How Roger Stone Could Be Used Against Trump

Maddow Blog | Law enforcement reportedly investigating Roger Stone (again)
Story by Steve Benen •
01/17/24


In 2019, federal law enforcement charged Roger Stone with a variety of felonies, including obstruction, lying to investigators, and witness tampering. The case, at least initially, was a success: A jury found the Republican operative guilty, and Stone was sentenced to 40 months in a federal prison.

He did not, however, see the inside of a cell: Donald Trump, late on a Friday in July 2020, commuted Stone’s sentence. It was among the most brazenly corrupt steps Trump took while in office, featuring a then-president rescuing a convicted felon who lied on his behalf as part of a broader cover-up. A Washington Post editorial called Stone’s commutation “one of the most nauseating instances of corrupt government favoritism the United States has ever seen.”
The editorial board added, “If the country needed any more evidence, Friday confirmed that the greatest threat to the Republic is the president himself.”

After Trump’s election defeat, he took the additional step of pardoning Stone.

More than three years later, the operative appears to have drawn the attention of law enforcement once again. The New York Times reported:

The Times’ report has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News. Nevertheless, the story has been percolating since last week, when Mediaite first published a report with an apparent audio recording, featuring someone who sounds like Stone talking about Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler or New York and Eric Swalwell of California.


“It’s time to do it,” the speaker can be heard saying ahead of Election Day 2020. “Let’s go find Swalwell. It’s time to do it. Then we’ll see how brave the rest of them are. It’s time to do it. It’s either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message.”

According to Mediaite’s reporting, which also has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, Stone was speaking to Salvatore Greco, a former New York City police officer, at a restaurant in Florida. (The Times’ report noted that Greco “was dismissed from the Police Department in 2022 after an internal inquiry into his relationship with Mr. Stone.”)

Time will tell, what if anything, comes of the reported investigation, though I was struck by Stone’s denial. The GOP operative — who has described himself as a “dirty trickster,” and who is on record endorsing violence after Trump’s election defeat — not only denied discussing assassinating Democratic members of Congress, he also dismissed the recording as “a deep fake.”

I am not in a position to say whether the denial has merit, and presumably investigators will reach their own conclusions. But Stone’s response touches on something that the political world will soon have to grapple with in earnest.

We’re already seeing politicians and their campaign teams produce computer-generated images, which have been presented to voters as if they were real. But generally speaking, that same dynamic will likely become just as common in reverse: Political figures caught making controversial comments will claim that the recordings were generated by computers and AI, even when they’re real.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

***
Capitol cops investigating Roger Stone over 'assassination' rant: report
Story by Brad Reed •
01/16/24

Roger Stone attends premiere Get Me Roger Stone at SVA during 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
© provided by RawStory

Mediaite reports that right-wing dirty trickster and Trump ally Roger Stone is now under investigation from Capitol Police after he was caught in a recording ranting about the need to assassinate Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Eric Swalwell.

While the publication doesn't have any details about how far along the investigation is or what it encompasses, it does say that the FBI is assisting the Capitol Police in the matter.


Mediaite last week published a recording of Stone ranting to a security guard about killing Nadler and Swalwell ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

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"Either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election," Stone said in the recording. "They need to get the message. I'm just not putting up with this s--t anymore."

Mediaite's source for the recording told the publication that Stone's rants about assassinations were not a "one-off conversation" and were not made "in jest."

Stone first insisted that the recording Mediaite reported on didn't exist, and then insisted that it was a fake generated by artificial intelligence after it was published.

Stone in 2019 was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction of Congress, witness tampering, and other crimes. Trump gave Stone a full pardon in the last days of his term in office in late 2020.

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***
'Where’s the DOJ?' Experts demand arrest of Roger Stone after hearing murder threat audio
Story by Carl Gibson •

01/12/23

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 Roger Stone in 2019
Roger Stone in 2019
© provided by AlterNet
Arecording of GOP operative Roger Stone that he claimed didn't exist has emerged, and prominent legal experts, former elected officials and pundits are all clamoring for the arrest of the far-right activist.

Mediaite published the audio of Stone calling for the assassination of Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) and Eric Swalwell (D-California) on Friday. The outlet says it obtained the tape via an anonymous source close to Stone, who asked for their name to be withheld out of fear of retribution. In the recording, Stone — a longtime confidant of former President Donald Trump — is heard repeatedly telling his associate, former NYPD officer Sal Greco, that it was "time to do it," referring to the murder of the two high-profile Democratic congressmen.

"Let’s go find Swalwell. It’s time to do it. Then we’ll see how brave the rest of them are. It’s time to do it. It’s either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message. Let’s go find Swalwell and get this over with," Stone is heard saying at the Caffe Europa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "I’m just not putting up with this s--- anymore."

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"It was definitely concerning that he was constantly planning violence with an NYPD officer and other militia groups," Mediaite's source said. "Any attempts to claim this was AI or recently created would be false."

"Roger spent election day and the months prior calling for acts of violence, which can be seen on video in the film A Storm Foretold," the source added, referring to a 2023 documentary.

In response to the audio, former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) said Stone "should be in jail." The PAC Republicans Against Trump called for federal prosecutors to take notice, tweeting "where's the DOJ?"


Journalists were also adamant that the audio of Stone was proof of a crime. WIRED and Slate contributor Alejandra Caraballo said Stone should be in prison for "conspiracy to commit murder," which federal criminal code punishes with a potential sentence of life behind bars. Independent journalist Marcy Wheeler reminded her followers that former Attorney General Bill Barr downplayed Stone's alleged threats and witness tampering in the past. Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali more simply tweeted "How is this freak not in jail?" MSNBC contributor Ruth Ben-Ghiat — a scholar of far-right authoritarian politics around the globe — agreed, tweeted that Stone "should be in prison."

READ MORE: Audio reveals Roger Stone mused about assassinating Democrats in 2020: 'He has to die'

Stone had previously been sentenced to three years and four months in prison for lying to Congress in 2020, but Trump later pardoned him during his lame-duck period following the presidential election.

Listen to the audio below, or by clicking this link.


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How Explosive Roger Stone Video Could Be Used Against Trump
Aug 17, 2023 at 10:50 AM EDT


An unearthed video featuring longtime Donald Trump ally Roger Stone could provide key evidence for prosecutors investigating fake elector schemes if it can be proven the former president's allies were aware of the illegality of the plot, according to a legal expert.

On Wednesday, MSNBC played a clip of Stone discussing a plan to install fake electors who could say that Trump had won in states in 2020 where he had lost, on the basis the results were rigged "though fraud."


Stone also described the need to "lobby" Republican figures to support the plan, an allegation Trump is accused of doing in both Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal investigation and Fulton County District County Fani Willis election interference probe in Georgia.

The footage, which was captured by Danish filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen for his documentary A Storm Foretold, was recorded on November 5, 2020, two days before Joe Biden was officially declared the winner of the last election.

Roger Stone in DC
Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidante to former U.S. President Donald Trump, addresses reporters in front of the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building after his deposition before the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol on December 17, 2021 in Washington, DC.
ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES
The clip could potentially lay doubts on the former president and his inner circle's claims that the fake electoral plot to falsely declare that Trump won in seven states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—was carried out on the basis that they believed that last election was rigged due to voter fraud as Stone was discussing such a scheme even before Trump officially lost to Biden


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Michael McAuliffe, Florida attorney and former federal prosecutor, said the plot Stone was recorded discussing "mirrors almost exactly" what actually occurred in the key swing states and explained how it could be used to implicate Stone in the criminal investigations into the schemes involving the former president. Stone has been contacted for comment via email.

"It's important to note that Trump—so far—isn't running away from the efforts to create alternative slates of electors supporting him," McAuliffe told Newsweek.

"In fact, most of the individuals involved the fake elector plan, whether it's in Georgia or Pennsylvania or elsewhere, defend the effort. What the January 6th and the Georgia RICO prosecutions need is for participants in the elector replacement plot to testify that the plan was illicit and that the other participants who have already been charged knew the allegations of fraud were conveniently fabricated in order to achieve the goal of retaining Trump as president," McAuliffe added.


"The prosecutors would benefit from 'insiders' coming clean as cooperating witnesses in the trials. One way to accomplish that is some of the defendants pleading guilty to the charges, or some of the charges, and cooperating."

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The fake electoral plot is a key focus of inquiry in Smith's federal investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election, in which Trump has pleaded not guilty to four charges, as well as Willis' expansive election interference probe, where the former president and 18 others have been indicted under RICO charges.


During the footage, Stone—who has not been officially implicated in any criminal investigation involving the fake elector plot—is seen dictating to an associate a plan to overturn the election results if they were "illegally" denied to Trump.

"Although state officials in all 50 states must ultimately certify the results of the voting in their state, the final decision as to who the state legislatures authorize be sent to the electoral college is a decision made solely by the legislature," Stone said in the clip, which had been edited for clarity.

"Any legislative body may decide on the basis of overwhelming evidence of fraud to send electors to the Electoral College who accurately reflect and reflect the president's legitimate victory in their state which was illegally denied him through fraud.


"We must be prepared to lobby our Republican legislatures by personal contact and by demonstrating the overwhelming will of the people in their state in each state that this may need to happen," Stone said.

Speaking to MSNBC, former federal prosecutor John Flannery said he "absolutely" considers the newly obtained footage incriminating for Stone and Trump's inner circle.

"They knew that he'd lost the election before it was announced, and that's why they began these initiatives then. And in the weeks and months beforehand, they had to know what was going on," Flannery said.

***
Revealed: The Trump allies who reportedly raked in millions from Jan. 6 behind the scenes
Story by Matthew Chapman •

01/13/24
Roger Stone, Alex Jones
© provided by RawStory
Anetwork of pro-Trump operatives made money off the election conspiracy theory rallies that led up to and inflamed passions of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, according to a new analysis by Mother Jones released on Friday.

"About 1,300 Americans have been charged with crimes for actions related to January 6," wrote Dan Friedman. "That includes Trump, whose false allegations of election fraud were the main cause of the attack. But the insurrection was made possible by another group of people — a web of political operatives ... who personally profited by helping to assemble and mislead the mob that subsequently attacked the Capitol. These operatives raised funds, rented buses, paid for porta-potties, and gave speeches at the January 5 and 6 rallies in Washington, where tens of thousands of Trump supporters demanded that the election results be thrown out."

There is no evidence that any of these operatives broke the law or deliberately contributed to the attack, and the funding they did for these rallies was legal, the report noted.

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Among those who benefited was Kimberley Guilfoyle, the partner of Donald Trump Jr. Significant benefactors included Julie Fancelli, heiress to the fortune of the Publix supermarket chain in the southeastern U.S. who was reportedly a "superfan" of InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and Trump fundraiser Caroline Wren. Jones himself made the list, as well.

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"Having announced her wish to give $3 million to support the effort, Fancelli relied on Wren to identify organizations to use the money," said the report. "Wren quickly contacted various right-wing groups already organizing events in Washington for January 5 and 6, along with others with limited or no connections to the rallies, but with which she had prior relationships. Wren was 'dangling money,' as she put it in a late December text, to organizations that could help fulfill Fancelli’s wish to ensure the large Washington crowd that Jones said Trump needed to overturn the election." Charlie Kirk and his Turning Point USA group were reportedly recipients of much of this money.

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Meanwhile, according to the report, longtime Trump strategist Roger Stone raised $42,000 in security and logistics fees, without any clear accounting of where that money went, and a contractor called Event Strategies made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing work for Women for America First, another group involved in the planning that was coordinating with the White House.

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