Who is Roger Stone?
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Stone is Trump’s longest serving political advisor, with a relationship dating back to the 1980s.
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In 2020, Trump pardoned Stone, who was serving a felony prison sentence for witness tampering and lying to Congress about his connections to Russia.
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Stone was a key intermediary between the White House and Proud Boys, a militia group that helped coordinate the January 6th Capitol attack.
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Roger Stone said Trump would claim victory whether or not he won the 2020 election.
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​​“F*ck the voting. Let’s get right to the violence,” Stone said.
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Roger Stone argued “Possession is nine tenths of the law.”
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Pardoned by Trump
In 2018, a jury found Stone guilty on five counts of lying to Congress about his knowledge of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors proved Stone tampered with witnesses and lied under oath about the Trump campaign’s communications with Russia and Russia’s role in affecting the 2016 election.
Stone is one of many people in Trump’s inner circle who have been convicted of felonies related to election tampering and fraud.
President Trump pardoned Stone in 2020, after he was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison. The move was criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike, since Stone was convicted for crimes related to his work for Trump. Even within the White House, advisors were split over the decision, as some worried about the potential political consequences.
Before the pardon, Stone stated that he remained loyal to Trump during the investigation: “He knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”
Connection to Militias and January 6th Attack
After the pardon, Stone continued to advise Trump. He also helped organize the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6th.
Texts obtained by the January 6th committee show Stone was in contact with multiple far-right militia groups, such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. One group chat, called “Friends of Stone,” provides evidence of consistent contact between Stone, Oathkeeper’s and Proud Boy’s leaders in the two months leading up to the attack.
The January 6th committee said that Stone was in Washington on Jan. 5 and 6 to "lead a march to the Capitol" and that he "promoted his attendance at the rallies and solicited support to pay for security."
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On January 6th, photo evidence shows Stone being guarded by two Oath Keepers who have since been charged with seditious conspiracy. Video presented by the committee shows Stone reciting the Proud Boys “Fraternal Creed,” the first step in being initiated into the extremist group.
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New video evidence also shows Stone encouraging violence in order to overturn the election results. ​​“F*ck the voting. Let’s get right to the violence,” Stone said.
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Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Infowars host Alex Jones all promoted the violent militia groups prior to January 6th, and encouraged protesters to attack the Capitol.
In January 2022, the January 6th Committee subpoenaed Roger Stone to testify regarding events leading up to the January 6th attack. Stone ​​invoked the fifth amendment right not to testify.
Long History with Trump
Roger Stone is a conservative political consultant and lobbyist. He advised Donald Trump’s campaign starting in 2015, although he never formally held a campaign position after August 2015.
Stone is Trump’s longest serving political advisor, and has worked with Trump for over 30 years.
Stone has been a political consultant since the 1970s, when he served on President Richard Nixon’s campaign, which included involvement in the campaign’s infamous “dirty tricks”, including Watergate. Working on the Nixon campaign, Stone hired an operative to infiltrate the George McGovern Campaign, Nixon’s Democratic opponent. During the primary season, he made campaign contributions to Nixon’s Republican opponent under the name of the Young Socialist Alliance.
Stone’s relationship with Trump dates back to 1987, when he advised Trump on a potential presidential campaign in 1988. He advised Trump once again when Trump considered another run in 2000.