memosCBS News