Roger Stone

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Stone in 2014
Roger Stone's Nixon tattoo
“”My name is Roger Stone, and I'm an agent provocateur.
—Roger Stone[1]
God, guns, and freedom
U.S. Politics
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Starting arguments over Thanksgiving dinner
Persons of interest
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Roger Jason Stone, Jr. (1952–) is an American ratfucker[2] who got his start in Nixon's second term by volunteering for Chuck Colson's ever-so-appropriately named CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President).[3] After Nixon was re-elected, Stone was given a position in the Office of Economic Opportunity at age 20.[4] Stone even has a tattoo of Nixon on his back just in case anyone asks to see his Tricky Dick.[5] Stone was investigated by the Senate Watergate Committee but not indicted,[3] indicating that he was likely ineffective.

Stone is rather proud of his work with Nixon, even getting a back tattoo of the former President[6]

Spoiler alert[edit]

In 1976, Stone worked with pioneering political direct mail scamster artist Richard Viguerie.Wikipedia[3] Stone worked on Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. After the statute of limitations had expired, Stone claimed that he had been a bagman for Roy Cohn's bribery of the Liberal Party to endorse John B. Anderson as a third-party candidate in the 1980 Presidential race.[7][8] This was likely done under the false impression that Anderson would be a spoiler candidate that would have hurt Jimmy Carter's chances against Ronald Reagan; Anderson's supporters turned out to be about equally split between Carter and Reagan.[9]

Fun with dictators[edit]

In the early 1980s, Stone, Paul Manafort, Peter G. KellyWikipedia and Charles R. Black Jr.Wikipedia formed the lobbying firm Black, Manafort, Stone and KellyWikipedia (BMSK), whose clients included warlords such as Jonas SavimbiWikipedia of Angola and dictators such as Sani AbachaWikipedia of Nigeria and Daniel arap MoiWikipedia of Kenya, as well as somewhat less nefarious clients like Big Tobacco (Tobacco InstituteWikipedia), Multilevel marketing operations like Herbalife, and right-wing politicians like Phil Gramm.[10][11] According to Stone, the firm "lined up most of the dictators in the world that we could find. Pro-western dictators, of course. Dictators are in the eye of the beholder."[12] The firm was regarded as one of the "Torturer's Lobbies" by The Center for Public Integrity in 1992.[13]

More spoilage[edit]

From 1995 through 2014, Stone was involved with a few spoiler candidates, including no-chance-of-winning presidential runs of Arlen Specter's (1995), Trump's first run as a member of the Reform Party (2000), Al Sharpton (2004), and Gary Johnson (2012). Given Stone's role in bribery and the Anderson candidacy of 1980, these could all be chalked up as political dirty tricks. For example, Stone supported the candidacy of Libertarian candidate Kristin M. Davis,Wikipedia who ran a high-end prostitution ring,[14] for governor of New York, stating "This is not a hoax, a prank or a publicity stunt. I want to get her a half-million votes."[15] Stone later confessed to supporting both Davis and Republican Carl Paladino,[16] indicating he was attempting to carve votes from the Democratic candidate with Davis. In July 2018, Davis was subpoenaed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, presumably in connection with Stone who has been under investigation.[17]

Astroturf riot[edit]

During the Florida ballot recount of the contested 2000 U.S. presidential election, Stone claimed to have organized the so-called Brooks Brothers riot,Wikipedia an astroturf demonstration of primarily paid GOP staffers from Washington DC, who weren't even dressed in Brooks Brothers suits.[2] Another lobbyist (Brad Blakeman) claimed that he was responsible for organizing it.[2]

Work for Donald Trump[edit]

For more information, see: Presidential candidacy of Donald Trump
“”It is better to be infamous than never be famous at all.
— Roger Stone[1]
2019 indictments against Stone

Stone was a lobbyist for Donald Trump's New Jersey casino business for several years before it went bankrupt.[18]

Stone was a campaign advisor for Trump until August 8, 2015; he was either fired or quit, depending on which liar one believes.[19] Despite this disagreement, Stone has continued to enthusiastically support Trump.

In April 18, 2014, Stone tweeted, "…Soviet Agent Bernie Saunders[sic], Should be arrested for treason and shot."[20][21] Despite Stone's violent hostility towards Sanders in 2014, he stated in 2015:

“”I'm 100 percent for Trump, and I must tell you I like Bernie Sanders, even though his philosophy is different than mine. Both these candidates are outsiders, both these candidates are nonestablishment candidates. The same anger and frustration by the voters that's propelling Trump is also propelling Sanders.
—Stone[22]

That which is irony (e.g., Trump and BMSK's Russian connections) for a normal person is ratfucking for Stone.

Stone was thanked by Russian-linked hacker(s) Guccifer 2.0Wikipedia and was in contact with Russian-linked WikiLeaks' Julian Assange in 2016.[23][24][25][26] Stone also seems to have had a curious and repeated Freudian slip, wherein he referred to the hacker as "Gruccifer" on 5 occasions in March 11-26, 2017, seemingly a mashup of GRU,Wikipedia the Russian military spy agency + Guccifer.[27] Stone has repeatedly lied or mischaracterized his contacts with both Wikileaks and Russia during the 2016 Presidential campaign.[28]

As of May 2018, Stone has reportedly become the focus of FBI special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into his links with Assange, Rick Gates (who pleaded guilty to two charges and is cooperating with Mueller's team), and Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election in favor of Trump.[29]

On January 25 2019, Stone was arrested in Florida by the FBI and charged by Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating the Trump-Russia connection with one count of obstruction of proceedings, five counts of making false statements, and one of witness tampering. He was released on a $250,000 bail but was only allowed to travel for court appearances in Florida, Washington, D.C., and New York.[30] In mid-February, a federal judge in the District of Columbia imposed a limited gag order to Roger Stone in order to ensure a fair trial and "to maintain the dignity and seriousness of the courthouse and these proceedings," citing the “size and vociferousness” of crowds attracted to Stone’s court appearances and the possibility of his statements prejudicing his jurors. This order bars him from speaking on matters directly related to his trial. It also prohibits him and his lawyers from talking to reporters on they way in and out of the courthouse.[31]

In their closing arguments to the jury, Stone's defense team asked that the verdict be treated as a referendum on the Mueller investigation. On November 15 2019, Stone was convicted on seven counts of lying to Congress and jury tampering.[32] In February 2020, Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison.[33] However, on July 2020, Trump, in a predictable but brazen display of cronyism that even Mitt Romney called "unprecedented, historic corruption", commuted Stone's sentence.[34]

Based on documents released by indicted former-Seminole County, Florida tax official Joel Greenberg, it appeared that Stone was willing to accept $250,000 in Bitcoin in return for facilitating a pardon for Greenberg from Trump.[35] Though the pardon did not eventuate,[35] attempted bribery is a felony[36] and Stone was only pardoned for prior felonies. Greenberg had indicated to Stone that he had been pressured to flip on their mutual friend Representative Matt Gaetz, since he had information to implicate Gaetz in the same crime as one that he had been charged with, paying for sex with an underage teen.[35]

After Trump was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Stone helped mobilize the protest movement to support Trump's Big Lie that the election was supposedly fraudulent. This movement ultimately culminated on January 6, 2021 with the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. Although Stone condemned the riot itself (calling it "really bad for the (pro-Trump) movement"), before and after the riot, Stone communicated with many members of the Oath Keepers (including leader Stewart Rhodes); many of the same Oath Keeper members would later be charged in early 2022 with seditious conspiracy for actions they undertook during the riot.[37]

A video of Stone was shown of him becoming a member of the Proud Boys,[38] though he had previously denied being affiliated with them.[39] Stone was also photographed with members of the Proud Boys who were serving as his body guards at a January 5 Washington, DC rally preceding the 2021 coup attempt.[39] Several members of the Proud Boys have been indicted for seditious conspiracy in connection with the coup attempt.[40]

Pardon me (I did't do nothin')[edit]

“”The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you've committed a crime.
—Representative Adam Kinzinger of the January 6 Committee[41]

After the riot, Stone lobbied Trump to issue preemptive pardons for a wide range of individuals.[37] In describing his proposed massive list of Presidential pardons for Trump before leaving office (the "Stone Plan"), he likened it to Franklin D. Roosevelt's rescuing people from the Holocaust.[37] The list included:[42]

  • Stephen Michael Alford (convicted of fraud),[43]
  • Julian Assange (preemptive)
  • Steven Brown, convicted of massive financial fraud
  • Carlos Garvidia (charged with making threats on someone's life)[44]
  • Karen Giorno of Newsmax[45]
  • Rudy Giuliani
  • Joel Greenberg (pleaded guilty to including sex trafficking of a minor)[46]
  • Ahmad "Andy" Khawaja, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud[47]
  • Bernard Kerik (previously convicted and pardoned on tax fraud, ethics violations and perjury)[48] (preemptive)
  • Victor Orena (convicted Colombo crime family member)
  • Scott Robinson
  • Michael Sessa (convicted Colombo crime family member)
  • Sam Sharma
  • Edward Snowden (preemptive)
  • Roger Stone (preemptive)
  • a few African Americans, all deceased, except:
    • Demetrious Flenory, known as “Big Meech”, convicted member of the Black Mafia Family[49]
  • every Republican remember of either House or Senate who voted for you, and specifically:

The plan never eventuated, but as a Nazi analogy it was clearly a case of schizofascism.[37]

Conspiracy theories[edit]

Stone has had a longtime affiliation with Infowars that includes a daily show as of 2017.[50][51] Stone has also been affiliated with fellow-conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi,[51] though Corsi sued Stone in 2019 for defamation.[52]

Some of the ludicrous conspiracy theories that Stone has promoted:

Given Stone’s history of ratfucking and the nature of these conspiracy theories, it's quite possible that Stone doesn’t actually believe in any of them, but that this is just another line of ratfucking (and profiting).

Anger and bigotry[edit]

“”The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
— Roger Stone[1]
“”@RVAwong bring it! Would enjoy crush u in court and forcing you to eat shit — you stupid ignorant ugly bitch!
—Roger Stone in 2017, reposted by the target in 2020 after Stone's prison sentencing[66]
“”Fuck the voting, let's get right to the violence.
— Roger Stone, the day before the 2020 election.[67]

Stone was banned in 2016 from both CNN and MSNBC for posting "nasty and bigoted" tweets against journalists on Twitter.[68][69] His misogynistic and racist rants have even gotten him temporarily banned on Fox News.[70]

In October 2017, Stone went volcanic on Twitter, again by cursing several journalists ("targeted abuse"), resulting in his permanent banning from Twitter.[71] The tirade had immediately followed the announcement of the first grand jury indictments connected to Russian election hacking,[72] which included indictments against his former-partner, Manafort. Could Stone's apeshittery have been due to his consciousness of guilt?[73]

In January 2024, the political news site MediaiteWikipedia reported that they had obtained audio in which Stone, speaking with one of his security details, openly wished to assassinate two Democrat politicians, Jerry NadlerWikipedia and Eric Swalwell.Wikipedia Both politicians were members of the House Committee on the Judiciary;Wikipedia at the time of the tape, the committee had launched an investigation of Trump's decision to commute Stone's prison sentence.[74] Like Stone has done with several other instances where he advocated violence, the "dirty trickster"[75] denied making the comments, claiming that they were generated by AI.[74]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Brooks also unsuccessfully lobbied the White House directly for a pardon.[41]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 After indictment, pressure on Stone is ‘significant,’ says former prosecutor. PBS Newshour. January 25, 2019. Accessed January 25, 2019.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Dirty Trickster: Campaign tips from the man who has done it all. by Jeffrey Toobin (June 2, 2008) The New Yorker.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Rise And Gall of Roger Stone by Stephanie Mansfield (June 16, 1986) The Washington Post.
  4. ↑ 'Get Me Roger Stone' Filmmakers Compare the "Dirty Trickster" to Donald Trump by Jordon Riefe (11:00 AM PST 11/30/2017) The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ↑ Does Roger Stone Have a Tattoo of Richard Nixon on His Back? A photograph showing American political consultant and conspiracy theory spreader Roger Stone with an unusual tattoo on his back is real. by Dan Evon (21 March 2017) Snopes.
  6. ↑ Every New Trump Story Is Old (Nunberg, Guns, Stormy, and MORE NEWS) - SOME MORE NEWS
  7. ↑ Just What Were Donald Trump's Ties to the Mob? I've spent years investigating, and here's what's known by David Cay Johnston (May 22, 2016) Politico Magazine.
  8. ↑ Roger Stone, Political Animal: "Above all, attack, attack, attack—never defend." by Matt Labash (12:00 AM, Nov 05, 2007) The Weekly Standard.
  9. ↑ The myths that just won’t die: Repeat after me: Ross Perot didn’t cost George H.W. Bush the election by Steve Kornacki (04.04.2011•3:24 PM) Salon.
  10. ↑ The Slickest Shop in Town by Evan Thomas Monday (Mar. 03, 1986) Time.
  11. ↑ I worked for Paul Manafort. He always lacked a moral compass. by K. Riva Levinson (November 1, 2017). The Washington Post.
  12. ↑ Paul Manafort: how decades of serving dictators led to role as Trump's go-to guy: A multimillion-dollar spending spree, allegedly using funds from the former Soviet bloc, appears to have caught up with Trump’s one-time campaign chief by Tom McCarthy (30 October 2017 14.29 EDT) The Guardian.
  13. ↑ The Torturers' Lobby: How Human Rights-Abusing Nations Are Represented in Washington by Pamela Brogan (1992) Center for Public Integrity. ISBN Center for Public Integrity.
  14. ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Kristin M. Davis.
  15. ↑ Madam Kristin Davis for NY governor! (February 6, 2010, 8:43 PM) The New York Daily News.
  16. ↑ Opposing Campaigns, With One Unlikely Link by Danny Hakim (Aug. 11, 2010) The New York Times.
  17. ↑ Manhattan Madam Kristin Davis Subpoenaed by Robert Mueller (7/20/2018 12:17 PM PDT) TMZ.
  18. ↑ Take my party, please: Jesse Ventura may not run for President in 2000--but he wouldn't mind if Donald Trump joined the fray by Michael Duffy & Matthew Cooper (September 20, 1999) CNN.
  19. ↑ Trump ends relationship with longtime political adviser Roger Stone by Robert Costa (August 8, 2015) The Washington Post.
  20. ↑ Trump Ally Roger Stone Advocated Killing Bernie Sanders "For Treason”: Trump And Stone Are Now Making A Play For Sanders Voters by Eric Hananoki (April 28, 2016 11:37 AM EDT) Media Matters for America.
  21. ↑ https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2016/04/28/rogerstoneviolenttweetsanders.jpg
  22. ↑ Roger Stone: Bernie and Trump not all that different by Eliza Collins (08/12/2015 03:08 PM EDT) Politico.
  23. ↑ This Woman Caught Roger Stone In A Classic Rat-fuck! by TrumpResistance (2017/03/19 · 18:23) Daily Kos.
  24. ↑ You ready to take a little trip down memory lane with our good friend Roger Stone and his buddy Guccifer 2.0? <thread> by Caroline O. (12:24 AM - 20 Mar 2017) Twitter.
  25. ↑ How Roger Stone Interacted with Russia’s Guccifer and Wikileaks by Ryan Goodman (9/28/17 at 9:51 AM) Newsweek.
  26. ↑ @RogerJStoneJr paying u back Guccifer 2.0 (12:36 PM - 17 Aug 2016) Twitter (archived from 12 Mar 2017 17:55:50 UTC).
  27. ↑ Roger Stone Jr. Trump Twitter Archive.
  28. ↑ Roger Stone’s story just changed on Russia — again by Aaron Blake (November 1, 2018 at 4:53 PM) The Washington Post.
  29. ↑ Special counsel Robert Mueller focusing sharply on links between Trump confidant Roger Stone and former campaign official Rick Gates, sources say by Brian Schwartz (May 3, 2018) CNBC.
  30. ↑ Roger Stone: Trump ally arrested on seven Mueller probe charges. BBC News. January 25, 2019.
  31. ↑ Judge limits public comments in Trump confidant Stone’s case. Associated Press. February 15, 2019. Accessed February 16, 2019.
  32. ↑ Roger Stone guilty on all counts in federal trial of lying to Congress, witness tampering by Rachel Weiner et al. (November 15, 2019 at 8:52 a.m. PST) The Washington Post.
  33. ↑ Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prison despite request for new trial: Spokeswoman appeals to Trump for pardon after judge hands down sentence that was less than originally asked for by prosecutors by Lauren Gambino (20 Feb 2020 15.06 EST) The Guardian.
  34. ↑ "Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced" by Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman, and Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times, 2020 July 10
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says by Jose Pagliery & Roger Sollenberger (Updated Apr. 30, 2021 12:33PM ET / Published Apr. 29, 2021 8:30PM ET) Daily Beast.
  36. ↑ Solicitation and Attempted Bribery USLegal.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 The Roger Stone tapes by Dalton Bennett & Jon Swaine (March 4, 2022) The Washington Post.
  38. ↑ Video showing ex-Trump adviser Roger Stone taking Proud Boys oath played at Jan 6 hearing: ‘I’m a Western chauvinist, and I refuse to apologize for creating the modern world,’ Stone says in video by Gustaf Kilander (July 13, 2022) Independent.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 The question of Roger Stone’s ties to extremist groups grows more salient by Philip Bump (March 9, 2022 at 3:45 p.m. EST) The Washington Post.
  40. ↑ The January 6 investigators obtained a video of Roger Stone reciting the Proud Boys' 'Fraternity Creed,' the first step for initiation to the extremist group by Laura Italiano (July 13, 2022) Business Insider.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Here's every word from the fifth Jan. 6 committee hearing on its investigation (June 23, 20227:31 PM ET) NPR.
  42. ↑ Draft letter from Roger Stone to Donald Trump Documentcloud.
  43. ↑ ALFORD, STEPHEN MICHAEL (2/27/2022) Corrections Offender Network, Florida Department of Corrections.
  44. ↑ Organizer of Florida's Trump boat parades charged with felony by Andrew Krietz (7:50 PM EDT September 1, 2020) 10 Tampa Bay.
  45. ↑ Karen R. Giorno Linkedin (archived from March 4, 2022),
  46. ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Joel Greenberg.
  47. ↑ Four Charged in Alleged $150 Million Payment Processing Scheme (August 26, 2021) The United States Department of Justice.
  48. ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Bernard Kerik.
  49. ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Black Mafia Family.
  50. ↑ Roger Stone tangos in Austin. Will anchor Infowars by night. May let a flat. by Jonathan Tilove (June 1, 2017) Austin American-Statesman.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Roger Stone’s defiant congressional testimony on Trump and Russia, annotated by Callum Borchers (September 26, 2017) The Washington Post.
  52. ↑ Trump Confidant Roger Stone Sued by Jerome Corsi in Latest Twist by Andrew M Harris (February 7, 2019, 6:09 PM PST Updated on February 7, 2019, 7:10 PM PST) Bloomberg.
  53. ↑ The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ by Roger Stone (2014) Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 1629144894.
  54. ↑ Book Review: 'The Man Who Killed Kennedy' by Hugh Aynesworth (February 25, 2014) The Washington Times.
  55. ↑ Trump proxy Roger Stone to publish book alleging the Clintons murdered John F. Kennedy Jr. to jump-start Hillary’s rise to the White House by Scott Eric Kaufman (04.13.2016•6:36 AM) Salon.
  56. ↑ Roger Stone: Huma Abedin ‘Most Likely a Saudi Spy’ with ‘Deep, Inarguable Connections’ to 'Global Terrorist Entity' by Dan Riehl (15 Jun 2016) Breitbart.
  57. ↑ Trump allies, WikiLeaks and Russia are pushing a nonsensical conspiracy theory about the DNC hacks by Josh Rogin (August 12, 2016) The Washington Post.
  58. ↑ Latest from the Trump conspiracy factory: Bill Clinton’s black son by Dana Milbank (November 1, 2016) The Washington Post.
  59. ↑ Inside the Six Weeks Donald Trump Was a Nonstop 'Birther' by Ashley Parker & Steve Eder (July 2, 2016 The New York Times.
  60. ↑ Trump confidant Roger Stone swears to CNN's Anderson Cooper he was poisoned — but refuses to prove it by Cleve R. Wootson Jr. (April 7 at 3:08 PM) The Washington Post.
  61. ↑ First my father Alexander Litvinenko was murdered, now my friend Nikolai Glushkov by Anatoly Litvinenko (March 18 2018, 12:01am) The Sunday Times.
  62. ↑ Coronavirus: Bill Gates ‘microchip’ conspiracy theory and other vaccine claims fact-checked by Jack Goodman and Flora Carmichael (30 May 2020) BBC Newe.
  63. ↑ Trump’s Doral Hotel to Host a Confab of Anti-Vaxxers and Leading QAnon Champions by Will Sommer (Sep. 16, 2020 4:39AM ET ) The Daily Beast.
  64. ↑ Plandemic’s Mikki Willis Joins, Praises Violent Capitol Mob by Matthew Remski (January 11, 2021) Conspirituality.
  65. ↑ Leaders of the anti-vaccine movement used 'Stop the Steal' crusade to advance their own conspiracy theories by Curt Devine & Drew Griffin (Updated 8:37 AM ET, Fri February 5, 2021) CNN.
  66. ↑ This one aged nicely. by Caroline Orr (9:55 AM - 20 Feb 2020) Twitter (archived from 20 Feb 2020 21:00:56 UTC).
  67. ↑ "‘Let’s get right to the violence’: New documentary film footage shows Roger Stone pre-Election Day" by Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand, and Jackson Grigsby, CNN, 2022 September 27
  68. ↑ CNN bans Trump supporter Roger Stone after nasty, bigoted tweets by Erik Wemple (February 23, 2016) The Washington Post.
  69. ↑ MSNBC Confirms That Trump Ally Roger Stone Has Been Banned From The Network: MSNBC Removed Stone From Its Airing Of With All Due Respect by Eric Hananoki (April 5, 2016 1:37 PM EDT) Media Matters for America.
  70. ↑ In the crosshairs of Roger Stone’s pathological attack machine by Bob Norman (February 6, 2019) Columbia Journalism Review.
  71. ↑ Roger Stone, Banned from Twitter, Vows to Sue It into Oblivion: The longtime Trump confidant is threatening to bring an "anti-trust case" against Twitter after he was permanently suspended for an expletive-laden rant. by Maya Kosoff (October 30, 2017 10:09 AM) Vanity Fair.
  72. ↑ Roger Stone suspended from Twitter by Ryan W. Miller, (Published 8:40 p.m. ET Oct. 28, 2017 | Updated 9:38 a.m. ET Oct. 29, 2017) USA Today.
  73. ↑ Here’s who could receive Mueller’s indictment: With an indictment expected on Monday, here are some of the figures that could be charged in the Trump-Russia probe by Charlie May (10.28.2017•3:12 PM) Salon
  74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 "Exclusive: Roger Stone Spoke With Cop Pal About Assassinating Eric Swalwell and Jerry Nadler" by Diana Falzone, Mediate, 2024 January 8
  75. ↑ "The Dirty Trickster" by Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker, 2008 May 23
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